A review by katherineharnisch
The Sweetest Revenge by Lizzy Dent

funny lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

 
This was a decent romcom binge! I read the entire book in a day. 
 
I found I really liked a lot of the side characters (Jake’s mom, Amy’s dad, Amy’s friend Maggie—even the landlord). I also found a lot of Amy’s actions relatable. Going to the grocery store and buying one frozen meal and a bottle of wine? Been there. Doing that so often the cashier knows who you are? Also been there. Buying a kiddie pool to cool off in the summer because there’s no real pool available to you? I have one sitting in my backyard as I write this. 
 
Though I enjoyed some of the character of Amy, sometimes I felt like we didn’t truly know her. I felt there was a lot of telling us how she felt, when she didn’t really show that feeling herself. It wasn’t until over halfway through the book she had any sort of real conversation with any of her family members, which didn’t feel right to me when she kept telling Jake she missed them. As readers, we didn’t understand why she didn’t just pick up the phone (except that she felt shame, which was mentioned altogether too many times to mean anything). Her family obviously likes her and wants to keep in contact with her, and it felt more like she was ignoring them for spite than anything else. 
 
I also felt like we didn’t fully understand Amy’s motivations when she literally took credit for Jake’s work on the script. She said it was because she was thinking of Jake and was doing it for both of them, but it felt very sketchy. And she knew it was sketchy and still did it. It just didn’t seem like a proper explanation, when up until that point we thought she did it out of spite against Chris.  
 
I felt this book was a bit longer than it needed to be, and the plot seemed to drag on and on. It was still a good binge, and I would recommend if you’re looking for a comedic summer read! 

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.