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A review by reahbee
Idle Bloom by Jewel E. Ann
1.0
Listen. I absolutely love JEA. I look forward to all her new releases, and several of her books are all-time favorites…hence a dive into her extensive backlist of books - which, for the most part, has been great. I just can’t in good conscience NOT tell people to skip this one. I should have, but I paid real money for it so I read the whole damn thing so you don’t have to.
First of all, there is no way this book ever saw an editor. None. I get that edits are expensive, but really, even a cursory proofread would have been helpful for the many misspellings and run-on sentences. So that’s the tip of the iceberg.
Within a few chapters, I found myself checking the publication date and was surprised that it didn’t come out 20+ years ago, as there were many moments that made it seem “of a time.” And I’ll leave that…at that.
There were so many bizarre situations that made me feel like I was reading someone else’s weird dream, not least of which when Vivian and Oliver are shouting embarrassing, deeply personal things to one-up each other in front of his parents who are just like “lol so cute.” Oliver was way too comfortable having sex near his brother, and his brother was way too comfortable making his presence known when he caught them. Every time they were in a sexual situation (which was almost constantly), I braced myself for an interruption from a friend or family member. And the foot scene in the Dunkin Donuts? May have ruined Dunkin Donuts for me. And that’s saying something.
And now for the REAL reason I loathed this book: Oliver. He went through a horrible trauma, yes, but his wife carried an exponentially worse burden and all he could do was think about how much he hates her and wants her to die? I get needing to leave and heal but damn. I quickly got tired of him AND HIS ENTIRE FAMILY AND GIRLFRIEND acting like he was the sole victim of this tragedy. Therefore, I gradually lost all sympathy for his character and did not want him to find happiness. Frankly, Vivian deserved better. He acted as if Caroline committed violence on her own volition rather than from postpartum psychosis? And it’s not like he wasn’t aware of that. His mom and Viv just said what he already knew, and he was like “oh yeah” and visited his wife, who was a shell of a human being at this point, because OF COURSE, and said he forgave her. Excuse me, for what?! He could have at least devoted some energy to promote healthcare reform or better support for new mothers. What was even the point of him being a lawyer? Do something useful with yourself for once, dude!
Maybe this book suffers from the misfortune of my reading it in 2023 in light of the Lindsay Clancy case, but I’m pretty sure I still would’ve hated it, and I genuinely think anyone who’s suffered from a postpartum disorder should steer clear of it.
Also, were they simply unaware that vasectomies can be reversed? I dunno. Anyway. I’m still going to continue making my way through her books, because I think this was a one-off, and when they’re good, they’re good.
First of all, there is no way this book ever saw an editor. None. I get that edits are expensive, but really, even a cursory proofread would have been helpful for the many misspellings and run-on sentences. So that’s the tip of the iceberg.
Within a few chapters, I found myself checking the publication date and was surprised that it didn’t come out 20+ years ago, as there were many moments that made it seem “of a time.” And I’ll leave that…at that.
There were so many bizarre situations that made me feel like I was reading someone else’s weird dream, not least of which when Vivian and Oliver are shouting embarrassing, deeply personal things to one-up each other in front of his parents who are just like “lol so cute.” Oliver was way too comfortable having sex near his brother, and his brother was way too comfortable making his presence known when he caught them. Every time they were in a sexual situation (which was almost constantly), I braced myself for an interruption from a friend or family member. And the foot scene in the Dunkin Donuts? May have ruined Dunkin Donuts for me. And that’s saying something.
And now for the REAL reason I loathed this book: Oliver. He went through a horrible trauma, yes, but his wife carried an exponentially worse burden and all he could do was think about how much he hates her and wants her to die? I get needing to leave and heal but damn. I quickly got tired of him AND HIS ENTIRE FAMILY AND GIRLFRIEND acting like he was the sole victim of this tragedy. Therefore, I gradually lost all sympathy for his character and did not want him to find happiness. Frankly, Vivian deserved better. He acted as if Caroline committed violence on her own volition rather than from postpartum psychosis? And it’s not like he wasn’t aware of that. His mom and Viv just said what he already knew, and he was like “oh yeah” and visited his wife, who was a shell of a human being at this point, because OF COURSE, and said he forgave her. Excuse me, for what?! He could have at least devoted some energy to promote healthcare reform or better support for new mothers. What was even the point of him being a lawyer? Do something useful with yourself for once, dude!
Maybe this book suffers from the misfortune of my reading it in 2023 in light of the Lindsay Clancy case, but I’m pretty sure I still would’ve hated it, and I genuinely think anyone who’s suffered from a postpartum disorder should steer clear of it.
Also, were they simply unaware that vasectomies can be reversed? I dunno. Anyway. I’m still going to continue making my way through her books, because I think this was a one-off, and when they’re good, they’re good.