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A review by bencaroline
The Holiday Trap by Roan Parrish
lighthearted
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
(note: I wrote up a whole thing and then somehow deleted it without saving, so this is an extremely lackluster, months-later attempt at a review)
God, I wanted to love this book so bad! The Holiday but gay, and in novel form?? Sign me up!
Unfortunately, it missed the mark for me in the pathos department. It’s as if the stakes were told, but not shown nearly enough. And the whole thing has an undercurrent of pro-default-capitalism that I hate. Aside from the romantic storylines, each of our two protagonists has sort of a B-plot wherein they help people... be entrepreneurs, I guess? I'm all for the creative endeavors but there’s something about it where they are trying to Make Profits and somehow those methods endear them to a community more than anything else they do.
God, I wanted to love this book so bad! The Holiday but gay, and in novel form?? Sign me up!
Unfortunately, it missed the mark for me in the pathos department. It’s as if the stakes were told, but not shown nearly enough. And the whole thing has an undercurrent of pro-default-capitalism that I hate. Aside from the romantic storylines, each of our two protagonists has sort of a B-plot wherein they help people... be entrepreneurs, I guess? I'm all for the creative endeavors but there’s something about it where they are trying to Make Profits and somehow those methods endear them to a community more than anything else they do.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol and Sexual content
Moderate: Dementia
Minor: Drug use, Grief, and Homophobia