Scan barcode
A review by inuyasha
Here for the Wrong Reasons by Lydia Wang, Annabel Paulsen
1.0
i have no idea why romance books do such insane heavy handed product placements. at least with movie/tv shows it's like ok get ur money i guess!! and usually the advertisement in place is diet coke. romance books are always like She filled up her Hydra Flask (tm), then bounced downstairs in her Halara Exercise Dress (tm), her Airpods (tm) blasting (insert outdated top ten charter from 3 years ago when this book was likely first drafted). like.... for what reason? it's always microtrend-y bullshit (the girls have moved onto stanley cups and owalas now!) that dates the book horrifically and also isn't even necessary? can we not say water bottle? WHY DO YOU NEED TO REFERENCE RACHEL PLATTEN'S FIGHT SONG MADE FAMOUS THROUGH HILARY CLINTON'S 2016 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN IN THIS SO MUCH?
okay. anyway. also? not to get offensive with it bc i know this was written by two women literally dating but the lesbianism in this book felt so............. well, rudimentary, really. i thought the comphet and repression was semi-interesting but everything else felt weirdly male gaze-y in a way i didn't understand. the sex scenes were written like someone who was informed of lesbian sex via porn, the way the attraction was described between the two leads was so bizarre (they only ever referred to each other as pretty which is such a straight girl way of flirting LMFAO. multiple times they describe the feelings between themselves as like the "best parts of having a sleepover" which is insane. i don't know. maybe my experience with lesbianism is just too far removed from fem4fem-isms that think victorias secret models are sexy and get off on the idea of swapping lipstick.
the pacing of this was also just bizarreeeeee why would two women (one of which has never ever been with a woman or considered it and is highly repressed) have their first kiss be an almost hook up and then straight up fuck the next chapter without like any pretense of being friends or getting along before this? it was odd!! the setting is a fun concept but the over explanation of the reality show mechanics made for a clunky read too, and they did not even bother to make the man in this somewhat interesting, which was maybe the point but could they have at least made him uninteresting in a funny way?
tl;dr didn't even really feel like a romance bc the characters had no individual voices and barely any build up
okay. anyway. also? not to get offensive with it bc i know this was written by two women literally dating but the lesbianism in this book felt so............. well, rudimentary, really. i thought the comphet and repression was semi-interesting but everything else felt weirdly male gaze-y in a way i didn't understand. the sex scenes were written like someone who was informed of lesbian sex via porn, the way the attraction was described between the two leads was so bizarre (they only ever referred to each other as pretty which is such a straight girl way of flirting LMFAO. multiple times they describe the feelings between themselves as like the "best parts of having a sleepover" which is insane. i don't know. maybe my experience with lesbianism is just too far removed from fem4fem-isms that think victorias secret models are sexy and get off on the idea of swapping lipstick.
the pacing of this was also just bizarreeeeee why would two women (one of which has never ever been with a woman or considered it and is highly repressed) have their first kiss be an almost hook up and then straight up fuck the next chapter without like any pretense of being friends or getting along before this? it was odd!! the setting is a fun concept but the over explanation of the reality show mechanics made for a clunky read too, and they did not even bother to make the man in this somewhat interesting, which was maybe the point but could they have at least made him uninteresting in a funny way?
tl;dr didn't even really feel like a romance bc the characters had no individual voices and barely any build up