Reviews with content warning for Alcohol - I'm So (Not) Over You

Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

I'm So (Not) Over You by Kosoko Jackson

8 reviews

jennifer_bush_73's review against another edition

sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

The book started off with Kian, an unlikable, angry narrator who seemed to be completely unable to control what words came or didn’t come out of his mouth. I, wrongly, assumed that Kion would experience some emotional growth throughout the story, or develop some insight into his own behavior.

Kion was angry that he’d been dumped by his boyfriend, Hudson. Kion seems paralyzed by his angry about this breakup. Part of the story even involves another character questioning whether Kion’s behavior is driven by a desire to get even with Hudson for this break up. So, presumably, this was a pretty brutal breakup, but we never find out what happened? Why did they breakup? What did Hudson do? By the end of the book I thought that the smartest thing Hudson ever did was to break up with Kion.

And Hudson. He’s more likable, but his strained relationship with his family hinders his ability grow emotional, or engage in any sort of introspection. He and his have a sibling rivalry that is just bitter and nasty. And never overcomes his deference for his parents.

I don’t why they wanted each other. Both characters are too solipsistic to be interesting. They both need therapy. Although, Kion discusses having been in therapy, he may need a new therapist and some medication.

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minimaiasaura's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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danajoy's review

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lighthearted

3.0

The story was overall sweet but Kian was a bit insufferable. He was at times quite rude and hyperfixated on himself as a journalist. The pop culture references were pretty constant.

The real issue is for a second chance romance we don't really get to understand at all why they didn't work the first time. With all Kian's insecurity/discomfort about Hudson being rich and the basically zero backstory we get this should've just been fake dating a FWB you stopped getting the benefits from. Honestly that whole aspect felt flimsy to me. Even the fake dating didn't make sense. Hudson's family wanted to see them together? They barely know him and he antagonises the dad.

There were some writing choices that felt clunky that could've been streamlined - you don't need to show off all the synonyms for said/ordered that you know!

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passedduebooks's review against another edition

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lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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aesantiago's review against another edition

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medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

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the_vegan_bookworm's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

This book expertly combines the tropes of fake dating and exes to lovers - both of which are personal favourites of mine! The cast is diverse with Black and queer MCs and side characters throughout. It addresses themes of wealth disparity, race and homophobia in an accessible and interesting way.

This being said, I found Kian and Hudson's relationship to be really toxic. They are on again and off again constantly without any clear resolution for their fights or clear communication for what to work on moving forward. We never understand why they broke up prior to the book, which leaves the relationship feeling very unfulfilled for me. It feels like their fights are showcased as passionate instead of acknowledging them as volatile.

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pey333's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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armontheroad's review against another edition

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funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This book was a huge disappointment. It started off as a hilarious five-star read but I have so many problems with this. I will say that if you are not a fan of books with massive pop cultural references, this is not the book for you. There is a reference on nearly every page. I was really enjoying all of them, laughing a lot at the humor in the book, until Kosoko Jackson decided to reference two transphobic people multiple times. I truly wish that was the only reason I deducted stars, but it’s not.
The premise of this book is that Hudson dumped our protagonist Kian out of the blue. Now Hudson needs Kian to fake date him for a family wedding his parents are hosting. The romance was infuriating to me. I was waiting for the moment Kian and Hudson got together and had the “I’m so sorry I hurt you, Kian. The reason I did that was…” but that conversation is never had. The two go from snapping at each other to “are you my boyfriend now?” It made no sense to me. It got to the point where I went back to re-read sections to ensure I did not miss a major plot point or conversation. In reality, I didn’t miss anything. The relationship just felt rushed and immature. These did not read to me as two exes still in love.
Kian is an infuriating protagonist because he never says what he is thinking!! So many arguments could be avoided if he just said what was on his mind instead of lying about it. Maybe it is because I’m Autistic, but I cannot stand it when people just do not be honest about their thoughts.
I gave this a three-star rating because I think it was funny, engaging (for a majority of the book), and has the potential to bring a lot of joy to a lot of people. The writing was solid and I will try some of Kosoko’s other works to see if those fit me any better.

CWs/TWs: racism, alcohol, sexual content, panic attacks, anxiety, classism, homophobia, Harry Potter references, Rupaul reference, etc.

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