Reviews with content warning for Homophobia - Last Summer at the Golden Hotel

It started off kinda fun, Julia Whelan’s audio narration was great, and I was feeling the Dirty Dancing hotel references which I guess is why I stayed with it even when I started to really dislike it. It’s a bunch of rich people whining and behaving badly and having to face basically no consequences for their actions which I guess is true-to life but still annoying to read about in fiction. A random moment that kind of epitomizes the character development in this book is when a guy reflects on how he might be able to be a good father (to the baby he’s expecting with a much younger woman who works as a server in the hotel he owns) because he was “such a great uncle” when his nieces and nephews were small. For example, he was the only one that could get the babies to burp…and he never let the parents in on his secret. Huh?! Being a good uncle means making sure you lord your skills over the actual parents?! Yeesh! There’s also a bunch of fat-phobia/body commentary and ableism. I was barely listening by the end. Not recommended.

Content Warnings

amykwrites's review against another edition

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emotional funny medium-paced

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

4.25

Almost put it down in the first half because of unlikeable characters, but kept going. Second half was definitely better. Nice ending, tied up in a bow.

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mariposa517's review against another edition

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hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

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kaceyjoy's review against another edition

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medium-paced

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

2.0

I wanted to like this book. I definitely enjoyed parts of it enough to finish it, but every single character was unlikable, except for maybe 2 of the grandkids.

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