eriniese 's review for:

Cover Story by Celia Laskey

1.5

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that half-star goes out to glen ♡

as the #1 sexuality speculator i wanted to like this sooo much. the dedication made me want to die, but it went downhill from there.

someone said that this book is giving the “solo polyamorous hijabi amputee” and i actually had the same thought while reading lol my problem is that it tries to tackle on so many issues, quite literally anything you can think of, but it goes about it in a way so superficial that it just seems pointless, ridiculous, and - above all - very weird.

i don't know why ali and cara are together, and at the end

when they broke up, i was hoping so much that they would not get back together

. firstly, they have no chemistry. we're not shown any build-up towards their relationship. we're just told they talk about this and that and they like this and that and then they're together. i mean, okay. but ali clearly has a very unhealthy attachment style. everything in her life had been about natalie before, and then everything became about cara. there was nothing of her aside from her maladies and a truly insane past. like, oh my god, how many problems can one person have. i just wanted to tell her that she should go seek a very good therapist instead of getting into a relationship.

i also didn't like:
a)

when cara broke into ali's laptop to read her stories without her permission. ali agreed it was the most uncomfortable invasion of privacy and breach of trust, but cara said the stories were good so it was all forgotten. like, what?

b)

when ali revealed that she was really traumatized by sex because she felt forced to have sex with men and then cara said "that's really sad, sounds like you should be making up for lost time [of not having lesbian sex] by coming to my room [to have sex]"

. like what the fuck.
c) aside from the relationship, this weird "there's no crime in japan japan is such a wonderful place a heaven on earth women can walk around safely at night there's collectivism everyone is responsible" all because... they don't litter.. like what 😭
d)

that ali made a weird, spontaneous decision to cause a coming-out revolution in hollywood and wanted to lie - and lied - to her clients, telling them they should come out because others have agreed to come out, even though they haven't.

like, am i the only one who thinks this is weird?
e) the way ali is so annoyed about cara liking being famous and giving attention to fans is so strange. like you are the one dating a celebrity who has been, since the very beginning, obsessed with the idea of being famous and successful to the point she'd win an oscar. weird.
f) ali pushes cara into the closet because it's going to ruin her career and then

demands that cara ruins her career for what's basically a few months old relationship, all because she's uncomfortable with the plan SHE came up with. all because she's jealous and can't understand that it's not an easy or safe thing to do. also, she wasn't insisting on the coming-out for cara's well-being, but out of her own selfishness, which just makes me want to punch her in the face.

g) the writing was just not good. bland and empty.

very confused by all the people who said this was a fun, light read. i think i am gonna need a therapist now.