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A review by bethaji
Love, Hate & Clickbait by Liz Bowery
3.0
NB: I listened to the audiobook on audible, so spellings of names might be incorrect!
My first thought when reading this was, why would anyone care? Beyond the beginning where the fake relationship is a stunt to protect their boss following her gaff, I'm so confused as to why the media would care about this relationship between two staffers of a governor. Sure, you might get some stuff online about it but sending out paparazzi, getting recognised in the street and having an online fanbase? It was super far fetched to me which did sour the cute fake dating trope a little. I think it could have been done more carefully and less them suddenly becoming famous.
When you get past that, I enjoyed the build up to the relationship.
I do feel like Thom was an absolute dick to Clay at the beginning. Clay's characterisation as the dumb jock was a bit annoying since he was honestly my favourite character throughout (though I did love Felicia!).
Thom did get better though, he's much less of a bastard towards the end.
Lennie is, of course, a complete manipulative and self-serving bitch. I wish there had been more of a resolution at the end surrounding her and Bash. It felt unfinished in that regard and I'd liked to have seen more of her getting her comeuppance, maybe Clay and Thom coming out against her as whistleblowers as her actions throughout this book are incredibly unethical. Like aside from my enjoyment of the fake dating trope, it is shockingly inappropriate for an employer to do that!
Ultimately it was a fun read, my criticisms aside, I did enjoy the relationship between Clay and Thom, with Thom starting to open up and Clay just being an easygoing guy.
My first thought when reading this was, why would anyone care? Beyond the beginning where the fake relationship is a stunt to protect their boss following her gaff, I'm so confused as to why the media would care about this relationship between two staffers of a governor. Sure, you might get some stuff online about it but sending out paparazzi, getting recognised in the street and having an online fanbase? It was super far fetched to me which did sour the cute fake dating trope a little. I think it could have been done more carefully and less them suddenly becoming famous.
When you get past that, I enjoyed the build up to the relationship.
I do feel like Thom was an absolute dick to Clay at the beginning. Clay's characterisation as the dumb jock was a bit annoying since he was honestly my favourite character throughout (though I did love Felicia!).
Thom did get better though, he's much less of a bastard towards the end.
Spoiler
I liked Thom's realisation of being bisexual, it's always refreshing for these scenes to be chill, it mirrored my own experience (minus the fake dating a guy for work!) so I like that he was more freaked about enjoying a kiss with Clay rather than the fact Clay is a guy.Lennie is, of course, a complete manipulative and self-serving bitch. I wish there had been more of a resolution at the end surrounding her and Bash. It felt unfinished in that regard and I'd liked to have seen more of her getting her comeuppance, maybe Clay and Thom coming out against her as whistleblowers as her actions throughout this book are incredibly unethical. Like aside from my enjoyment of the fake dating trope, it is shockingly inappropriate for an employer to do that!
Ultimately it was a fun read, my criticisms aside, I did enjoy the relationship between Clay and Thom, with Thom starting to open up and Clay just being an easygoing guy.