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A review by startled_raccoon
Stand and Defend by Sloane St. James
Did not finish book. Stopped at 60%.
<b>DNF @60%</b>
Ooh boy! I had high expectations but this ended up being the 1st DNF of 2024. There were a few things I wish were handled differently but in any case I was bored out of my mind.
I've come to realise that some books are more tropes than plot and it doesn't work for me. There's also way too much focus on how the person looks and how that affects the other one. I don't mind physical descriptions, but they can't be the pillars of a relationship. Keep them vague and let the 2 characters connect through shared experiences.
The other thing that bothered me was how the abusive relationship was handled. Now, it's for the author to decide how serious the tone of the writing would be and I have no issues with that. But you can't just devote a considerable amount of time to an abusive partner and not show the emotional and physical ramifications on the victim. What annoyed me more was that the scenes depicting the abuse(both physical and mental) were descriptive and yet, Jordana's reaction (not during, but later on) was massively disproportionate. Camden stresses on her need for safety and regaining her freedom but Jordana treats it almost like a bad breakup rather than what it was- an abusive relationship.
I couldn't connect with either of the main characters and hence, I didn't care what was happening with these people. The constant push and pull of -'Oh I don't like him' 'no wait I do' 'no but I can't, we're just friends who fuck'- grated on my nerves. Well, on to the next one.
Ooh boy! I had high expectations but this ended up being the 1st DNF of 2024. There were a few things I wish were handled differently but in any case I was bored out of my mind.
I've come to realise that some books are more tropes than plot and it doesn't work for me. There's also way too much focus on how the person looks and how that affects the other one. I don't mind physical descriptions, but they can't be the pillars of a relationship. Keep them vague and let the 2 characters connect through shared experiences.
The other thing that bothered me was how the abusive relationship was handled. Now, it's for the author to decide how serious the tone of the writing would be and I have no issues with that. But you can't just devote a considerable amount of time to an abusive partner and not show the emotional and physical ramifications on the victim. What annoyed me more was that the scenes depicting the abuse(both physical and mental) were descriptive and yet, Jordana's reaction (not during, but later on) was massively disproportionate. Camden stresses on her need for safety and regaining her freedom but Jordana treats it almost like a bad breakup rather than what it was- an abusive relationship.
I couldn't connect with either of the main characters and hence, I didn't care what was happening with these people. The constant push and pull of -'Oh I don't like him' 'no wait I do' 'no but I can't, we're just friends who fuck'- grated on my nerves. Well, on to the next one.