Scan barcode
A review by readthesparrow
The 7-10 Split by Karmen Lee
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
This review is based on an eARC recieved through Netgalley.
REVIEW
I’m not much of a romance reader (in fact, this book is one of the titles I read in my attempt to find out if I like it or not), so take this review with a grain of salt. People who do like contemporary romance will likely have different feelings about this book than I do.
Overall, the only thing I can really say about this book is that it was… fine. And that’s about it.
The two main characters, Ava and Grace, both seemed to be perfectly nice. As people, they’d probably be favorite coworkers or folks I’d like to be friends with. As characters, they’re likeable, but not terribly interesting. It’s split POV, but I would often lose track of whose turn with the narrative it was because their voices were indistinguishable.
The prose, too, was fine, but nothing to write home about. There were some interesting turns of phrase here and there. My main complaint is that there were only a few bowling puns.
The plot’s pacing is a mess. It takes like 30% of the book for bowling to even start happening and the two main characters only actually bowl once, at like 70%.
The one interesting plot thread, revealed at the VERY endthat there was possibly some kind of coverup involved with the death of Grace’s father, as well as the fight that happens between Grace, Ava, and Grace’s mother when that information is revealed isn’t really. Resolved. Or even discussed on page, beyond a throwaway line where Grace’s mother attends a bowling match.
The “main” plot (quotations because it really doesn’t matter at all) is thatthe shitty principal will dissolve the bowling team if Ava and Grace don’t get a win. However, this plot barely matters, there’s no real tension or stakes built up about it, and the girls on the team were barely characterized beyond being nosy about their coach’s love lives, so I just wasn’t invested at all.
There were other plot threads that got dropped too, such asGrace’s old coach. He shows up twice to talk to Grace and, from Ava’s point of view, comes off as creepy, and after one time he shows up Grace’s car breaks. I thought this was going to lead to some kind of reveal that he’s a creep or was trying to sabotage the team or something, but nothing’s done with him. I really don’t know what the point of that character was, besides to maybe give Ava a chance to get a little jealous?
The one thing I did really appreciate about this book was that while miscommunications did happen and the characters would get upset with one another, they did actually have conversations about these problems.
FINAL THOUGHTS
There wasn’t anything about this book that is extremely objectionable, but if this wasn’t a Netgalley read, I probably would have DNF’d around 70% because I just realized how bored I was. I forced myself to bulldoze through the rest of it today so I could read something else. (How’s that for a 7/10 split?)
As for whether I’d recommend it: shrug? I’ll probably forget everything about it in a few months so take that for what you will.
Thank you to the publisher, Afterglow Books by Harlequin, for providing an ARC via Netgalley. If you’re interested in The 7/10 Split, the book releases 21 May 2024.
REVIEW
I’m not much of a romance reader (in fact, this book is one of the titles I read in my attempt to find out if I like it or not), so take this review with a grain of salt. People who do like contemporary romance will likely have different feelings about this book than I do.
Overall, the only thing I can really say about this book is that it was… fine. And that’s about it.
The two main characters, Ava and Grace, both seemed to be perfectly nice. As people, they’d probably be favorite coworkers or folks I’d like to be friends with. As characters, they’re likeable, but not terribly interesting. It’s split POV, but I would often lose track of whose turn with the narrative it was because their voices were indistinguishable.
The prose, too, was fine, but nothing to write home about. There were some interesting turns of phrase here and there. My main complaint is that there were only a few bowling puns.
The plot’s pacing is a mess. It takes like 30% of the book for bowling to even start happening and the two main characters only actually bowl once, at like 70%.
The one interesting plot thread, revealed at the VERY end
The “main” plot (quotations because it really doesn’t matter at all) is that
There were other plot threads that got dropped too, such as
The one thing I did really appreciate about this book was that while miscommunications did happen and the characters would get upset with one another, they did actually have conversations about these problems.
FINAL THOUGHTS
There wasn’t anything about this book that is extremely objectionable, but if this wasn’t a Netgalley read, I probably would have DNF’d around 70% because I just realized how bored I was. I forced myself to bulldoze through the rest of it today so I could read something else. (How’s that for a 7/10 split?)
As for whether I’d recommend it: shrug? I’ll probably forget everything about it in a few months so take that for what you will.
Thank you to the publisher, Afterglow Books by Harlequin, for providing an ARC via Netgalley. If you’re interested in The 7/10 Split, the book releases 21 May 2024.
Content Warnings
Minor: Death of parent and Grief
The death of parent happens before the events of the book. One is a mother dying of cancer while the other is a father having been killed by a drunk driver .