chasingpages1's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
tense
medium-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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Racism, Homophobia, Stalking, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Sexism, Bullying, Lesbophobia, and Biphobia
Moderate: Gaslighting, Body shaming, Sexual harassment, Fatphobia, and Alcohol
Minor: Classism, Emotional abuse, Cursing, and Drug abuse
bookfortbuilder's review against another edition
There’s a lot going on and there’s a lot of people to keep straight. The work toxicity is difficult to get past, and the girls in the friend group are also toxic. I’d like to go back to this one eventually but not feeling it right now.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny
Moderate: Body shaming
Minor: Emotional abuse
megfang315's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
wow i hated this. i kept going in hopes that it would get better, but that never happened.
- i didn't like melody; major red flag when you don't like the main character, wooohooo.
Spoiler
while i was sympathetic to her plight, i was speechless when she stayed at her extremely toxic company, claimed it was so much better all because she got a raise, was anointed the "diversity lead" despite how problematic that can be, and automatically was thrilled when a Black woman was named ceo of a sinking ship. there is so much wrong with the epilogue i can't deal. - i absolutely could not connect with melody's friends (even she kept referencing how much she didn't connect with or agree with jane)
- i couldn't understand why melody and nolan would be a couple beyond attraction and professional respect (plus it didn't feel like a romance novel, it felt like women's fiction, so my expectation did not meet the reality of the plot)
- melody's parents were one-noted, and the relationship never changed. while i could relate to some of the problems she had with them, i didn't understand what purpose or value they added to the story. on reading other reviews, i think they're supposed to be funny, but i got 0% of that.
- there was a lot of good intent, but it ultimately felt like the author didn't know enough or didn't research enough to be writing about the topics she was writing about. she literally label-dropped "LGBTQ" as is multiple times (rather than saying "LGBTQ community" or "LGBTQ people"), mentioned social justice warriors multiple times and had melody shy away from that label demurely as if saying she wasn't being political, and (examples in the spoiler above) had problematic solutions to the workplace.
- i didn't expect the level of harassment and toxicity in this novel, and most of it does not get resolved satisfactorily (the HEA feels fake af to me). this is not the cute, fluffy office romance you think it is from the cover.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, and Sexism
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