Scan barcode
desertwomanphx's review against another edition
challenging
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, and Classism
abenson59's review against another edition
4.0
I liked this book a lot. It stayed with me, and I've been thinking about the issues it raised. Powerful ending. This is not a lighthearted romance about opposites attracting. This book explores important issues: race, class, love, and ambition. The ending was great.
kikijo's review against another edition
1.0
DNF at 7%. This novel is an absolute joke. The MC, a Black woman, whimpers and panders to her white Republican colleague who uses racist, tired lines on her.
If y’all love race play you can write about it in your sad little journals instead. Because this ain’t it.
If y’all love race play you can write about it in your sad little journals instead. Because this ain’t it.
lobrookslovesbooks's review against another edition
4.0
I devoured this and am having a hard time putting my thoughts into words. I was so close to rating it 2 stars because I disagreed with much of it, but the story was so compelling and I know I’ll be thinking about it for a while. I wish I read it with a friend to be able to talk through everything.
It should have never been marketed as a romance when it is absolutely literary fiction that encompasses so many topics including identity, tokenism, racism and, yes, the two party political system in the US. The characters are all flawed and made me want to scream profanities at times but the writing definitely captured a lot of complex human interactions and thoughts. I could not stand the ending though.
It should have never been marketed as a romance when it is absolutely literary fiction that encompasses so many topics including identity, tokenism, racism and, yes, the two party political system in the US. The characters are all flawed and made me want to scream profanities at times but the writing definitely captured a lot of complex human interactions and thoughts. I could not stand the ending though.
hampshirereads's review against another edition
1.0
Jess starts work at Goldman Sachs as the only Black woman on the floor. She is often overlooked and finds out she has to work with Josh, a preppy, white former college enemy. Despite past feelings, the two develop a relationship. During this time she has a hyper vigilant awareness of micro aggressions that, to an unaware individual, might seem slightly exaggerated. Jess and Josh’s relationship moves fast and is confusing as she changes jobs to becoming more of a political activist. This whole time the differences between Jess’s reality and Josh’s reality loom over their relationship. Until one day the red MAGA hat shows up. Jess struggles with the reality of loving someone so politically opposed to her.
From the text: “She tried to reconcile the idea that her boyfriend was a twenty-five-year-old millionaire with the fact that she worked for a news-magazine with an entire beat dedicated to income inequality.”
As a white woman, I have not experienced racial micro aggressions, and this book felt laced with them. Starting the book, I was feeling uncomfortably skeptical of the reality of the character’s experience. But… as the story unfolds, I started to feel frustrated at the amount of inequality she was comfortable with.
This story hinged on the love story between Jess and Josh. The love story felt disingenuous. It just felt forced and unrealistic. Because of this I felt myself dragging through the story waiting for it to end. I didn’t believe these two would fall in love and stay together, and struggled as 2016 loomed over their heads.
I do not recommend this book. It’s a hurry-up-and-wait chaotic disaster.
From the text: “She tried to reconcile the idea that her boyfriend was a twenty-five-year-old millionaire with the fact that she worked for a news-magazine with an entire beat dedicated to income inequality.”
As a white woman, I have not experienced racial micro aggressions, and this book felt laced with them. Starting the book, I was feeling uncomfortably skeptical of the reality of the character’s experience. But… as the story unfolds, I started to feel frustrated at the amount of inequality she was comfortable with.
This story hinged on the love story between Jess and Josh. The love story felt disingenuous. It just felt forced and unrealistic. Because of this I felt myself dragging through the story waiting for it to end. I didn’t believe these two would fall in love and stay together, and struggled as 2016 loomed over their heads.
I do not recommend this book. It’s a hurry-up-and-wait chaotic disaster.
sara22274's review against another edition
3.0
To be completely honest, I spoke with a little bit hard to get through. I mean the writing style was pretty simple, but I really just kept wanting to yell at the characters.
itsarichmansworld's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
bookfrogcc's review against another edition
3.0
I wanted to love this a lot more than I did. Rabess does a nuanced job of weaving the interplay of personal attraction, race and politics, I just didn’t actually believe the attraction part of it. I kept being told the main characters were magnetically inseparable, but I just didn’t believe it.
The strongest, truest, and most vivid writing was when Jess, the main character, was struggling - either with unemployment, or, later, with grief and depression. These sections of the book made my heart ache. The love story, while technically central to the book, felt like a distraction.
The strongest, truest, and most vivid writing was when Jess, the main character, was struggling - either with unemployment, or, later, with grief and depression. These sections of the book made my heart ache. The love story, while technically central to the book, felt like a distraction.
kittykate99's review against another edition
4.0
Is it though? Jess is raised in Lincoln NE and then attends an Ivy league college. Post graduation she finds herself working at Goldman Sachs where she is both the only woman and only person of color. The mentor assigned to her is a former schoolmate, Josh, who persists in remaining solidly in his bubble of white male privilege even after they begin a relationship and Jess pushes him to try to not only understand structural racism but also microagressions. Their relationship and career progression is rocky and love does not conquer all.
pollycharlotte's review against another edition
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0