Review by partcherry - Problematic Summer Romance

partcherry 's review for:

Problematic Summer Romance by Ali Hazelwood

3.75

funny fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: N/A

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This book has confirmed for me that Ali Hazelwood has placed a curse on me. I was adamant that I was not going to read this book as I am not a big fan of age gaps. Yet I somehow found myself getting this book on loan through Libby…I finished the book to conclude all the drama introduced and I was entertained by the jokes and banter but the age gap was not for me. I’ve read other reviews and the consensus is that it was stated ad nauseam how problematic the age gap was and they were right. Any time I was anticipating any progression between Maya and Conor the age gap was mentioned and it completely took me out of their romance. Like do we actually want them to get together? Also everything about Conor was so contradictory, it was incredibly infuriating. I also think Maya doing all the chasing was on purpose in order to not implicate Conor in any grooming allegations but the lengths Maya went were so ridiculous. The manipulation, the mind games, the jealousy, her begging him for sex. I needed Maya to have a stronger will. I’m not convinced that a relationship between the two of them is healthy. Conor is so concerned for her virtue and the power imbalance between them, his feelings and desire for her just don’t feel justified. If he really didn’t want to have relations with her he wouldn’t have. Like he’s pushing forty and in therapy I would imagine that he’d be more capable of deciding whether being infatuated with an immature 20 year old and pining after her for 3 years is not a great idea. Also the ending was so nothing, like they got engaged…I don’t see them making it to the wedding.

Content Warnings