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A review by sreddous
Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
There's a lot to like about this book. It's refreshing to see fat characters use calm and straightforward words to advocate for themselves in relationships and to open up about their insecurities. It's refreshing to see a fat main romantic character who (mostly) carries themself with confidence! Good stuff!
The sex scenes are goooooooood. Really good descriptions, really easy to get immersed in, good pacing, nice creative things going on. Great stuff there!!
I think what makes this not be a 5-star experience for me is that I feel like we don't get enough of an actually-deep emotional connection between Marcus and April. I sort of had a hard time trying to figure out why I didn't really feel like I connected to THEIR connection. Like... I'm definitely the target audience for this. I, too, have my share of AO3 stories written and bookmarked, and the idea that "Marcus is based on a real celebrity" eh, didn't bother me, because it's not like he's EXACTLY like "the real person" he's based on (I feel like lots of literary characters are probably based on real people anyway). So that didn't take me out of the experience.
I think what kept me from being very immersed most of the time is that the book tried to juggle the following topics in the context of its own universe:
1. Marcus is a celebrity who plays a character that is popular in fandom.
2. April and her friend group write sexually-explicit fanfic of that character.
3. April has to separate 'TV characters' from the 'real person Marcus' she's dating, while she's still writing sexually-explicit fanfiction of that character.
4. Marcus is hiding that he, too, likes sexually-explicit fanfiction.
5. Marcus is also "trying not to be seen as just the characters he plays/the persona he puts on for the paparazzi" but as a real person.
I feel like.... items 3-5 sort of... don't go that well together? I guess it's the secrecy stuff that makes everything feel a little shallow and tense in a not-fun way. Like, if Marcus was like "lmao yeah I actually do read and enjoy plenty of that stuff even though it ofc can't be called canon" on their first date, then I think he and April could actually bond over their shared hobbies. But they don't do that, so I don't reeeally see why April being like "I'm a geologist" just about literally gives Marcus an erection at the dinner table lmao. I think I scratched my head for most of the book, thinking, "Why...do you guys like each other?" We were throwing around the word "love" on page 295, and I was still thinking, "I kinda don't see why yet".
So yeah. I think this could be tightened up in a way that actually explores these characters connecting and bonding over shared hobbies and building chemistry, but as-is their actual romantic connection feels surface level and a biiiiiiiiiiit too fast-paced. Not that 100% of literary romances need to be slow-burn, but I feel like this one was still a bit too fast for how serious things got.
Overall, though, I still enjoyed this. Some of the best sex scenes I've read in a while, definitely recommend!!
The sex scenes are goooooooood. Really good descriptions, really easy to get immersed in, good pacing, nice creative things going on. Great stuff there!!
I think what makes this not be a 5-star experience for me is that I feel like we don't get enough of an actually-deep emotional connection between Marcus and April. I sort of had a hard time trying to figure out why I didn't really feel like I connected to THEIR connection. Like... I'm definitely the target audience for this. I, too, have my share of AO3 stories written and bookmarked, and the idea that "Marcus is based on a real celebrity" eh, didn't bother me, because it's not like he's EXACTLY like "the real person" he's based on (I feel like lots of literary characters are probably based on real people anyway). So that didn't take me out of the experience.
I think what kept me from being very immersed most of the time is that the book tried to juggle the following topics in the context of its own universe:
1. Marcus is a celebrity who plays a character that is popular in fandom.
2. April and her friend group write sexually-explicit fanfic of that character.
3. April has to separate 'TV characters' from the 'real person Marcus' she's dating, while she's still writing sexually-explicit fanfiction of that character.
4. Marcus is hiding that he, too, likes sexually-explicit fanfiction.
5. Marcus is also "trying not to be seen as just the characters he plays/the persona he puts on for the paparazzi" but as a real person.
I feel like.... items 3-5 sort of... don't go that well together? I guess it's the secrecy stuff that makes everything feel a little shallow and tense in a not-fun way. Like, if Marcus was like "lmao yeah I actually do read and enjoy plenty of that stuff even though it ofc can't be called canon" on their first date, then I think he and April could actually bond over their shared hobbies. But they don't do that, so I don't reeeally see why April being like "I'm a geologist" just about literally gives Marcus an erection at the dinner table lmao. I think I scratched my head for most of the book, thinking, "Why...do you guys like each other?" We were throwing around the word "love" on page 295, and I was still thinking, "I kinda don't see why yet".
So yeah. I think this could be tightened up in a way that actually explores these characters connecting and bonding over shared hobbies and building chemistry, but as-is their actual romantic connection feels surface level and a biiiiiiiiiiit too fast-paced. Not that 100% of literary romances need to be slow-burn, but I feel like this one was still a bit too fast for how serious things got.
Overall, though, I still enjoyed this. Some of the best sex scenes I've read in a while, definitely recommend!!
Content Warnings
Minor: Fatphobia