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monarchsandmyths 's review for:
The View Was Exhausting
by Mikaella Clements, Onjuli Datta
This was truly such an interesting book, in part because it’s so highly character driven. THE VIEW WAS EXHAUSTING follows Whitman Tagore, a British-Indian actress trying to stay on top, and Leo Milanowski, longtime friend and longtime fake boyfriend. The two keep colliding, and it won’t be long before some damage shows, and it’s impossible to tell whether or not they’ll end up together.
Truly, this is the kind of book that if it were cliche, it would be solely about a character improving, and while it is that, the arc is so messy and messed up. The characters do improve, but they don’t even come close to perfect. They’re still messy and messed up when the book ends. I think that the relationship is the primary arc and even that is so messy in all the best ways. It’s the story of two people having to learn how the work together when things aren’t as planned. Ultimately the plot ends up falling secondary to all of these things, but in a way that’s the best thing that could happen for this book.
In terms of things I didn’t like as much, I think that it felt like it dragged on a little at times and that there were parts that were less enjoyable to read than others. I would have also liked to see more of what happened to certain characters instead of being cast off as they became less important to the story. That’s ultimately the nature of a character driven story. I think this book is able to tell the story it means to and I would recommend it if character driven stories are your thing.
Truly, this is the kind of book that if it were cliche, it would be solely about a character improving, and while it is that, the arc is so messy and messed up. The characters do improve, but they don’t even come close to perfect. They’re still messy and messed up when the book ends. I think that the relationship is the primary arc and even that is so messy in all the best ways. It’s the story of two people having to learn how the work together when things aren’t as planned. Ultimately the plot ends up falling secondary to all of these things, but in a way that’s the best thing that could happen for this book.
In terms of things I didn’t like as much, I think that it felt like it dragged on a little at times and that there were parts that were less enjoyable to read than others. I would have also liked to see more of what happened to certain characters instead of being cast off as they became less important to the story. That’s ultimately the nature of a character driven story. I think this book is able to tell the story it means to and I would recommend it if character driven stories are your thing.