Take a photo of a barcode or cover
1sttimereader 's review for:
Barely Even Friends
by Mae Bennett
This was a difficult book to review - and a difficult one to get through.
I enjoyed the plus size representation and I actually thought the steamy scenes were written really well.
I enjoyed the character writing in most of the second half of this book, however, I came close to DNF’ing it at least 3 times in the first half and if I wasn’t planning on reviewing it, I probably would have done so.
The snarky, juvenile “banter” of the first half didn’t work for me - I found Bellamy’s friends really annoying, the constant “growling” by Oliver exaggerated to the point of being ridiculous and Bellamy’s unprofessional attitude a bit too annoying. I also felt the Beauty and the Beast retellings which work well are usually subtle in their adaptations, and this was not subtle at all - it felt like I was reading a Modern AU fan fiction of the original story.
It is difficult - because in the second half, both of them actually start acting like complicated people, with motivations, feelings and consideration of one another and I wish more of the book was like that. That part had so much potential.
I would recommend this to readers who don’t mind a “contemporary romance enemies to lovers” and the type of “banter” which comes with it, but if you are tired of this in your romance, this may be a skip for you.
I appreciate this a debut novel and based on the acknowledgements, the author seems like a really sweet person - I hope we get the chance of seeing more books from them and see their writing grow even better with their next book.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
I enjoyed the plus size representation and I actually thought the steamy scenes were written really well.
I enjoyed the character writing in most of the second half of this book, however, I came close to DNF’ing it at least 3 times in the first half and if I wasn’t planning on reviewing it, I probably would have done so.
The snarky, juvenile “banter” of the first half didn’t work for me - I found Bellamy’s friends really annoying, the constant “growling” by Oliver exaggerated to the point of being ridiculous and Bellamy’s unprofessional attitude a bit too annoying. I also felt the Beauty and the Beast retellings which work well are usually subtle in their adaptations, and this was not subtle at all - it felt like I was reading a Modern AU fan fiction of the original story.
It is difficult - because in the second half, both of them actually start acting like complicated people, with motivations, feelings and consideration of one another and I wish more of the book was like that. That part had so much potential.
I would recommend this to readers who don’t mind a “contemporary romance enemies to lovers” and the type of “banter” which comes with it, but if you are tired of this in your romance, this may be a skip for you.
I appreciate this a debut novel and based on the acknowledgements, the author seems like a really sweet person - I hope we get the chance of seeing more books from them and see their writing grow even better with their next book.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.