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A review by julianameiyan
Once More with Feeling by Elissa Sussman
3.5
books like these make me want to be an editor. i wholeheartedly believe i could help you elissa!!! on the positive side i loved kathleen and cal they were very cute and had solid chemistry. the flashbacks to camp were adorable for setting up all three characters and their relationship history with each other. the resolution itself was sweet and appropriate for the book.
ryan as a character was much too evil to an almost comedic level. he has very little substance other than being kathleen's evil boyfriend. he had no redeeming qualities that made him and kathleen staying together believable. one could argue that kathleen only stayed with him because their teams and fans were pressuring them to but she also defends him and his character. he's just so bad that it's implausible she would stay with him.
i'm never one to notice pacing in a book but i noticed it with this one which is not a good sign. like most of this book's audience (probably), i am not well versed in how theater works and the step that are taken to get a show on broadway. so it was very unclear when they kept talking about previews and opening nights over and over. it felt like the show plot stagnated and it was very difficult to tell they were progressing. clear landmarks and milestones would have helped me care more about the success of the show. also the time between the big third act conflict and the resolution was terribly short. harriet and kathleen had a very serious fight with some very real issues raised and it was resolved in the blink of an eye. same thing with kathleen and cal. especially with cal saying he's not giving kathleen another chance and then he just folds the second she says she loves him. there were some very real reasons that they shouldn't be together that went very unaddressed.
overall i actually really liked the book, i just think it could be a lot better.
ryan as a character was much too evil to an almost comedic level. he has very little substance other than being kathleen's evil boyfriend. he had no redeeming qualities that made him and kathleen staying together believable. one could argue that kathleen only stayed with him because their teams and fans were pressuring them to but she also defends him and his character. he's just so bad that it's implausible she would stay with him.
i'm never one to notice pacing in a book but i noticed it with this one which is not a good sign. like most of this book's audience (probably), i am not well versed in how theater works and the step that are taken to get a show on broadway. so it was very unclear when they kept talking about previews and opening nights over and over. it felt like the show plot stagnated and it was very difficult to tell they were progressing. clear landmarks and milestones would have helped me care more about the success of the show. also the time between the big third act conflict and the resolution was terribly short. harriet and kathleen had a very serious fight with some very real issues raised and it was resolved in the blink of an eye. same thing with kathleen and cal. especially with cal saying he's not giving kathleen another chance and then he just folds the second she says she loves him. there were some very real reasons that they shouldn't be together that went very unaddressed.
overall i actually really liked the book, i just think it could be a lot better.