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A review by simonlorden
Barely Even Friends by Mae Bennett
3.0
I received an ARC from NetGalley and this is my honest and voluntary review.
A sweet and humorous modern Beauty and the Beast retelling. I liked the body positivity, the concept of Bellamy's job being restoring old houses, and the exploration of Oliver's trauma. I also liked the casual queer rep, like multiple gay and a nonbinary side character. The servants at Oliver's estate were also heartwarming and interesting characters.
But ultimately, I think it kind of missed the mark for me. Bellamy's friends were more annoying than endearing to me, which was a big thing that ruined the enjoyment. The snarky AI was definitely funny, but in a book that otherwise clearly takes place in our present time, his intelligence and humanity was a bit too futuristic and out-of-place.
And the biggest thing is... I don't know, maybe I shouldn't read several contemporary romances in a row, but you know when you're reading along and everything is fine and romantic, and you can just feel the unnecessary third-act drama/breakup coming? Yeah. I recognize that it's a common structural element in romance novels, but I still hate it most of the time, because it just feels kind of forced. This wasn't an exception.
A sweet and humorous modern Beauty and the Beast retelling. I liked the body positivity, the concept of Bellamy's job being restoring old houses, and the exploration of Oliver's trauma. I also liked the casual queer rep, like multiple gay and a nonbinary side character. The servants at Oliver's estate were also heartwarming and interesting characters.
But ultimately, I think it kind of missed the mark for me. Bellamy's friends were more annoying than endearing to me, which was a big thing that ruined the enjoyment. The snarky AI was definitely funny, but in a book that otherwise clearly takes place in our present time, his intelligence and humanity was a bit too futuristic and out-of-place.
And the biggest thing is... I don't know, maybe I shouldn't read several contemporary romances in a row, but you know when you're reading along and everything is fine and romantic, and you can just feel the unnecessary third-act drama/breakup coming? Yeah. I recognize that it's a common structural element in romance novels, but I still hate it most of the time, because it just feels kind of forced. This wasn't an exception.