lyleelou11's review against another edition
2.25
A really weird want to be Glee x Euphoria type of book.
The MFC tries way too hard to be Rachel Berry.
Her co-workers make their job site seem like the Euphoria set.
There was a decent amount of good language, and it made me crave coffee, red wine & dark chocolate.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Blood, Alcoholism, Toxic friendship, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Eating disorder, Toxic relationship, Misogyny, Abandonment, Drug use, Alcohol, Adult/minor relationship, Vomit, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, and Drug abuse
cboll's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use and Alcohol
Minor: Vomit, Emotional abuse, and Sexual harassment
mattiestayreadin's review against another edition
dark
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
1.0
I got through 75% of this and hated myself for continuing just to see how the nonsense ends instead of walking away before it was too late.
This might be one of the most frustrating and infuriating books I’ve ever read. It genuinely made me mad. I wanted to like this book so badly because I worked in the same restaurant group this book orbits around and perfectly understand the culture within that company, but this just was not it.
Tess started out as expected. Young, naive, blah blah blah, but she got increasingly less sympathetic with every “season” that passes. She really started to lose me
Spoiler
with the drugs, fucking one of her very few friends, and then really lost me when she licked the blood off her very toxic love interest’s arm out of the blue (at work!) and then turns around and let’s him finger bang her in a cab right after he called her a whore. I accidentally discovered an event that happens towards the end (she sleeps with her boss that is twice her age) and that was the knockout blow that made me drop it for good.I was in my 20s when I worked within this restaurant’s sphere. I am very familiar with the chaos, messiness, and the drama of it all. But Tess has got to be one of the most pathetic characters I’ve read in a long time. I almost hesitate to even say so because this book is basically the author’s autobiography of this period in her life, but somehow she is the most awful character in her own story. I should’ve put it down and left it alone earlier (like Tess should’ve done with Jake), but I was halfway in and just started to hate-read it instead of enjoying it.
One star because she does world build the city and the restaurant culture really well, but that’s the beginning and end of my praise. If you want to read a great book about restaurant culture, read Kitchen Confidential (or probably anything else) instead. It focuses more on back of house than front of house, but you will not want to claw your eyes out from reading it like this one did for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual content, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Toxic friendship, and Bullying
time_travel_tragedy's review
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This is like one of the most depressing books I've ever read. She goes to New York and we find out way later she was supposed to be pursuing creative aspirations but she spends the entire book drinking and doing drugs, and overall wasting away. Even the ending, when she realizes the reality of her situation, she doesn't make it better, she does something in line with all her other self destructive actions and then the next day it's like on to better horizons. The ending could have been uplifting, but this character was broken in so many ways, and we get no glimpse into what her future might hold. I needed something a little more at the end to believe there's hope for the character after the novel ends.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic friendship, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Alcoholism, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Sexual harassment
sleeson's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
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
I didn’t really understand it. Graphic sexual content but not in very romantic way. More so, working in a restaurant hookup kind of way. Lots of swearing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Alcohol, Drug use, and Sexual content
littlemoonlibrarian's review
funny
reflective
tense
medium-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
3.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship
mmatti300's review
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I’m giving this a 5 because a 4.75 feels petty and 4.5 feels like not enough. Sweetbitter sucked me in. I fell in love with the absurd, irrational, unlikeable characters in a heartbeat. I found myself wanting more, insatiably drawn to Danler’s writing and the emotions that she evoked. The only reason this is on the cusp of a 5 is because I’m not sure I would want to reread it, and I’m not certain that I will remember most aspects of the novel in even a week. However, the complex relationship between Simone, Tess, and Jake is one that I devoured more than Tess devoured oysters at the Oyster bar. Danler’s decision to not reveal Tess’ name until the halfway point, when Jake finally notices her and she is fully ingratiated into the restaurant’s dynamics was a stunning choice that really resonated with me. I also think the way that we slowly learn about Simone and Jake’s history with Tess was a stunning decision, especially the fact that we never get a full grasp of what their true relationship is. Anyway, a solid read for lovers of 20-something coming of age’s, dark academia-esque plots (though there’s no school or murder), or slightly gay contemporaries.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Vomit
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