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A review by krayreads
Truly, Madly, Deeply by Alexandria Bellefleur
1.0
thank you to netgalley and the publisher for sending me an e-arc in exchange for an honest review!
i had high hopes going into this one because of the initial reviews and am always on the lookout for some bi rep, but this didn't quite meet them.
this romance story about truly st. james, a romance writer and colin mccrory, a family lawyer who start off on the wrong foot while having a discussion on a podcast and ending up falling in love. while the beginning of the story is a cliche scene of truly walking in on her long term boyfriend cheating on her, the bulk of the book completely disregards that and focuses on a new plot - getting truly's parents back together after they separate. i wouldn't have minded that if that's what this book had been pitched as, but the fact that it centered around truly plotting and scheming to her parents back together and colin joining along for the ride, their romance feeling like a side plot, caused me to simply check out. it totally lost me.
it doesn't help that the balance of the two characters was completely out of whack. i found truly to be immature and selfish. as a romance writer, i understood that she loves love and is in some ways a hopeless romantic, but she was so far gone into being a romantic that being challenged by colin, who was a realist, made her crumble at the any type of contradiction. i get that she felt strongly in her beliefs, but the fact that she had no room to even have a mature and respectful conversation to someone who had an opposing view had me rolling my eyes. she was condescending towards colin and his job as a family lawyer - focusing on the fact that he handles divorce (cause she simply cannot FATHOM anyone getting divorce, god forbid) despite him constantly reminding her that divorce is just one part of his job. the fact that her parents decided to separate - having nothing to do with her - and she ignores the warning of everyone around her to not get involved and still inserts herself in their relationship and basically manipulates them to get together, parent trap style, at her big old age of twenty-seven just didn't sit right with me. WHO would do that aside from eleven year old twins?
on the other hand, colin seems absolutely perfect. he's patient, understanding, compassionate, thoughtful, and seemingly has no flaws which was just unrealistic. the way he had a raging hard on for her during every conversation, even when she was berating him, was simply unacceptable lol. like boy, GET UP. the man was obsessed and in love with truly which i didn't understand and even now, still don't. also, if i took a shot for every time truly pointed out his moles, i would have to get my stomach pumped.
this was a couple that definitely doesn't last after the epilogue lol.
the dialogue was unbearable at times. the humor, wit and banter felt so forced and was often very cringe. it was trying to be funny, quirky, and flirtatious but it felt so millennial and that's coming from a millennial. it added to the immatureness of the characters and i couldn't take them seriously at all. the pacing was also all over the place. they went from hate to love in a matter of chapters which if done right, can be believable, but not in this case.
overall, this read more like a YA romance than an adult one. the conversations, dialogue, and plot, all felt juvenile. and the way the ending worked out in the most perfect of happily ever after ways?
p l e a s e.
i had high hopes going into this one because of the initial reviews and am always on the lookout for some bi rep, but this didn't quite meet them.
this romance story about truly st. james, a romance writer and colin mccrory, a family lawyer who start off on the wrong foot while having a discussion on a podcast and ending up falling in love. while the beginning of the story is a cliche scene of truly walking in on her long term boyfriend cheating on her, the bulk of the book completely disregards that and focuses on a new plot - getting truly's parents back together after they separate. i wouldn't have minded that if that's what this book had been pitched as, but the fact that it centered around truly plotting and scheming to her parents back together and colin joining along for the ride, their romance feeling like a side plot, caused me to simply check out. it totally lost me.
it doesn't help that the balance of the two characters was completely out of whack. i found truly to be immature and selfish. as a romance writer, i understood that she loves love and is in some ways a hopeless romantic, but she was so far gone into being a romantic that being challenged by colin, who was a realist, made her crumble at the any type of contradiction. i get that she felt strongly in her beliefs, but the fact that she had no room to even have a mature and respectful conversation to someone who had an opposing view had me rolling my eyes. she was condescending towards colin and his job as a family lawyer - focusing on the fact that he handles divorce (cause she simply cannot FATHOM anyone getting divorce, god forbid) despite him constantly reminding her that divorce is just one part of his job. the fact that her parents decided to separate - having nothing to do with her - and she ignores the warning of everyone around her to not get involved and still inserts herself in their relationship and basically manipulates them to get together, parent trap style, at her big old age of twenty-seven just didn't sit right with me. WHO would do that aside from eleven year old twins?
on the other hand, colin seems absolutely perfect. he's patient, understanding, compassionate, thoughtful, and seemingly has no flaws which was just unrealistic. the way he had a raging hard on for her during every conversation, even when she was berating him, was simply unacceptable lol. like boy, GET UP. the man was obsessed and in love with truly which i didn't understand and even now, still don't. also, if i took a shot for every time truly pointed out his moles, i would have to get my stomach pumped.
this was a couple that definitely doesn't last after the epilogue lol.
the dialogue was unbearable at times. the humor, wit and banter felt so forced and was often very cringe. it was trying to be funny, quirky, and flirtatious but it felt so millennial and that's coming from a millennial. it added to the immatureness of the characters and i couldn't take them seriously at all. the pacing was also all over the place. they went from hate to love in a matter of chapters which if done right, can be believable, but not in this case.
overall, this read more like a YA romance than an adult one. the conversations, dialogue, and plot, all felt juvenile. and the way the ending worked out in the most perfect of happily ever after ways?
p l e a s e.