aniwillow's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
It was too short for me. About half way through the book I wanted it to be longer and then towards the end I wish the entire book was different.
Spoiler
the final speech and the epilogue made me legitimately angry. The whole wedding and everything after that was so shitty. Pyotr was rough and then seemingly nice and oh so cute and quirky! And then he is a psychotic aggressive assaulter! Then her bullshit speech about how bad men have it. It’s true that men’s mental health is over looked and that it is important for men to speak about what is bothering them but that doesn’t excuse the fact that he assaulted a man, harassed his mother, broke into their home, and verbally assaulted his wife and sister-in-law! Not okay!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship and Deportation
Moderate: Sexism, Emotional abuse, and Misogyny
Minor: Mental illness, Violence, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, and Death of parent
rorythebean's review against another edition
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
3.0
I just don't know what to think about this book. On one hand, it's a brilliant character study. But at times it falls flat and is downright misogynistic and xenophobic. As an immigrant, the sheer number of times Pyotr's accent was mentioned really felt othering and disheartening.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Death of parent
womanwill's review
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Emotional abuse and Misogyny
kylieqrada's review against another edition
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
This was the definition of MEH for me, so I'm giving it a 2 ⭐s, even though it is SO HARD for me. I listened to it on audio on my commute, and while I truly enjoyed the narrator and did like Kate as a character throughout the entirety of the novel, I didn't like anything else about this one. Granted, I'm not the target audience, since I have not only never read The Taming of the Shrew, I don't know what it's about, and the title sounds misogynistic to me. So why did I even pick this up? The plot sounded intriguing to me, but the intentional setting up of the protagonist as an unlikable female character, the unresolved borderline abusive behavior, and the mishandling of serious mental health disorders were a no from me, dawg.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Misogyny
Minor: Mental illness
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