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A review by chirson
So Sweet by Rebekah Weatherspoon
2.0
I'm finding it difficult to be very coherent in my response to this novel, but I do want to put in my two cents, so forgive me the chaos below.
I feel like I'm not getting something. Much like in Alisha Rai's case, I heard good things about this novel, but other than having a somewhat original premise and reasonably well-written sex scenes (they did nothing for me, but seemed mostly alright? and I appreciated the focus on manual stimulation, especially since I suppose it would make sense for a bisexual protagonist) it felt like a draft rather than a finished product. And I don't only mean the typos, of which there were more than I'd consider acceptable even for a self-published book or serious fanfiction (missing verbs, missing endings, the like). There are some moments that are supposed to be humorous that only made me cringe or broke my suspension of disbelief, and sometimes the narrator becomes unnecessarily vague (he did something with the condom, probably, I don't know). More importantly, the connection between the protagonists felt only sketched (or worse yet, we're told-told-told instead of shown that it exists; and really, they seemed less-than-believable in how often, early and in detail they discuss what they feel, want and think. The real issues they might have didn't quite make an appearance. And the background characters had no life beyond being sketches, some of them present only for the time needed to tell us exactly how diverse they are, or worse yet, becoming cringe-inducing: the roommate / best friend of the protagonist, the gay personal assistant who is much too involved in his boss's sex life not to break my suspension of disbelief. The characters' reaction frequently come off as plot-convenient rather than believable, and then there was the sudden appearance of a whole bevy of fake celebrities. And I suppose all of these ingredients could theoretically work, but they just weren't written well enough to do so. Something about it all didn't click.
I can tell that the author enjoys writing about a heroine that is not typical romance fare, and that's what made parts of the novel almost fun to read. But I must admit that instead of focusing on that which was supposed to make the heroine likeable (her personality, self-confidence, girl-next-door imperfections) I couldn't help cringing at the idea that she actually is in anything like a desperate situation. (Seriously, cry me a river and downsize the apartment and the car first. You're 24 at a relatively recent well-paying but not necessarily secure job - why would you have bought a new car? - well, I think she's paying installments, but still. Maybe it's a cultural thing that this Central European can't get, like the idea that siblings have to have separate rooms practically since day 1.) And the attitudes to sex work are all over the place. The messages we get from the protagonist are basically: that she's totally okay with it, but also doesn't want to do it, but wants to be supported / kept by a guy potentially, but also doesn't want to rely on a guy and wants to support herself. And it's absolutely fine to do sex work and to aspire to being a housewife as long as it's not done in a gold-diggery way. And then there's the final message in the characterisation of Kayla's roommate.
At the end of the day what we get is: it's fine to get money for sex but only if you like banging the guy. Because then it's, yes, you guessed it, so sweet. In short, I think one day Rebekah Weatherspoon may write a good, engrossing romance novel, but that day hasn't come yet.
I feel like I'm not getting something. Much like in Alisha Rai's case, I heard good things about this novel, but other than having a somewhat original premise and reasonably well-written sex scenes (they did nothing for me, but seemed mostly alright? and I appreciated the focus on manual stimulation, especially since I suppose it would make sense for a bisexual protagonist) it felt like a draft rather than a finished product. And I don't only mean the typos, of which there were more than I'd consider acceptable even for a self-published book or serious fanfiction (missing verbs, missing endings, the like). There are some moments that are supposed to be humorous that only made me cringe or broke my suspension of disbelief, and sometimes the narrator becomes unnecessarily vague (he did something with the condom, probably, I don't know). More importantly, the connection between the protagonists felt only sketched (or worse yet, we're told-told-told instead of shown that it exists; and really, they seemed less-than-believable in how often, early and in detail they discuss what they feel, want and think. The real issues they might have didn't quite make an appearance. And the background characters had no life beyond being sketches, some of them present only for the time needed to tell us exactly how diverse they are, or worse yet, becoming cringe-inducing: the roommate / best friend of the protagonist
Spoiler
who we never see be all that nice at all, and who turns out to actually be an evil gold-diggerI can tell that the author enjoys writing about a heroine that is not typical romance fare, and that's what made parts of the novel almost fun to read. But I must admit that instead of focusing on that which was supposed to make the heroine likeable (her personality, self-confidence, girl-next-door imperfections) I couldn't help cringing at the idea that she actually is in anything like a desperate situation. (Seriously, cry me a river and downsize the apartment and the car first. You're 24 at a relatively recent well-paying but not necessarily secure job - why would you have bought a new car? - well, I think she's paying installments, but still. Maybe it's a cultural thing that this Central European can't get, like the idea that siblings have to have separate rooms practically since day 1.) And the attitudes to sex work are all over the place. The messages we get from the protagonist are basically: that she's totally okay with it, but also doesn't want to do it, but wants to be supported / kept by a guy potentially, but also doesn't want to rely on a guy and wants to support herself. And it's absolutely fine to do sex work and to aspire to being a housewife as long as it's not done in a gold-diggery way. And then there's the final message in the characterisation of Kayla's roommate.
Spoiler
I don't think it makes sense for the novel to claim to be so sex work-positive and then to have the one character who actually does real sex work turn out to be twirl-her-mustache, try-to-mooch-off-you, touch-your-boyfriend's-penis-without-consent ~evil~.At the end of the day what we get is: it's fine to get money for sex but only if you like banging the guy. Because then it's, yes, you guessed it, so sweet. In short, I think one day Rebekah Weatherspoon may write a good, engrossing romance novel, but that day hasn't come yet.