darbileigh's review against another edition
2.0
This book was stupid. That's probably unfair to say since I'm not familiar with the Shakespeare play that it's based on. It had some funny parts that made me chuckle but overall it was predictable and had so many plot holes with no actual climax to uncover. It would have made a better short story. I'm glad it's over. Moving on...
fizzingwhizbee's review against another edition
3.0
this is just me rambling, with some spoilers:
read this in one sitting, but i felt like overall it read as a sort of dry romcom? the characters were well developed but their interactions were uneventful and the plot was slow moving. i was pretty satisfied by the ending. i was not happy with the epilogue. a few months down the line would have been fine, i don’t love having every question answered completely. also, she never actually gave adam a chance. he seemed considerate, and her interactions were fine, and then all of a sudden she was looking back in it and saying that she never felt like herself around him. haven’t read taming of the shrew? so i can make no comparisons between the two.
read this in one sitting, but i felt like overall it read as a sort of dry romcom? the characters were well developed but their interactions were uneventful and the plot was slow moving. i was pretty satisfied by the ending. i was not happy with the epilogue. a few months down the line would have been fine, i don’t love having every question answered completely. also, she never actually gave adam a chance. he seemed considerate, and her interactions were fine, and then all of a sudden she was looking back in it and saying that she never felt like herself around him. haven’t read taming of the shrew? so i can make no comparisons between the two.
emilielewis's review against another edition
2.0
10 Things I Hate About You is a better, more accurate retelling. Taylor also fails to pick up any of the nuance or equality in the characters' relationship.
kristen_monique's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
vronksybeat_'s review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-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
emrache's review against another edition
3.0
Now, I know this book is based on a play and thus is somewhat limited in its plot choices. That doesn't mean I have to like said plot. Or that I have to approve of how it ended. I knew how it was "supposed" to end, and yet I kept hoping that at the last moment it would veer but it didn't. Oh well. On the plus side, though, now I want to rewatch 10 Things I Hate About You. I wonder if I have simply forgotten just how completely unpleasant all those characters are too.
alliepeduto's review against another edition
2.0
I was just kind of "meh" about this one. I really love the idea of the Hogarth Shakespeare Series, but all of the books have terrible reviews on Goodreads and I'm starting to see why. It's just hard to take these famous stories and make them both modern and relevant in today's culture. I'm still holding out for the retelling of Hamlet by Gillian Flynn, but that's another year out at least. A modern retelling of The Taming of the Shrew is a harder sell, for me at least. It's a problematic story at best, and even with a cutesy spin it just fell a little flat. Anne Tyler is still a great writer, this just wasn't the right comedy for her.