Scan barcode
A review by laurenmitchell
Not Here to Make Friends by Jodi McAlister
emotional
funny
lighthearted
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I've followed Jodi's fiction career since Valentine, which was in a very different genre—YA fantasy, my beloved—but the quality of her writing and the fact that the Marry Me, Juliet series was billed as a rom-com drama had me tear through the first two books in the series and pre-order Not Here To Make Friends the moment I was able to do so.
I was not disappointed. While each of the prior books were also wild rollercoasters, Not Here To Make Friends took off its seat belt, snapped off the security rail, and stood up in its seat screaming all the way. Everything from the characters' voices to the plot's pacing to the way all the little hints the audience had had from the previous books were not only explained but revealed to be much bigger than at first glance made Not Here To Make Friends a real page-turner. At the same time I wanted to savour it, because—to the best of my knowledge—this is the last installment in the MMJ series. (I'm happy to be wrong, Jodi!) So instead of devouring it in one sitting, I stretched it out over two bubble baths, one train ride, and enjoyed the last few pages of it just now with the rain on the roof (Melbourne is doing summer wrong) and one of the cats trying to help me to read by sitting on the book.
Fans of The Bachelor and similar shows will undoubtedly enjoy this show-in-book-form, because I enjoyed it immensely and my reality TV taste is more on the Masterchef and I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! axis. It's a lot easier to deal with the conniving scumbagginess when it's on the page rather than on the screen, and yet the characters are so well-written you could swear they're real people.Fucking Greg! Never have I ever more wanted to slap a fictional character!
Now someone get Jodi that Bachelor consultant role!
I was not disappointed. While each of the prior books were also wild rollercoasters, Not Here To Make Friends took off its seat belt, snapped off the security rail, and stood up in its seat screaming all the way. Everything from the characters' voices to the plot's pacing to the way all the little hints the audience had had from the previous books were not only explained but revealed to be much bigger than at first glance made Not Here To Make Friends a real page-turner. At the same time I wanted to savour it, because—to the best of my knowledge—this is the last installment in the MMJ series. (I'm happy to be wrong, Jodi!) So instead of devouring it in one sitting, I stretched it out over two bubble baths, one train ride, and enjoyed the last few pages of it just now with the rain on the roof (Melbourne is doing summer wrong) and one of the cats trying to help me to read by sitting on the book.
Fans of The Bachelor and similar shows will undoubtedly enjoy this show-in-book-form, because I enjoyed it immensely and my reality TV taste is more on the Masterchef and I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! axis. It's a lot easier to deal with the conniving scumbagginess when it's on the page rather than on the screen, and yet the characters are so well-written you could swear they're real people.
Now someone get Jodi that Bachelor consultant role!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny, Racism, Grief, and Death
I have tagged these content warnings but would like to assure the reader that the book isn't, for example, glorifying racism. The racists and misogynists get glorious comeuppances that are very satisfying, however, the journey to get there is a tough one. Explicit slurs are avoided and there are more allusions than overt, on-screen incidents, but please be mindful of your triggers.