Reviews with content warning for Sexism - Falling in love was not the plan

Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

Falling in love was not the plan by Michelle Quach

53 reviews

mariasilva's review against another edition

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reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

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dlrosebyh's review against another edition

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inspiring lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

this book is advertised as an academic rivals to lovers slow burn story, so that’s what i expected going in this book— and not here to be liked was definitely not that book.

i do understand why it’s marketed as an academic rivals to lovers. eliza, our protagonist, and len, our love interest, were competing against each other for the better editor. though it seems like an academic rivals to lovers trope, it’s more of an enemies to lovers trope as eliza was pretty much the only one exerting effort to prove herself worthy for that spot.

for the slow burn trope, this book was pretty much instalove. did they get together at around 85% of the book? yes. but only because they barely had interactions. i could barely sense their chemistry, and that sucked because this book was supposed to be a romance book.

i didn’t necessarily like eliza. she was very intolerable, especially her pride. her idea of feminism is not feminism at all, which threw me off.

the only thing i liked about this book was each characters’ development, and that basically was the only element i stayed for.

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bbivnca's review against another edition

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funny inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

it was okay, i enjoyed it. the book started out very strong and i was immediately gripped. half of the book was the events building up to the walkout, and the romance felt so rushed. it did not even feel like “academic rivals to lovers” because the love interest wasn’t competing against the mc at all. it definitely felt like an instalove (HATE this trope) because of the characters’ lack of interaction, and i was promised a slow burn. i really liked the mc because of her feminist beliefs and how determined she was to succeed, but i feel like she completely lost those qualities as soon as she developed feelings for her “rival.” this is just my personal preference, but i did not like how the love interest was a jock. it turned me off a bit. the east/southeast asian representation was well done though, and i really liked the use of vietnamese and cantonese phrases!

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blahblahblah123's review against another edition

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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? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Personally i found this book to be very intriguing. I read it during a field trip performance and had a hard time putting it down. Usually I don’t read, but this really got me out of my block. Despite it being very intriguing, there was a lot of frustrating moments.

during about the hookup/relationship between Len and Eliza, I felt like it could’ve been elaborated more. A lot of moments I’m at points where I’m like, “is he playing her?” “should they really be together?”. There is a decent amount of chemistry between them, but I feel like there should be a second book or separate chapters with Len’s point of view. If there was moments of Len acting nervous towards Eliza, then I would’ve rooted for their relationship more. I really appreciate the realistically of the book. Although there are moments where Eliza frustrated me, like, “why are you falling for him?” “why are you doing this” I know that I would also be doing the same thing (I’d fall for Len too if i were in her situation). This goes to Len as well. In my perfect world Len would stick up for her in the midst of all the humiliation in the beginning, and although he didn’t it’s a part of his character, and thats what’s realistic. Same with the other characters, subjects, and plot line. The Asian-American struggles and the family culture. The public reaction of Eliza’s situation, the use of modern technology and terms. The characters and their personalities; especially Serena. I also feel like there should've been another chapter between Len and Eliza, after she got out of detention. I wanted to see more of their relationship develop that lead to their hook-up. When finishing it, during the end I couldn’t but squeal and get butterflies. I’m glad they patched up their relationship and I’m glad Eliza had a happy ending.</spoiler/> Overall, the book was a good read. I’m glad I read it and it’s realistically was great. When I first heard about this book, having: sexism, Asian American struggles, academic enemies to lovers trope, etc. I was extremely excited. Throughout the book, I got disappointed, however upon finishing it and reflecting, I don’t regret it. There definitely could be improvement, but I do not regret.

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mndy's review against another edition

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inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I love how I could relate to the cultural aspects of Eliza and her family. The author’s sophisticated writing style helped me get in the mind of Eliza, allowing me to clearly view the journey of her relationship with Len.

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amethyst_'s review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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0701mango's review against another edition

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fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

While I see the merits of this book and I can totally understand why someone would love this book, I'm past high school dramas. It was so frustratingly, unendingly dramatic, and I wasn't sold enough on the romance at the end. I wish it were more about things other than the drama and the meanness of fictional high schoolers. I appreciated the diversity of the characters both main and side. It was a headache to read for me, but, if movies like Mean Girls are your thing, like REALLY your thing, then more power to you. You'll probably enjoy this book, so give it a try!

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