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A review by domesticatedbrat
Weather Girl by Rachel Lynn Solomon
3.0
I really truly wanted to give this book 5 stars. The foreground is promising. The premise, the characters, even the early plot— it’s all high quality. The author uses familiar tropes, themes, and concepts but slips in enough alternative elements that it maintains your attention and your not left feeling you’ve read this 10 times before cloaked in various pastel cartoon covers.
FMC is a ginger, Jewish woman working in media living with mental illness & mommy-issues. MMC is a guarded but polite plus-sized sports media personality (minus the toxic masculinity) & young father. While the handling of the MMC’s body size is fumbling, I’m thankful it is included. Speaking of size, I appreciate that he does not have an ‘unprecedented’ monster penis like many other male leads in the genre. Nearly all of the characters are well developed & defined and, to top it off, they’re all nuanced! The early plot points are intriguing. The numerous awkward & intimate situations cultivate tension that gives way to heartwarming moments that will MELT you. This is a romcom essential. It starts off so, so well.
As someone with bipolar disorder, I appreciated the exploration of unlearning generational patterns of mental illness, striving not to cower in the shadows of those who made you, both through nature and nurture. This is executed well, for the most part, especially within the bounds of her relationship with her mother. However, I think her conclusions of how it impacts her relationship & future with Russell leave a lot to be desired. In fact, this misstep is the downfall of the whole story, for me.
This book was (nearly) ruined in the final conflict. The whole situation was jarring and completely random, in my mind. It invalidated a lot of the character building that had been done and it felt rushed and sloppy. The behavior of the main characters, especially Ari, in these moments is bizarre and inconsistent. Even the resolution follows similar patterns of feeling undeveloped and lazy. The conclusion was sweet but I still had a bitter taste in my mouth from the whole affair. It may have taken an extra 50-100 pages and some extensive rewriting to execute this final conflict well but it would’ve been worth it— because the book would’ve been absolutely a must-read. However, I’m left feeling pretty majorly unsatisfied and reluctant to recommend the book knowing it’ll likely leave much to be desired for others as well.
FMC is a ginger, Jewish woman working in media living with mental illness & mommy-issues. MMC is a guarded but polite plus-sized sports media personality (minus the toxic masculinity) & young father. While the handling of the MMC’s body size is fumbling, I’m thankful it is included. Speaking of size, I appreciate that he does not have an ‘unprecedented’ monster penis like many other male leads in the genre. Nearly all of the characters are well developed & defined and, to top it off, they’re all nuanced! The early plot points are intriguing. The numerous awkward & intimate situations cultivate tension that gives way to heartwarming moments that will MELT you. This is a romcom essential. It starts off so, so well.
As someone with bipolar disorder, I appreciated the exploration of unlearning generational patterns of mental illness, striving not to cower in the shadows of those who made you, both through nature and nurture. This is executed well, for the most part, especially within the bounds of her relationship with her mother. However, I think her conclusions of how it impacts her relationship & future with Russell leave a lot to be desired. In fact, this misstep is the downfall of the whole story, for me.
This book was (nearly) ruined in the final conflict. The whole situation was jarring and completely random, in my mind. It invalidated a lot of the character building that had been done and it felt rushed and sloppy. The behavior of the main characters, especially Ari, in these moments is bizarre and inconsistent. Even the resolution follows similar patterns of feeling undeveloped and lazy. The conclusion was sweet but I still had a bitter taste in my mouth from the whole affair. It may have taken an extra 50-100 pages and some extensive rewriting to execute this final conflict well but it would’ve been worth it— because the book would’ve been absolutely a must-read. However, I’m left feeling pretty majorly unsatisfied and reluctant to recommend the book knowing it’ll likely leave much to be desired for others as well.