A review by thebookcoyote
The Hookup Plan by Farrah Rochon

slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

TW/CW: Sex, language, disordered eating, loss of a parent, illness, children’s illness, misogyny 

REVIEW: The Hookup Plan is the story of London Kelly, a pediatric surgeon who at the beginning of the book is in charge of her 15-year High School Reunion. While at the reunion she reconnects and ultimately hooks up with her high school nemesis, Drew Sullivan. It doesn’t seem like a big deal until she finds out at work that next Monday that he will be conducting a financial audit of the hospital where she works, forcing them to spend more time together than she’d ever planned… 
I am not a big fan of this book. Partially it’s because I’m not a fan of contemporary fiction in general (except in a few very specific circumstances) but also because this book definitely has its issues. 
First of all, I don’t think there’s a single time London eats something in this book without mentioning how bad it is for her. It turns out she has pre-hypertension…which doesn’t mean that she has to look at every food and make moral judgements on it. I was just made very, very uncomfortable by this because I don’t like books that seem to think that disordered eating is a good idea. 
Secondly, the way people talk about sex in this book, I’d guess the characters were in middle school. If they’re lucky, high school. Not the adults that they’re obviously supposed to be. The sex talk was literally cringy and I tried to get through those parts as soon as possible. 
Thirdly, there was no tension in this book. You always knew what was going to happen. The conflict that there was felt very forced, and not real. Honestly, I found the book pretty painfully boring and the characters mostly unlikable. (London more than Drew). 
If you are a fan of contemporary romance/fiction maybe you will enjoy this book, but it was not for me.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings