Scan barcode
A review by lillimoore
It's Been a Pleasure, Noni Blake by Claire Christian
4.0
3.5 stars. I loved this romance more than I anticipated I would and especially found Noni's internal monologue remarkably well-written and so deeply relatable. I also loved the bi representation in this novel and that it had a sharp sense of humor. Noni has a wonderful character arc and grows so much throughout the book, but remains lovable throughout. It is a joy to watch her come to the conclusion of her lovability on her own. I also loved Beau and his son, and thought the central romance of this book was adorable and made a lot of sense to me. Beau was such a catalyst for Noni's growth without being her reason to exist and I always think that's great when a romance can accomplish that. He loves her for who she is at the beginning, in the thick of, and in the aftermath of some major personal growth she does. I also cannot review this book without recognizing and commending the wonderful body positivity throughout. It made me feel good about my own body—which I think is probably somewhat similar to Noni's body—and made me think about the truth of its sexiness and worthiness, and I don't have that experience often in reading but I think I ought to seek it out more.
However, I thought it took entirely too long to introduce the central romance. I understand the purpose of this in the grand scheme of things—owning your sexuality and feeling free to do what you want with it is a central theme at least during the beginning of Noni's pleasure quest—but I thought the pacing of the first half of the book did not at all compliment the pacing of the second half and so I wish it were somewhat reorganized. I also tend to automatically dismiss stories of lavish, life-changing trips around the world because it just feels so unrealistic to me. I get it, it's an adventure, but I do like a little more reality in most of my stories unless of course it is sci-fi or fantasy, which this book is not. That's not a fault of the book itself, but just where some of the disconnect comes in for me. All in all this was lovely, if at times a bit slow, and a definite recommendation to take along in your tote bag to any trip to the beach or pool this summer!
However, I thought it took entirely too long to introduce the central romance. I understand the purpose of this in the grand scheme of things—owning your sexuality and feeling free to do what you want with it is a central theme at least during the beginning of Noni's pleasure quest—but I thought the pacing of the first half of the book did not at all compliment the pacing of the second half and so I wish it were somewhat reorganized. I also tend to automatically dismiss stories of lavish, life-changing trips around the world because it just feels so unrealistic to me. I get it, it's an adventure, but I do like a little more reality in most of my stories unless of course it is sci-fi or fantasy, which this book is not. That's not a fault of the book itself, but just where some of the disconnect comes in for me. All in all this was lovely, if at times a bit slow, and a definite recommendation to take along in your tote bag to any trip to the beach or pool this summer!