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withlovearin 's review for:
Lotus
by Jennifer Hartmann
This is my 2nd Jennifer Hartmann book, so I can say confidently that her FMCs always read as “not like other girls” with a healthy helping of “pick me”. I think it’s just the way Hartmann writes quirky traits, it’s just a tad on the cringe side of things.
The characters in this book all suck, with the exception of Oliver, the MMC. The FMC’s sister, Clementine, is a horrible human being. All she can think to do is objectify and sexualize a man who just went through something tragic and is extremely vulnerable. It’s not funny, it’s not comic relief, it’s creepy as hell. All that virginity talk, too. It’s inappropriate and gross.
And Gabe, the best friend and the MMC’s (Oliver) brother, is also terrible, going out to party and leaving his traumatized and panic-attack-prone brother home alone after barely a month of time to adjust, saying ”I have a life.” Nice. Not to mention the way he sabotages the FMC at every turn. And then the sister parades around half naked while the traumatized MMC is home, still adjusting. And her excuse is that she ”forgot” he existed. Ok? You suck?
Then the FMC leaves her sister’s kid alone with a man that neither the kid nor her sister really know or are familiar with. And when her sister understandably completely freaks out and calls out Sydney’s reckless negligence, Sydney has the audacity to say, repeatedly, that her sister’s completely overreacting. No, she isn’t. That’s a very appropriate reaction to have upon finding out your sister, who you trusted implicitly to watch over your child, left said child alone with a stranger. I genuinely hate these people, they’re narcissistic egomaniacs. I know that’s redundant, but it bears repeating.
I also don’t totally love the flashbacks from a technical standpoint. They’re written with a childlike mentality, which makes sense given that the MCs are both, what, 7 years old? But then Jennifer Hartmann also uses adult terms, such as “denim jumper” or “disperse” and no child would ever use those words. You kinda have to pick and commit. If you’re gonna write from the POV of a 7-year-old, then stick to 7-year-old’s vocabulary. Or choose 3rd person narrator perspective. There’s only so far I can suspend my disbelief.
There was also this line, ”Lotus. Why would his captor write that on his arm? I wonder if it’s a mystery that will ever be solved.” That’s just incredibly heavy-handed, I actually rolled my eyes when I read that line. I don’t know why so many authors think their audience is too stupid to pick up on subtlety. Like, yes. I wonder. Especially now that you’ve gone and specifically pointed it out to me.
All in all I found this book to be painfully underwhelming given its premise, especially after reading Still Beating, which has a similar story. AND IT WAS SO LONGGGGG. Doesn’t help that I also viscerally hated everyone except Oliver. Hard to enjoy a book when you’re actively rooting for everyone’s downfall.
The characters in this book all suck, with the exception of Oliver, the MMC. The FMC’s sister, Clementine, is a horrible human being. All she can think to do is objectify and sexualize a man who just went through something tragic and is extremely vulnerable. It’s not funny, it’s not comic relief, it’s creepy as hell. All that virginity talk, too. It’s inappropriate and gross.
And Gabe, the best friend and the MMC’s (Oliver) brother, is also terrible, going out to party and leaving his traumatized and panic-attack-prone brother home alone after barely a month of time to adjust, saying ”I have a life.” Nice. Not to mention the way he sabotages the FMC at every turn. And then the sister parades around half naked while the traumatized MMC is home, still adjusting. And her excuse is that she ”forgot” he existed. Ok? You suck?
Then the FMC leaves her sister’s kid alone with a man that neither the kid nor her sister really know or are familiar with. And when her sister understandably completely freaks out and calls out Sydney’s reckless negligence, Sydney has the audacity to say, repeatedly, that her sister’s completely overreacting. No, she isn’t. That’s a very appropriate reaction to have upon finding out your sister, who you trusted implicitly to watch over your child, left said child alone with a stranger. I genuinely hate these people, they’re narcissistic egomaniacs. I know that’s redundant, but it bears repeating.
I also don’t totally love the flashbacks from a technical standpoint. They’re written with a childlike mentality, which makes sense given that the MCs are both, what, 7 years old? But then Jennifer Hartmann also uses adult terms, such as “denim jumper” or “disperse” and no child would ever use those words. You kinda have to pick and commit. If you’re gonna write from the POV of a 7-year-old, then stick to 7-year-old’s vocabulary. Or choose 3rd person narrator perspective. There’s only so far I can suspend my disbelief.
There was also this line, ”Lotus. Why would his captor write that on his arm? I wonder if it’s a mystery that will ever be solved.” That’s just incredibly heavy-handed, I actually rolled my eyes when I read that line. I don’t know why so many authors think their audience is too stupid to pick up on subtlety. Like, yes. I wonder. Especially now that you’ve gone and specifically pointed it out to me.
All in all I found this book to be painfully underwhelming given its premise, especially after reading Still Beating, which has a similar story. AND IT WAS SO LONGGGGG. Doesn’t help that I also viscerally hated everyone except Oliver. Hard to enjoy a book when you’re actively rooting for everyone’s downfall.