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dogoodwithbooks's review
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I would like to thank NetGalley and St. Martinās Press for providing me with a free e-ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.Ā
Life is not going how Bella Marble is expecting. She canāt stand the guy her best friend got engaged to. Sheās stuck at a dead end job and not living out her dream of being an author. Most of all, she canāt seem to find her prince charming. After Bella becomes a viral sensation when she starts turning her dating failures into modern day fairy tale stories, she realizes that she has to get out there and live her own happily ever after.Ā
I have mixed feelings about this book for several reasons.Ā
One, Iām not going to lie that Adamsā pacing took awhile to get used to. Adamsā splits this story into seven main parts with several chapters in each part. The seven parts does seem a bit excessive, but Iām able to get over that. However, I felt that some of the chapters were too short. What I mean by that is that you find yourself reading a scene and you think it continues onto the next page, but then a new chapter starts dropping back on the same scene. I feel like in instances like these the chapters could have been combined. By doing so, I think it would make the pacing a bit easier to read and the flow of the book seems more natural.Ā
Second, Marty is the most morally gray love interest Iāve ever read. Like, for real. I mean, having Marty make Bella buy her own pity chocolates seem like a low blow. But at the same time, he does things that shows he genuinely cares about Bella. Near the end of the book, Martyās not all that bad. But I just canāt get over some of his actions that just make him look like a jerk and I do think there were some other characters that could have been a better match for Bella. At least Marty is self-aware.Ā
Finally, for Bella, I have mixed feelings about how she was portrayed in the book. In general, I love having Bella as MC and I definitely found her to be super relatable. Additionally, I loved Bellaās confidence earlier on in the book and when she gave Henry a piece of her mind, that was truly a highlight for me. However, as the book progressed, I donāt know if I was that big of a fan of how Bella developed during her āfairy taleā encounters.Ā
Overall, Not That Kind of Ever After is a good story, but there were just some flaws with character development and plot structure. Personally, I enjoyed Adamsā writing style and it was easy to get into the plot. I also loved the concept of having Bella recreate these fairy tales into a 21st century dating encounter. Readers who love their fairy tales but want a dose of reality added will enjoy this book, though I wouldnāt recommend it if you're not a fan of morally gray love interests.
Life is not going how Bella Marble is expecting. She canāt stand the guy her best friend got engaged to. Sheās stuck at a dead end job and not living out her dream of being an author. Most of all, she canāt seem to find her prince charming. After Bella becomes a viral sensation when she starts turning her dating failures into modern day fairy tale stories, she realizes that she has to get out there and live her own happily ever after.Ā
I have mixed feelings about this book for several reasons.Ā
One, Iām not going to lie that Adamsā pacing took awhile to get used to. Adamsā splits this story into seven main parts with several chapters in each part. The seven parts does seem a bit excessive, but Iām able to get over that. However, I felt that some of the chapters were too short. What I mean by that is that you find yourself reading a scene and you think it continues onto the next page, but then a new chapter starts dropping back on the same scene. I feel like in instances like these the chapters could have been combined. By doing so, I think it would make the pacing a bit easier to read and the flow of the book seems more natural.Ā
Second, Marty is the most morally gray love interest Iāve ever read. Like, for real. I mean, having Marty make Bella buy her own pity chocolates seem like a low blow. But at the same time, he does things that shows he genuinely cares about Bella. Near the end of the book, Martyās not all that bad. But I just canāt get over some of his actions that just make him look like a jerk and I do think there were some other characters that could have been a better match for Bella. At least Marty is self-aware.Ā
Finally, for Bella, I have mixed feelings about how she was portrayed in the book. In general, I love having Bella as MC and I definitely found her to be super relatable. Additionally, I loved Bellaās confidence earlier on in the book and when she gave Henry a piece of her mind, that was truly a highlight for me. However, as the book progressed, I donāt know if I was that big of a fan of how Bella developed during her āfairy taleā encounters.Ā
Overall, Not That Kind of Ever After is a good story, but there were just some flaws with character development and plot structure. Personally, I enjoyed Adamsā writing style and it was easy to get into the plot. I also loved the concept of having Bella recreate these fairy tales into a 21st century dating encounter. Readers who love their fairy tales but want a dose of reality added will enjoy this book, though I wouldnāt recommend it if you're not a fan of morally gray love interests.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny and Sexism
Moderate: Abandonment and Alcohol
jackiepreston's review
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
The first few chapters almost turned me off of this book, but the premise sounded so fun that I kept going. I should have followed my first instinct. None of the rest of this book is nearly as graphic as the first sex scene, but the premise feels wasted on such a boring main character. She is intentionally unlikable, which could have worked if the rest of the writing or the other characters were more interesting, but nearly everyone else was a cardboard cutout of a character, even the eventual love interest.Ā
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Alcohol
juffnstuff's review
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol, Cursing, and Sexual content
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