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A review by opalmars
Hearing Red by Nicole Maser
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
The atrocious AI cover is jail-worthy. The story is… fine. This was definitely… a book… that I read. 🫥
I really enjoy apocalyptic stories, and I ESPECIALLY love ROMANCES in apocalyptic stories, so I thought I’d absolutely adore this book! I was hooked, at first, but around halfway through I started losing interest, and by the 70% mark I was so bored that I wanted to DNF. I pushed through, though. I definitely don’t think this is a bad book! It’s just that I personally never managed to connect with the characters or care about their romance. 😢
Maddie and Saff were good characters on their own, and I liked their connection, but I just never felt their *love*. They started catching feelings and having sweet moments and I just… didn’t care. The most jarring moment for me was when it became apparent that Maddie cared more about Saff (who she’d known for like 3 weeks) than her OWN FAMILY (who she got separated from, which is a HUGE deal because they’re literally in the apocalypse + Maddie is blind and would be all alone if Saff hadn’t decided to take her in!). It’s literally a MIRACLE that Maddie even managed to find her family again, and yet she’s willing to separate from them AGAIN just to be with Saff?! Girl be for real. 🥴
When Maddie admitted that she basically started liking Saff after they’d known each other for like 3 days I was like…… yeah. 🙄🥱 Okay. Why not. 🫤 The 3rd act breakup was unnecessary and silly, but I cared so little about their romance (or the story in general) that I didn’t even mind. I just wanted to get this over with lmao. Overall, the romance gave me nothing.
The writing was fine. There were some typos, but this is self-published, so I’ll let those slide (though the 2 instances where the author used “there’s” instead of “theirs” lowkey made me want to throw my phone). However, unironically using any variation of the godforsaken “She released a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding” (let alone TWO!) is actually jail-worthy. The term “soaking wet folds” was also something I wish I could unread.
I really enjoy apocalyptic stories, and I ESPECIALLY love ROMANCES in apocalyptic stories, so I thought I’d absolutely adore this book! I was hooked, at first, but around halfway through I started losing interest, and by the 70% mark I was so bored that I wanted to DNF. I pushed through, though. I definitely don’t think this is a bad book! It’s just that I personally never managed to connect with the characters or care about their romance. 😢
Maddie and Saff were good characters on their own, and I liked their connection, but I just never felt their *love*. They started catching feelings and having sweet moments and I just… didn’t care. The most jarring moment for me was when it became apparent that Maddie cared more about Saff (who she’d known for like 3 weeks) than her OWN FAMILY (who she got separated from, which is a HUGE deal because they’re literally in the apocalypse + Maddie is blind and would be all alone if Saff hadn’t decided to take her in!). It’s literally a MIRACLE that Maddie even managed to find her family again, and yet she’s willing to separate from them AGAIN just to be with Saff?! Girl be for real. 🥴
When Maddie admitted that she basically started liking Saff after they’d known each other for like 3 days I was like…… yeah. 🙄🥱 Okay. Why not. 🫤 The 3rd act breakup was unnecessary and silly, but I cared so little about their romance (or the story in general) that I didn’t even mind. I just wanted to get this over with lmao. Overall, the romance gave me nothing.
The writing was fine. There were some typos, but this is self-published, so I’ll let those slide (though the 2 instances where the author used “there’s” instead of “theirs” lowkey made me want to throw my phone). However, unironically using any variation of the godforsaken “She released a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding” (let alone TWO!) is actually jail-worthy. The term “soaking wet folds” was also something I wish I could unread.