A review by luckyonesoph
Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade

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

2.5

It was... okay. I let the tropes drag me into reading this - I'll give pretty much every celebrity/non-celebrity romance a chance - but I don't think I would have picked it up had I read reviews. 

What I liked: How online/fandom relationships were treated as the real friendships and, the infusion of science into a romance (though this disappears about halfway through), how the effects paparazzi/social media were included but not overexaggerated, how learning disabilities are taken seriously, the smut. 

What I'm 'meh' about: the alternating povs (I'm usually not a fan, but in this book, it's needed and it works), the inclusion of fanfiction from the book's universe (after the first few chapters, I skimmed/skipped most of it). 

What I didn't like:
  • Marcus was too perfect. His flaws were not even real flaws. 
  • The author clearly puts April on a pedestal and most of the novel is written as if nothing she does is wrong/misguided. I haven't figured out how to articulate it yet, but it's like she's allowed to be human and make mistakes or misunderstand or miscommunicate, but no one else is. I get that the author wanted to make this a fairytale story specifically for fat people - as she should! - but being oppressed doesn't suddenly make your moral code superior. That's the message I got at times. I loved April the most in non-romance scenes. 
  • The heavy emphasis on child trauma dictating adult actions. Obviously it does, but it seemed like every interaction between Marcus and April was the product of their relationships with their respective shitty parents. Not every little gesture needs to have a backstory - it can just be personality. 
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