A review by krisglomb
Not for the Faint of Heart by Lex Croucher

Did not finish book. Stopped at 51%.

The characters aren’t coming to life in the same way as in Gwen and Art. It causes the book to feel needlessly long. We got a lot of backstory on many of these characters, and while it impacted the characters as individuals, it didn’t seem to play a role in the plot or even their relationships. When so much time is spent exploring a character’s identity, you want to see that in their motivations, words, and actions. Instead we have a lot of black and white good guys and bad guys with the good guys being the only ones graced with a characterization beyond basic traits. 

I’m also let down by the lack of fun this book seems to have. Outside of a couple side characters making comments occasionally, this book is less hijinks in the woods and more organized militia trying to prove itself. The group takes itself too seriously and instead of the story making fun of that notion or providing serious plot points that build toward a greater mission, instead it feels like a string of events that teach the characters basic moral lessons but are things the reader would already know and assume the characters would know based on previous actions by them. 

I really loved Gwen and Art (it’s still the only romcom that I’ve given 5 stars) but the way the characters worked off each other to grow and change and the comedy of their interactions is not in this book at all. It ended up being a disappointing read.