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A review by kbrownreads
Side Effects May Vary by Julie Murphy
3.0
Ending not what I expected. Book just didn't do it for me and i was really disappointed. This is my first book by her.In this book I never really connected with any of the characters, I just didn't like any of them. I thought Harvey was an idiot in love, and I thought Alice was heartless and cold. Alice's father never really showed up in the book and her mother cheated on her father before Alice got cancer. Natalie may have just been my favorite character because of some intangible quality she had, that nobody else did. I don't know what it was, but I liked Natalie. (by the way, Natalie is Harvey's mother).
The style of the book was fantastic. I really liked the now and then way she wrote the book. I've seen the then and now done terribly in very many books but Murphy did it perfectly. Every piece of memory came perfectly in time with the present. It explained every action, and even when I din't like it, I knew why. Murphy also did a double perspective book. (Is that what it's called?) She did that very well too. The only other time I've seen this tricky type of writing done right was in [b:Two-Way Street|1672727|Two-Way Street|Lauren Barnholdt|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1381750633s/1672727.jpg|1667738]. And man, did I love that book.
Harvey ruined this book for me because he was such a wimp. SO hopelessly in love with Alice, he knew she was using him and didn't even care. Yet, for some reason I kept reading because I just needed to know that Harvey was okay. Overall, I'm a little disappointed in this book by Julie Murphy, but she still wrote the kind of book I couldn't put down and that is a major accomplishment.I can't wait for the next one.
ADDED NOTE
I have since read some other reviews and have come to understand that I'm not meant to like Alice and Harvey.I'm glad because I hated them both
The style of the book was fantastic. I really liked the now and then way she wrote the book. I've seen the then and now done terribly in very many books but Murphy did it perfectly. Every piece of memory came perfectly in time with the present. It explained every action, and even when I din't like it, I knew why. Murphy also did a double perspective book. (Is that what it's called?) She did that very well too. The only other time I've seen this tricky type of writing done right was in [b:Two-Way Street|1672727|Two-Way Street|Lauren Barnholdt|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1381750633s/1672727.jpg|1667738]. And man, did I love that book.
Harvey ruined this book for me because he was such a wimp. SO hopelessly in love with Alice, he knew she was using him and didn't even care. Yet, for some reason I kept reading because I just needed to know that Harvey was okay. Overall, I'm a little disappointed in this book by Julie Murphy, but she still wrote the kind of book I couldn't put down and that is a major accomplishment.I can't wait for the next one.
ADDED NOTE
I have since read some other reviews and have come to understand that I'm not meant to like Alice and Harvey.I'm glad because I hated them both