Scan barcode
A review by banrions
The Love Project by T.B. Markinson, Miranda MacLeod
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
i enjoyed this one, but i didn't love it. i was wavering on a rating and almost landed on a 3 star, but i loved the character hope so much that she gets a star all on her own, so, 4 stars but a little bit more in the 3.5/3.75 range, for me.
this was a really fun, if not entirely believable, story. i thought hope and everything that surrounded her arc, her demisexuality, and her falling for joanie was really well done. i really liked kim, joanie's friend, and a therapist helping with the webseries, and honestly i wish we'd gotten to see a little bit more of her. hope's family were fun in the glimpse that we got of them, and joanie's parents made for an interesting and well apprecaited rounding out of the cast. it was joanie's character that i didn't connect with quite as much. attraction and jealousy aren't really things we can help as human beings, they're emotions that kinda just hit us and we have to deal with them, but how we deal with them, we can control, and i didn't love some of joanie's internal monologue and behavior around her feelings for hope all the time. for someone who didn't believe in love, she sure as hell got possesive real fast. some of the ways she talked/thought about hope rubbed me the wrong way a little. hope being a little oblivious and literal didn't make her a child, and joanie going all "protective" often annoyed me. (especially with all the stuff during the dance night and sam). like, again, i get it, emotions are hard and stuff, but her reaction was annoying. this is also possibly a YMMV situation and it might have rubbed me the wrong way more than it will someone else. i did think once she learned about hope's demisexuality, she was really respectful and did a great job checking in with her and stuff, and i certainly didn't hate her as a character, she just wasn't my cup of tea for the most part.
some of the narrative arc around the column and the webseries made me roll my eyes the slightest bit, though it wasn't entirely unbelievable, just a little embellished for the story, i felt. which is fine! i'm not reading romance novels for realism, believe it or not. despite reading a ton of them, and enjoying them, iiiii am kinda more in the Early In the Book Joanie's view on love and relationships, tbh. my parents own relationship mirrors joanie's in a sense, except it's not cute or sweet, it's kind of a bummer, actually. so i'm cool with the fantasy of it all. that's actually what i'm here for lol.
hope was such a delight that i'd recomend this for her alone, but i genuinely think this is a fun sweet one and i love that there is more asexuality representation happening in romance lately. i'd love to see even more. characters like hope are really needed, and really appreciated. she made this novel, for me.
this was a really fun, if not entirely believable, story. i thought hope and everything that surrounded her arc, her demisexuality, and her falling for joanie was really well done. i really liked kim, joanie's friend, and a therapist helping with the webseries, and honestly i wish we'd gotten to see a little bit more of her. hope's family were fun in the glimpse that we got of them, and joanie's parents made for an interesting and well apprecaited rounding out of the cast. it was joanie's character that i didn't connect with quite as much. attraction and jealousy aren't really things we can help as human beings, they're emotions that kinda just hit us and we have to deal with them, but how we deal with them, we can control, and i didn't love some of joanie's internal monologue and behavior around her feelings for hope all the time. for someone who didn't believe in love, she sure as hell got possesive real fast. some of the ways she talked/thought about hope rubbed me the wrong way a little. hope being a little oblivious and literal didn't make her a child, and joanie going all "protective" often annoyed me. (especially with all the stuff during the dance night and sam). like, again, i get it, emotions are hard and stuff, but her reaction was annoying. this is also possibly a YMMV situation and it might have rubbed me the wrong way more than it will someone else. i did think once she learned about hope's demisexuality, she was really respectful and did a great job checking in with her and stuff, and i certainly didn't hate her as a character, she just wasn't my cup of tea for the most part.
some of the narrative arc around the column and the webseries made me roll my eyes the slightest bit, though it wasn't entirely unbelievable, just a little embellished for the story, i felt. which is fine! i'm not reading romance novels for realism, believe it or not. despite reading a ton of them, and enjoying them, iiiii am kinda more in the Early In the Book Joanie's view on love and relationships, tbh. my parents own relationship mirrors joanie's in a sense, except it's not cute or sweet, it's kind of a bummer, actually. so i'm cool with the fantasy of it all. that's actually what i'm here for lol.
hope was such a delight that i'd recomend this for her alone, but i genuinely think this is a fun sweet one and i love that there is more asexuality representation happening in romance lately. i'd love to see even more. characters like hope are really needed, and really appreciated. she made this novel, for me.