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A review by salimah
Thank You, Next by Andie J. Christopher
4.0
There's a lot to unpack here. I'll start with what I could have done without: Several reviewers noted how repetitive some of the information is regarding a character's feelings/motivations/details about their life, especially toward the novel's beginning. I did find myself irritated by that, but it wasn't prohibitive. The premise was compelling enough to keep me invested and Alex was a different enough rom-com/romance heroine that I wanted to see her evolution or lack thereof in context. I wasn't sure how I felt about her until halfway through the story.
There can be a fine line between a flawed heroine and an unlikeable one (just as there is for a flawed hero and an insufferable, reductive one). For a while there, Alex's flaws ran right up to that line, but the author managed to write her into relatability territory. Initially, her mission seemed to be one that was completely at odds with her character and more than a little self-absorbed. Even her tension with the hero, initially, felt incredibly petty to me. Her self-awareness about this is what ultimately redeemed her.
The love interest had equally conflicting/seemingly contradictory motivations for his reactions to finding out about her mission and some of his initial behaviors when they interacted. I don't know that I buy that his rejection of her when they were younger would be the root cause of their mutual disdain/tension in the present day. It would have been much more realistic to me if Alex had internalized that rejection and been cold or distant with him, but the almost childish getting of each other's goat when he didn't lose face from that pivotal moment? The enemies to lovers trope felt forced. I believe there would be tension, but all internal and all on Alex's side, not the mutual desire to irritate each other because of it. Luckily, the author seemed to abandon that conceit in order to move her story forward and get her principals on the same page.
Some things/elements I loved:
A hero and heroine that are each ambivalent about the idea of having children/may opt to be child-free (I have never seen this openly discussed in a romance novel and it's refreshing/about time)
A hero and heroine that are both minimalists and aren't shamed for a lack of sentimentality in their design aesthetic (you might be thinking 'What?' Trust me, it's almost always a not-so-subtle point of commentary in this genre, especially, that minimalists are emotionally stunted and not to be trusted)
The representation and discussion of different lived experiences, including sexual orientation, gender, gender non-conformity, race, biracial identity, and attachment styles. Things like this are often addressed in romance novels in a way that can feel preachy/tokenist while also not really feeling very inclusive after all is said and done. This is a romance novel for people who are progressive, have been to therapy and/or who are open to it, and know some of the framing language and ideas.
Although I think a lot of terms like "narcissist," and "avoidant attachment" get used too casually and inaccurately, I found my avoidant attachment self cheering at the author's decision to put two avoidants together and let them work out their trauma with mindful care with each other. They reached some pivotal epiphanies together because they just *get* each other.
I laughed out loud in more than a few places. There were legitimate LOLs.
There can be a fine line between a flawed heroine and an unlikeable one (just as there is for a flawed hero and an insufferable, reductive one). For a while there, Alex's flaws ran right up to that line, but the author managed to write her into relatability territory. Initially, her mission seemed to be one that was completely at odds with her character and more than a little self-absorbed. Even her tension with the hero, initially, felt incredibly petty to me. Her self-awareness about this is what ultimately redeemed her.
The love interest had equally conflicting/seemingly contradictory motivations for his reactions to finding out about her mission and some of his initial behaviors when they interacted. I don't know that I buy that his rejection of her when they were younger would be the root cause of their mutual disdain/tension in the present day. It would have been much more realistic to me if Alex had internalized that rejection and been cold or distant with him, but the almost childish getting of each other's goat when he didn't lose face from that pivotal moment? The enemies to lovers trope felt forced. I believe there would be tension, but all internal and all on Alex's side, not the mutual desire to irritate each other because of it. Luckily, the author seemed to abandon that conceit in order to move her story forward and get her principals on the same page.
Some things/elements I loved:
A hero and heroine that are each ambivalent about the idea of having children/may opt to be child-free (I have never seen this openly discussed in a romance novel and it's refreshing/about time)
A hero and heroine that are both minimalists and aren't shamed for a lack of sentimentality in their design aesthetic (you might be thinking 'What?' Trust me, it's almost always a not-so-subtle point of commentary in this genre, especially, that minimalists are emotionally stunted and not to be trusted)
The representation and discussion of different lived experiences, including sexual orientation, gender, gender non-conformity, race, biracial identity, and attachment styles. Things like this are often addressed in romance novels in a way that can feel preachy/tokenist while also not really feeling very inclusive after all is said and done. This is a romance novel for people who are progressive, have been to therapy and/or who are open to it, and know some of the framing language and ideas.
Although I think a lot of terms like "narcissist," and "avoidant attachment" get used too casually and inaccurately, I found my avoidant attachment self cheering at the author's decision to put two avoidants together and let them work out their trauma with mindful care with each other. They reached some pivotal epiphanies together because they just *get* each other.
I laughed out loud in more than a few places. There were legitimate LOLs.