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A review by luckykosmos
Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I need to just admit to myself that I don't enjoy books about fandom, and that's that. Don't get me wrong, I love fandom and talking about it with my friends. This feels dated, with notes of "I like your shoelaces"/"Thanks, I stole them from the president" - showing off terms for the sake of showing off. It made the prose drag, especially when it got to pegging as a plot point. Teehee, it's funny, we get it, I guess. It was just boring to read.
Moreover, I read this book for the plus size rep, and had to face the sad reality that just because the representation is there doesn't mean it it relatable. I was hoping to read a book about a woman proud of her size, and while the disappointment isn't that she had internalized trauma from this - far from that, because April facing her trauma was one of her most likeable moments - the way it subsumed her personality did make her unlikeable. While I understand the idea because having her cut off Marcus because of a misunderstanding, thinking he was judging her for her weight, the way it was introduced made her come off as paranoid and self-absorbed. I wanted so much to root for her, but the author's constant hammering of "she is fat, therefore she is hated" in an otherwise lighthearted book was a drag. I understand having trust issues as a major character flaw that she needs to work on, but it wasn't a satisfying conclusion.
I'm happy for the people that did relate to this, and I'm happy they got something out of this that I didn't. All that means is there need to be more books about plus size leads - ones where they are celebrated and where they are unabashed about the space they take up, as well as the ones that try to address the trauma. This just wasn't the one for me.
Moreover, I read this book for the plus size rep, and had to face the sad reality that just because the representation is there doesn't mean it it relatable. I was hoping to read a book about a woman proud of her size, and while the disappointment isn't that she had internalized trauma from this - far from that, because April facing her trauma was one of her most likeable moments - the way it subsumed her personality did make her unlikeable. While I understand the idea because having her cut off Marcus because of a misunderstanding, thinking he was judging her for her weight, the way it was introduced made her come off as paranoid and self-absorbed. I wanted so much to root for her, but the author's constant hammering of "she is fat, therefore she is hated" in an otherwise lighthearted book was a drag. I understand having trust issues as a major character flaw that she needs to work on, but it wasn't a satisfying conclusion.
I'm happy for the people that did relate to this, and I'm happy they got something out of this that I didn't. All that means is there need to be more books about plus size leads - ones where they are celebrated and where they are unabashed about the space they take up, as well as the ones that try to address the trauma. This just wasn't the one for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Fatphobia, and Sexual content