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A review by kj468
Textbook Defense by Ashlyn Kane, Morgan James
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
2.5
This was one of my most anticipated books this year. There were aspects of it it I liked, but overall it was more angsty than I prefer, with a really heavy dose of miscommunication that drew out the getting-together too much for my taste. The actually getting-together part was pretty late in the book, especially for a book that isn’t a slow burn. Overall the pacing was off for me — there was a ton of page time in between the introduction of upcoming drama ( jordy finding out he’s going to get traded ) and the foreshadowed negative event happening. For me, this really drew out the negative emotions.
I know there’s satisfaction in a hard-won happily ever after, but I didn’t feel that satisfaction here — perhaps because so much of the drama was caused by miscommunication. Between like 60-85% I basically had to power read because I was so unhappy about the third act angst that I knew I’d have a heard time coming back it it. A lot of the relationship drama and miscommunication felt really contrived.I was frustrated that they decided to “just be together” for the week Rowan was visiting, with the expectation that Rowan would leave at the end of it and they’d break up then. It added a lot of extra angst to the end of the book and made it hard for me to enjoy the cute scenes of them during that week.
To be fair, I have a pretty low angst tolerance as it strongly affects my mood, so it’s possible people with better angst tolerances will enjoy this book more. But for me, there was so much miscommunication induced angst, and the happily ever after was such a short blip at the end, that i was left in a sad, slightly frustrated mood when I finished. Unlike some of the others in this series, probably not one I will revisit, even though I enjoyed the first half quite a bit. Ultimately, I read these kinds of books like some people watch sitcoms — I want something safe and familiar that makes me happy. This book checked all of those boxes at some point, but not really in the last half, which is a dealbreaker for me
I know there’s satisfaction in a hard-won happily ever after, but I didn’t feel that satisfaction here — perhaps because so much of the drama was caused by miscommunication. Between like 60-85% I basically had to power read because I was so unhappy about the third act angst that I knew I’d have a heard time coming back it it. A lot of the relationship drama and miscommunication felt really contrived.
To be fair, I have a pretty low angst tolerance as it strongly affects my mood, so it’s possible people with better angst tolerances will enjoy this book more. But for me, there was so much miscommunication induced angst, and the happily ever after was such a short blip at the end, that i was left in a sad, slightly frustrated mood when I finished. Unlike some of the others in this series, probably not one I will revisit, even though I enjoyed the first half quite a bit. Ultimately, I read these kinds of books like some people watch sitcoms — I want something safe and familiar that makes me happy. This book checked all of those boxes at some point, but not really in the last half, which is a dealbreaker for me