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A review by ellelainey
Bespoke by Val Prozorova, Megan McFerren
2.0
Book – Bespoke
Author – Megan McFerren and Val Prozorova
Star rating - ★★☆☆☆
No. of Pages – 46
Cover – Nice but simple
POV – 3rd person, present tense, dual POV
Would I read it again – No.
Genre – LGBT, Contemporary, MM, Insta-Love
** COPY RECEIVED THROUGH NETGALLEY **
For me, this story just wasn't my cup of tea. There wasn't enough plot, not enough chemistry and basically not something that tickles my fancy.
The characters were, quite honestly, horrendous. Never in my life have I disliked main characters so quickly. Both Ethan and Vance are egotistical, full of themselves and completely unlikeable in all the ways that matter. Together, they had no chemistry; they simply argued and acted like they hated each other when they were together, but the minute they were alone they began fantasizing about one another. Yet, they'd only met once, for about half an hour, at the most.
Don't even get me started on how unprofessional and rude Ethan was, for a business man. He kept complaining about not being able to make rent, but maybe if he didn't swear every other word right in front of his customers, or treat them like second class citizens, then he'd get more custom and be able to afford his rent.
Not only was there insta-love, which isn't my thing, but the tense was so frustrating. I have never read 3rd person, present tense before, but it is definitely not something that agrees with me. The whole story was confusing to read, with most things in past tense, until it mentioned the characters actions, which completely jarred with the flow. But on top of that, the story read more like story notes than a cohesive story. I just couldn't enjoy the writing style at all; it sounds cruel, but it felt a little lazy. As though the proper care wasn't being taken to make it flow better.
It was a little racist and stereotypical in places, both with the Bengali taxi driver and the way Vance's Britishness was used to somehow justify his arrogant nature. Being Scottish – and British – it's a little insulting to see us all being interpreted as rude, ignorant and thinking ourselves better than everyone else.
Within the story, there was a lack of transition between events or placement of items, while there was a whole lot of fancy-schmancy talk that wasn't necessary and just felt a little forced. Somehow, Ethan knows things about Vance that he shouldn't, with absolutely no explanation of how. There were also places where it read like omni-present, because there were too many “he's” and not enough clarification of who was thinking, feeling or doing what.
I also wasn't sure why the “several months later” epilogue was needed. It didn't add anything to the story, except to show how weird the couple acted together and that they thought arguing was a form of flirtation.
Author – Megan McFerren and Val Prozorova
Star rating - ★★☆☆☆
No. of Pages – 46
Cover – Nice but simple
POV – 3rd person, present tense, dual POV
Would I read it again – No.
Genre – LGBT, Contemporary, MM, Insta-Love
** COPY RECEIVED THROUGH NETGALLEY **
For me, this story just wasn't my cup of tea. There wasn't enough plot, not enough chemistry and basically not something that tickles my fancy.
The characters were, quite honestly, horrendous. Never in my life have I disliked main characters so quickly. Both Ethan and Vance are egotistical, full of themselves and completely unlikeable in all the ways that matter. Together, they had no chemistry; they simply argued and acted like they hated each other when they were together, but the minute they were alone they began fantasizing about one another. Yet, they'd only met once, for about half an hour, at the most.
Don't even get me started on how unprofessional and rude Ethan was, for a business man. He kept complaining about not being able to make rent, but maybe if he didn't swear every other word right in front of his customers, or treat them like second class citizens, then he'd get more custom and be able to afford his rent.
Not only was there insta-love, which isn't my thing, but the tense was so frustrating. I have never read 3rd person, present tense before, but it is definitely not something that agrees with me. The whole story was confusing to read, with most things in past tense, until it mentioned the characters actions, which completely jarred with the flow. But on top of that, the story read more like story notes than a cohesive story. I just couldn't enjoy the writing style at all; it sounds cruel, but it felt a little lazy. As though the proper care wasn't being taken to make it flow better.
It was a little racist and stereotypical in places, both with the Bengali taxi driver and the way Vance's Britishness was used to somehow justify his arrogant nature. Being Scottish – and British – it's a little insulting to see us all being interpreted as rude, ignorant and thinking ourselves better than everyone else.
Within the story, there was a lack of transition between events or placement of items, while there was a whole lot of fancy-schmancy talk that wasn't necessary and just felt a little forced. Somehow, Ethan knows things about Vance that he shouldn't, with absolutely no explanation of how. There were also places where it read like omni-present, because there were too many “he's” and not enough clarification of who was thinking, feeling or doing what.
I also wasn't sure why the “several months later” epilogue was needed. It didn't add anything to the story, except to show how weird the couple acted together and that they thought arguing was a form of flirtation.