A review by bookedbymadeline
Permanent Record by Mary H.K. Choi

Did not finish book. Stopped at 39%.
This DNF hurts because I adore Choi, I was (and still am) obsessed with two of her other books but this one just is not good to me 😭

Sometimes felt like too many pop culture references and the dialogue could be cringey at times. I was pulled in quickly but then lost interest around 30-40%. I just couldn’t care about either of the characters, there’s too much telling not enough showing, the obscure references are basically filler material, and the romance is very insta-lovey (which is my least fave trope). I was reading this pretty quickly because it’s easy and lighthearted, but I realized I shouldn’t keep reading something I don’t enjoy just because I’m getting through it quickly 🙈

I did appreciate the anxiety rep with Pablo, especially surrounding student loan debt, it felt very relatable. But otherwise, Pablo is kind of unlikeable. His whole inner monologues about Lee felt unbelievable; you’re telling me after meeting her 2 times, you love her and want to marry her but it’s different from most people who would’ve met their celebrity crush because “you’re different” 🙃 Yeah sure okay.


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