Reviews with content warning for Misogyny - Loathe at First Sight

Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

Loathe at First Sight by Suzanne Park

19 reviews

chasingpages1's review against another edition

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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

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spellygirl's review

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challenging inspiring reflective

4.5

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bookfortbuilder's review against another edition

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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.

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stasquatch's review against another edition

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slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.0

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cinderellasbookshelf's review against another edition

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funny reflective tense fast-paced

Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

After watching Free Guy on repeat these past few days, I wanted to read something related to gaming but set in a realistic environment. And that's how I decided to read Loathe at First Sight by Suzanne Park.

This book is a good fast read from start to finish. It gives an interesting look into the gaming industry, but more importantly through the perspective of its female Asian character, Melody Joo. I found myself rooting for Melody throughout all the challenges she faced while working in a fast-paced, highly male dominated, and, truthfully, toxic work environment. A lot of the conflict of the story relates to the real-life infamous Gamergate campaign that happened several years ago and are some of the hardest chapters to read because of what Melody has to endure. I thought Suzanne Park was able to show how toxic and misogynistic the gaming industry can be without it being too preachy and by balancing it well with a strong and driven character who is unwilling to be bullied, but is also still human and not immune to its effects.

Apart from this, there are a lot of lighter moments brought on by its cast of characters such as Melody’s friends, Candace and Jane. At first they felt out of place for this book, but I soon realized they give another side to showing Melody’s life outside of work. Their scenes together were funny, especially when they tried to help Melody find strippers who could promote her game at an upcoming expo.

I also liked the romance between Melody and her co-worker/intern, Nolan Mackenzie. The two characters start off on the wrong foot, but gradually become friends that could lead to something more. It’s not steamy or as tension building compared to other workplace romance set books, but I actually preferred it this way because it didn’t have to go in that direction. The friendship between the two and how it develops was perfect in my opinion and worked well with the story as a whole.

If anything, I would have liked to have seen more in-depth behind the scenes aspects of the work that goes into creating and developing a game than what was mentioned or sometimes quickly glossed over. I really liked the GameExpo scene though and thought it was one of the many funnier and lighter moments this book had. The ending was great too and felt earned.

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paperangel's review against another edition

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crweber25's review against another edition

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funny hopeful fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

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the_vegan_bookworm's review against another edition

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lighthearted slow-paced

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

0.5

Every character in this book was totally unlikeable. They read like caricatures instead of real people with any depth.

In many cases, it feels like the author favoured cheap jokes or punch lines over telling a complete story or creating any real layers with the characters or plot.

Nolan and Melody's relationship has no real substance and just feels like a generic office attraction (and that she's attracted to him because he's not a complete loser like every single other person she works with?).

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nemaria's review against another edition

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medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.0

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ratqueen's review against another edition

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funny inspiring lighthearted fast-paced

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

4.0

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