hhushaw's review against another edition
2.0
An honest review thanks to NetGalley. I tried to like this book, I did, but I just did not connect. It was a struggle to finish, for some people this book may be amazing. I just didn't the connection. I had a major problem with Kerry, the abusive relationship could have been a good addition to the plot, but I felt so much was missing. What happened when she saved Dion from the assault? How did they get together, and what about Kate? I felt so much was unsaid that I was just reading words instead of a story with a plot.
wicdiv's review against another edition
2.0
trigger warnings for: rape, self harm mentions, severe emotional abuse throughout
This book absolutely infuriated me.
The blurb doesn't really match the book. This story is all about a woman in an abusive relationship who tries to get out of it (and sometimes stay in it) with the help of her family and the woman she's fallen for. This is not a cutesy fandom book at all and that disappointed me a little.
I honestly think Kerry is possibly my least favourite character out of any book I've ever read. She was well and truly despicable. She had zero redeeming features and I have no idea why Dion was with her, let alone why she was married to her. Making Kerry the bad guy didn't really make me root for Dion and Zoey though, so if that was Glass' intentions then she failed.
Zoey seemed to have the realisation that she was in love with Dion about three times in this book. It made no sense to me at all. I thought I was having deja vu when she kept saying she loved her, but no, she had to keep reiterating it. Then when they finally told each other they loved each other and immediately started with the pet names; it didn't feel real or organic at all. They couldn't go five seconds without saying 'I love you' or calling each other baby. They felt more like teenagers than adult women and it just did not feel believable to me.
I've given this two stars rather than one, because it was a f/f romance with a happy ending and the premise of a writer and artist developing from a professional relationship to a personal one was a nice concept, but this is an overly dramatic and tedious book.
This book absolutely infuriated me.
The blurb doesn't really match the book. This story is all about a woman in an abusive relationship who tries to get out of it (and sometimes stay in it) with the help of her family and the woman she's fallen for. This is not a cutesy fandom book at all and that disappointed me a little.
I honestly think Kerry is possibly my least favourite character out of any book I've ever read. She was well and truly despicable. She had zero redeeming features and I have no idea why Dion was with her, let alone why she was married to her. Making Kerry the bad guy didn't really make me root for Dion and Zoey though, so if that was Glass' intentions then she failed.
Zoey seemed to have the realisation that she was in love with Dion about three times in this book. It made no sense to me at all. I thought I was having deja vu when she kept saying she loved her, but no, she had to keep reiterating it. Then when they finally told each other they loved each other and immediately started with the pet names; it didn't feel real or organic at all. They couldn't go five seconds without saying 'I love you' or calling each other baby. They felt more like teenagers than adult women and it just did not feel believable to me.
I've given this two stars rather than one, because it was a f/f romance with a happy ending and the premise of a writer and artist developing from a professional relationship to a personal one was a nice concept, but this is an overly dramatic and tedious book.
claremontdiaz's review
1.0
I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I hate when I don't enjoy an ARC, but this book was just too much for me and not at all in a good way. There were a lot of elements right from the start that I was uncomfortable with and didn't like in the least. A lot of the things that made me uncomfortable were things to play into the point of the plot, but I kind of went into the book thinking that it was just kinda gonna be about two people coming together and overcoming certain situations—not all these other things. I wasn't expecting what I got, which constitutes as a thriller (I think, but don't hold me to that), and I'm not sure what works better: going into a book absolutely blind or going into it knowing that it's a certain type of genre. I don't know if it was on purpose or what, but as someone that generally likes to be prepared for any type of genre, I didn't like going in blind and basically getting punched in the face. It wasn't a good plot twist maneuver for me. I didn't like going into thinking it was one thing and getting handed something entirely different—especially since so much of it made me uncomfortable.
On top of this, the writing style falls flat. More often than not, it felt like I was being told how the character feels which makes it very hard to be invested into anything happening. Therefore I lack the empathy I'm sure Glass wanted me to feel towards both women in any situation, which leads to a very dull experience that I kind of just wanted to end. Plus, it's hard to care about any of the info dump when I have no grasp whatsoever on the characters—which Glass did right from the start. It was overwhelming and immediately put me off, honestly. It made it hard for me to even have the desire to get into the book.
Glass also tends to give too much detail. It feels as if a lot of scenes were in the book simply for the sake of bulking up the word count as a lot of things didn't have any real point to benefit the story line, nor was I interested enough in the book or characters to appreciate just random little details. I also don't care about any character, not even my favorite on this planet, enough to be entertained during a shower scene. And another thing that didn't benefit the book at all was the unnatural dialogue. If I read this book out loud, everything would sound so chopped and forced. It's honestly cringe-worthy.
I really wanted to like this book because I live for good wlw books/representation, but so many things in this book just didn't do it for me and actually kind of killed it. I feel like there was a lot of potential but it wasn't met, and I feel so awful. I feel awful literally whenever I write bad reviews because I hate being that person—but at the end of this, I just wasn't satisfied with this book at all. I really only finished it out of obligation because I would have felt even worse just throwing it on my DNF shelf. It's not a book that I would recommend to anyone searching for wlw/LGBT+ books, or even a decent thriller.
I hate when I don't enjoy an ARC, but this book was just too much for me and not at all in a good way. There were a lot of elements right from the start that I was uncomfortable with and didn't like in the least. A lot of the things that made me uncomfortable were things to play into the point of the plot, but I kind of went into the book thinking that it was just kinda gonna be about two people coming together and overcoming certain situations—not all these other things
Spoiler
such as abuse, cheating, manipulation and plottingOn top of this, the writing style falls flat. More often than not, it felt like I was being told how the character feels which makes it very hard to be invested into anything happening. Therefore I lack the empathy I'm sure Glass wanted me to feel towards both women in any situation, which leads to a very dull experience that I kind of just wanted to end. Plus, it's hard to care about any of the info dump when I have no grasp whatsoever on the characters—which Glass did right from the start. It was overwhelming and immediately put me off, honestly. It made it hard for me to even have the desire to get into the book.
Glass also tends to give too much detail. It feels as if a lot of scenes were in the book simply for the sake of bulking up the word count as a lot of things didn't have any real point to benefit the story line, nor was I interested enough in the book or characters to appreciate just random little details. I also don't care about any character, not even my favorite on this planet, enough to be entertained during a shower scene. And another thing that didn't benefit the book at all was the unnatural dialogue. If I read this book out loud, everything would sound so chopped and forced. It's honestly cringe-worthy.
Spoiler
Something felt really off about the way Dion and Zoey started calling each other pet names in like 0.5 seconds after Dion professed her love to Zoey. So. Many. Pet names. In less than four paragraphs, I swear to god. It was too much and so unnatural.I really wanted to like this book because I live for good wlw books/representation, but so many things in this book just didn't do it for me and actually kind of killed it. I feel like there was a lot of potential but it wasn't met, and I feel so awful. I feel awful literally whenever I write bad reviews because I hate being that person—but at the end of this, I just wasn't satisfied with this book at all. I really only finished it out of obligation because I would have felt even worse just throwing it on my DNF shelf. It's not a book that I would recommend to anyone searching for wlw/LGBT+ books, or even a decent thriller.
fiendfull's review against another edition
2.0
Drawn Together is a dark novel about an abusive relationship and finding a light to escape it. It is also about creative collaboration and meeting the right person, though it is the darker themes that hit hardest. From the blurb, the book seemed that it would be much lighter than it turned out to be, which was a bit of an issue considering that the novel features abuse and descriptions of rape and self harm.
The novel was a decent read, though the ending felt a little rushed and it would've been nice to hear more about the aftermath and discussions of earlier elements of the novel, particularly parts of the abuse that are clear to the reader but not the character. It felt a bit too flat and sugary, after the harsh reality of the middle of the book. Having the narration switch between the two main characters as their new connection deepens was a good way to see how they each reacted and viewed events, particularly with the inclusion of emails and texts as well. Though this technique meant for more details about Zoey and Dion than might have been given otherwise, I would've still liked more.
Drawn Together is a promising book, with an interesting initial set up, but the ending may disappoint those looking for something a bit more substantial. The heavy subject matter and extended presentation of abuse means that this is not a novel for everyone, but it is one that deals with major issues.
The novel was a decent read, though the ending felt a little rushed and it would've been nice to hear more about the aftermath and discussions of earlier elements of the novel, particularly parts of the abuse that are clear to the reader but not the character. It felt a bit too flat and sugary, after the harsh reality of the middle of the book. Having the narration switch between the two main characters as their new connection deepens was a good way to see how they each reacted and viewed events, particularly with the inclusion of emails and texts as well. Though this technique meant for more details about Zoey and Dion than might have been given otherwise, I would've still liked more.
Drawn Together is a promising book, with an interesting initial set up, but the ending may disappoint those looking for something a bit more substantial. The heavy subject matter and extended presentation of abuse means that this is not a novel for everyone, but it is one that deals with major issues.
wickedregal's review against another edition
1.0
***ARC from YLVA Publishing***
I truly tried to like this book, but the way the writing was delivered, it was too distracting and scattered to connect to the book or the characters, in my opinion. Also a lot of repetitive words and sentences that I didn’t find necessary and seemed to clutter the writing. The changing back and forth of first person perspective between the two main ladies was confusing as well, as the chapters would start out with ‘I…’ and I wouldn’t know who the ‘I’ was until halfway through the page. The characters seemed to just ramble and it became a bit annoying. The writing was also broken up way too much with going between the actual story the reader is supposed to be reading, then the blogs the one character was writing, then the characters story she is writing, chats between characters, etc. Just honestly, not to even remotely be able to grasp the characters due to the writing style was enough to make this a no go for me.
I truly tried to like this book, but the way the writing was delivered, it was too distracting and scattered to connect to the book or the characters, in my opinion. Also a lot of repetitive words and sentences that I didn’t find necessary and seemed to clutter the writing. The changing back and forth of first person perspective between the two main ladies was confusing as well, as the chapters would start out with ‘I…’ and I wouldn’t know who the ‘I’ was until halfway through the page. The characters seemed to just ramble and it became a bit annoying. The writing was also broken up way too much with going between the actual story the reader is supposed to be reading, then the blogs the one character was writing, then the characters story she is writing, chats between characters, etc. Just honestly, not to even remotely be able to grasp the characters due to the writing style was enough to make this a no go for me.
jmanchester0's review against another edition
4.0
Of course, it was the comics subtext that pulled me in, but I really did get drawn into this love story. (HA!)
I really enjoyed the writing and the characters were well-formed. Probably the only thing that really bothered me is that there wasn't much gray. The protagonists were good and virtuous, and the antagonists were pretty much evil.
But maybe sometimes it's nice to see a little black and white in my fiction. There's a whole lot of gray out there now.
Thanks to NetGalley and Book Enthusiast for a copy in return for an honest review.
I really enjoyed the writing and the characters were well-formed. Probably the only thing that really bothered me is that there wasn't much gray. The protagonists were good and virtuous, and the antagonists were pretty much evil.
But maybe sometimes it's nice to see a little black and white in my fiction. There's a whole lot of gray out there now.
Thanks to NetGalley and Book Enthusiast for a copy in return for an honest review.
wicdiv's review
2.0
trigger warnings for: rape, self harm mentions, severe emotional abuse throughout
This book absolutely infuriated me.
The blurb doesn't really match the book. This story is all about a woman in an abusive relationship who tries to get out of it (and sometimes stay in it) with the help of her family and the woman she's fallen for. This is not a cutesy fandom book at all and that disappointed me a little.
I honestly think Kerry is possibly my least favourite character out of any book I've ever read. She was well and truly despicable. She had zero redeeming features and I have no idea why Dion was with her, let alone why she was married to her. Making Kerry the bad guy didn't really make me root for Dion and Zoey though, so if that was Glass' intentions then she failed.
Zoey seemed to have the realisation that she was in love with Dion about three times in this book. It made no sense to me at all. I thought I was having deja vu when she kept saying she loved her, but no, she had to keep reiterating it. Then when they finally told each other they loved each other and immediately started with the pet names; it didn't feel real or organic at all. They couldn't go five seconds without saying 'I love you' or calling each other baby. They felt more like teenagers than adult women and it just did not feel believable to me.
I've given this two stars rather than one, because it was a f/f romance with a happy ending and the premise of a writer and artist developing from a professional relationship to a personal one was a nice concept, but this is an overly dramatic and tedious book.
This book absolutely infuriated me.
The blurb doesn't really match the book. This story is all about a woman in an abusive relationship who tries to get out of it (and sometimes stay in it) with the help of her family and the woman she's fallen for. This is not a cutesy fandom book at all and that disappointed me a little.
I honestly think Kerry is possibly my least favourite character out of any book I've ever read. She was well and truly despicable. She had zero redeeming features and I have no idea why Dion was with her, let alone why she was married to her. Making Kerry the bad guy didn't really make me root for Dion and Zoey though, so if that was Glass' intentions then she failed.
Zoey seemed to have the realisation that she was in love with Dion about three times in this book. It made no sense to me at all. I thought I was having deja vu when she kept saying she loved her, but no, she had to keep reiterating it. Then when they finally told each other they loved each other and immediately started with the pet names; it didn't feel real or organic at all. They couldn't go five seconds without saying 'I love you' or calling each other baby. They felt more like teenagers than adult women and it just did not feel believable to me.
I've given this two stars rather than one, because it was a f/f romance with a happy ending and the premise of a writer and artist developing from a professional relationship to a personal one was a nice concept, but this is an overly dramatic and tedious book.
jediroot's review
3.0
Wow, this book is intense. I liked the story overall, but it does have some issues that bother me. I'll start with the things I liked about this book first. Both main characters, Dion and Zoey, are well written. Their personalities are different, yet I can feel the strong connection between them based on their dialogue. I really liked how the author used modern communication technology such as e-mail, blogs, text, etc. in the story. I think the format she used to separate each is pretty clear and easy to follow. I think the whole abuse issue is well handled in the story and the author showed how the characters suffered from it and how to break away. The abuse is much more psychological and emotional than physical (still have some). I didn't notice the abuse until little later as I learned more about Dion's relationship with her wife. I think that is important to read and it is hard to read through, but people do suffer in real life and the story reflects that well in my opinion.
Now, the things I feel could be improved. The characters' physical characters are almost nonexistent. I have little to no idea what they all look like and what are their styles. I can only remember one short description of clothes when they went to a comic con and that was it. I'm sure there are few more times the description was included but I can't remember at this time. Showing the characters' physical features can add a 3-d feel to them, and not seems so "flat" and less real.
Another thing is the ending is wrapped up bit too quickly and easily for my taste. I'm not going to spoil it but I didn't get the sense of closure on the abuse issue. Maybe that is the author's intention, not sure. There is still a happy ending though, so that is good.
I received ARC from Ylva in exchange for my honest review.
Now, the things I feel could be improved. The characters' physical characters are almost nonexistent. I have little to no idea what they all look like and what are their styles. I can only remember one short description of clothes when they went to a comic con and that was it. I'm sure there are few more times the description was included but I can't remember at this time. Showing the characters' physical features can add a 3-d feel to them, and not seems so "flat" and less real.
Another thing is the ending is wrapped up bit too quickly and easily for my taste. I'm not going to spoil it but I didn't get the sense of closure on the abuse issue. Maybe that is the author's intention, not sure. There is still a happy ending though, so that is good.
I received ARC from Ylva in exchange for my honest review.
fianaigecht's review
3.0
This really wasn't what I expected -- it's a hell of a lot darker, and I could have used some content warnings before reading it. Some things weren't explained as much as they could have been, and while that prevented the dark stuff becoming gratuitous, it did make some of it hard to follow. Full review to come when it's not 3.30am like it currently is.
- FULL REVIEW -
From the blurb, I was expecting this to be more light-hearted than it actually was. I think that's probably my fault: if I'd paid more attention, or read other people's reviews before I started, I might not have been caught out by the content. However, I didn't, and so the darker themes of the book came as a surprise, and were quite difficult to read, which possibly affected my enjoyment of it more than it would otherwise have done.
One of the major themes that blindsided me was that of domestic abuse: I won't go into details, because I don't want to give spoilers, but if manipulation and downright physical violence bother you, this might not be a book for you to read, because it gets quite uncomfortable in places. I can tell you that things do work out okay, but... well, there's a lot of bad stuff to get through first, and when you're expecting a cheery read, that can be a bit much.
Moreover, it was a situation I found difficult to understand as a reader, and while I know it's a cliche of people who have never been and will never be in that situation, I couldn't understand why the characters didn't just leave when it was so clear they were unhappy and being abused. Clear to the reader, that is; it was subtle enough that without external knowledge, you can see why she would overlook it. Like I said, this is because I've never been in this situation and also will never understand love as a reason for anything (sorry, but my cold aro heart needs more logic than that), and I know the fault's with me -- I didn't think the book was unrealistic on that point.
Certain aspects of the characters' relationships weren't really explained all that clearly, and the switching POVs took a while to get used to because there wasn't a super noticeable distinction between them in terms of voice. They had their own personalities and backgrounds, but in voice, they were reasonably similar, at least until you got to know them and saw the subtle differences. So it took me a while to get to grips with who everybody was and what their relationships to each other were, not helped by some seriously two-faced behaviour from one of the less pleasant characters in the book, who was very difficult to pin down until she finally revealed herself to be as awful as her bad moments made her seem.
That said, the confusion I experienced in places might have helped some of the darker things seem less gratuitous, and maybe the lack of details was a good thing in that sense, but it didn't make the story easy to follow.
The book also uses some unconventional storytelling tactics, including email transcripts, text conversations, that kind of thing. It makes the sense of a long-distance friendship more believable, and since the two characters are creators (a writer and an illustrator/artist), it worked well as a portrayal of a lot of the friendships I've formed online. As the book goes on, this also contributes to the manipulative/controlling situation one of the characters is in, because her communication is limited, so that was quite effective. Some of these exchanges felt a little unnecessary, though -- they could have been told in a more conventional way without losing any of the meaning, and so felt like a gimmick -- but these were in the minority.
There were aspects I did enjoy of the story, don't get me wrong; I realise this review has been a little bit negative so far, but I did give it three stars and not fewer. I think part of my problem with the darker stuff was just that it caught me off-guard, and also that I've been in a bad headspace lately and so a bit more sensitive to these things than I usually am.
I meant to write up this review sooner, so that I could give more specific details (you know what my memory's like, if you've been following my reviews for any length of time -- three days after I read a book, almost everything has vanished from my mind, including the characters' names). My general view, though, is that I would have enjoyed this more if I'd paid more attention to its mood and tone before I started, because being blindsided by some fairly dark stuff when I was expecting something much lighter was difficult.
- FULL REVIEW -
From the blurb, I was expecting this to be more light-hearted than it actually was. I think that's probably my fault: if I'd paid more attention, or read other people's reviews before I started, I might not have been caught out by the content. However, I didn't, and so the darker themes of the book came as a surprise, and were quite difficult to read, which possibly affected my enjoyment of it more than it would otherwise have done.
One of the major themes that blindsided me was that of domestic abuse: I won't go into details, because I don't want to give spoilers, but if manipulation and downright physical violence bother you, this might not be a book for you to read, because it gets quite uncomfortable in places. I can tell you that things do work out okay, but... well, there's a lot of bad stuff to get through first, and when you're expecting a cheery read, that can be a bit much.
Moreover, it was a situation I found difficult to understand as a reader, and while I know it's a cliche of people who have never been and will never be in that situation, I couldn't understand why the characters didn't just leave when it was so clear they were unhappy and being abused. Clear to the reader, that is; it was subtle enough that without external knowledge, you can see why she would overlook it. Like I said, this is because I've never been in this situation and also will never understand love as a reason for anything (sorry, but my cold aro heart needs more logic than that), and I know the fault's with me -- I didn't think the book was unrealistic on that point.
Certain aspects of the characters' relationships weren't really explained all that clearly, and the switching POVs took a while to get used to because there wasn't a super noticeable distinction between them in terms of voice. They had their own personalities and backgrounds, but in voice, they were reasonably similar, at least until you got to know them and saw the subtle differences. So it took me a while to get to grips with who everybody was and what their relationships to each other were, not helped by some seriously two-faced behaviour from one of the less pleasant characters in the book, who was very difficult to pin down until she finally revealed herself to be as awful as her bad moments made her seem.
That said, the confusion I experienced in places might have helped some of the darker things seem less gratuitous, and maybe the lack of details was a good thing in that sense, but it didn't make the story easy to follow.
The book also uses some unconventional storytelling tactics, including email transcripts, text conversations, that kind of thing. It makes the sense of a long-distance friendship more believable, and since the two characters are creators (a writer and an illustrator/artist), it worked well as a portrayal of a lot of the friendships I've formed online. As the book goes on, this also contributes to the manipulative/controlling situation one of the characters is in, because her communication is limited, so that was quite effective. Some of these exchanges felt a little unnecessary, though -- they could have been told in a more conventional way without losing any of the meaning, and so felt like a gimmick -- but these were in the minority.
There were aspects I did enjoy of the story, don't get me wrong; I realise this review has been a little bit negative so far, but I did give it three stars and not fewer. I think part of my problem with the darker stuff was just that it caught me off-guard, and also that I've been in a bad headspace lately and so a bit more sensitive to these things than I usually am.
I meant to write up this review sooner, so that I could give more specific details (you know what my memory's like, if you've been following my reviews for any length of time -- three days after I read a book, almost everything has vanished from my mind, including the characters' names). My general view, though, is that I would have enjoyed this more if I'd paid more attention to its mood and tone before I started, because being blindsided by some fairly dark stuff when I was expecting something much lighter was difficult.
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