You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
beate251 's review for:
Take a Chance on Me
by Emily Houghton
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK, Transworld for an ARC in return for an honest review.
Olivia and Jacob have a chance encounter in Delhi where both ended up for various reasons - overly organised Olivia got the trip as a gift from her dead sister, whereas happy-go-lucky Jacob threw dice to decide on his next destination.
I find this book hard to review. It's easy to read and it feels like we know what we're getting, what with two people very much the opposite in character learning to get along because they keep running into each other and have an attraction. But I found both characters faintly ridiculous - neither Olivia's overplanning nor Jacob's dice throwing felt entirely normal. I enjoyed the Eat, Pray, Love-esque travelogue of India but I didn't need all that grief from Olivia about her dead sister who seemed to have had cancer for decades, nor did I appreciate the twist at the end. I felt like it came on too suddenly and was resolved too quickly.
There were a lot of things that irritated me - who gets signed off by a doctor for three months due to a breakdown at work and very coincidentally has a gifted three month holiday lined up? Can you even go on holiday if you're signed off sick with stress? Why would you go to the madhouse that is India instead of recuperating at home? Why would Jacob disappear for five years and not even contact his mother? That's cruel and childish, regardless of the reason we get at the end.
I looked over the content warnings for the books I have reviewed lately, and most had "grief" in there. Why is there so much grief in bookland right now? Is a story felt not to be deep enough without some sort of trauma?
I was expecting and hoping for a simple opposites attract story in colourful India with sunsets and nice food but this ultimately wasn't for me. In this case less might have been more. I would have liked a clearer cut ending as well. The cover's pretty though.
Olivia and Jacob have a chance encounter in Delhi where both ended up for various reasons - overly organised Olivia got the trip as a gift from her dead sister, whereas happy-go-lucky Jacob threw dice to decide on his next destination.
I find this book hard to review. It's easy to read and it feels like we know what we're getting, what with two people very much the opposite in character learning to get along because they keep running into each other and have an attraction. But I found both characters faintly ridiculous - neither Olivia's overplanning nor Jacob's dice throwing felt entirely normal. I enjoyed the Eat, Pray, Love-esque travelogue of India but I didn't need all that grief from Olivia about her dead sister who seemed to have had cancer for decades, nor did I appreciate the twist at the end. I felt like it came on too suddenly and was resolved too quickly.
There were a lot of things that irritated me - who gets signed off by a doctor for three months due to a breakdown at work and very coincidentally has a gifted three month holiday lined up? Can you even go on holiday if you're signed off sick with stress? Why would you go to the madhouse that is India instead of recuperating at home? Why would Jacob disappear for five years and not even contact his mother? That's cruel and childish, regardless of the reason we get at the end.
I looked over the content warnings for the books I have reviewed lately, and most had "grief" in there. Why is there so much grief in bookland right now? Is a story felt not to be deep enough without some sort of trauma?
I was expecting and hoping for a simple opposites attract story in colourful India with sunsets and nice food but this ultimately wasn't for me. In this case less might have been more. I would have liked a clearer cut ending as well. The cover's pretty though.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Terminal illness, Medical content, Grief