Reviews with content warning for Body shaming - Mad About You

I feel kind of weird saying I read this book because I skimmed a LOT of it. The first 20% was basically just a description of a really bad breakup, which was not particularly fun to read. Although I did find Jon’s insidious anger/disrespect/emotionally manipulative decisions to be really well done. Does a wonderful job of showing how a self proclaimed “nice guy” is often anything but. So that was very interesting, but I didn’t really want to read a play by play of a bad breakup so I skimmed most of that section. I also skimmed a lot of the emotionally manipulative Scott stuff in the middle of the book because it was kind of triggering for me to read. So I would say I probably read about half of the book, give or take 15%. I almost categorized this as a DNF for that reason, but I did read most of the main plot stuff and the majority of the book I did read. But it was really hard for me to read some of the abusive, gaslighting, emotional manipulation etc. scenes and so I had to do a lot of skimming. I also felt like the banter/descriptions/conversations in certain scenes were drawn out too long and so I skimmed a lot because I felt like I was getting the same sort of thing repeated a bunch. While I mostly did skim a lot and would say this book wasn’t the rom com I was expecting, this book did a really good job of laying out the red flags of an emotionally manipulative, abusive relationship. Showing how you can think everything is fine and shrug off lots of red flags and then when you are out of the relationship you see things that were really not okay, or as was the case with Jon, big issues come to light during the breakup phase. I think this book was a really thorough, accurate, well represented analysis of toxic relationships and had some really moving scenes as Harriet worked through her trauma and found support in good people like Nina and her friend Lorna. The scene where Nina and Harriet talk on the phone the first time and Nina is a supportive, understanding survivor of Scott as well made me cry. But the book also did a good job of showing how many people will often side with the abuser, like some of Harriet’s other friends. This book could be really important for people to see, to realize how they have been mistreated and know what signs to look for. I really respect this book for that reason.

But I also felt that it was really hard to read because a lot of the content was really intense and slightly triggering. And my big issue is that given the description of the book and the cover, I had NO idea about any of this going into it. I think it’s really important, but it’s also really important to be upfront about the kind of content that is going to be in this book, so that if you’re not in the right headspace to read this then you don’t get surprised by it. This is not a rom-com by any means. Cal and Harriet add some levity and a sweet relationship to the story, but they are not the main focus. I really respect what this book does, but definitely be aware going into it that this could be hard for some people to read.

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helloiloveyellow's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny hopeful sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated

5.0

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kaydeedickins's review against another edition

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emotional funny medium-paced

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

4.0

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alba_marie's review

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emotional slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? No

3.0

First off, I'll start by saying that this isn't a romance. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but I felt duped by the cheery cover, easy title, and the summary talking mostly about Harriet and her new roommate Cal.

The romance part is tacked on at the end, a footnote in a story otherwise about Harriet's woes. In fact, that's what I'd call this book. Harriet's Woes.

Really, it's woman's fiction – not a genre a typically like or read, despite being a woman who likes fiction.

It's mostly about Harriet and her relationship issues involving numerous romantic partners as well as friends. I did not enjoy being in Harriet's life, and found it exhausting. She is meant to be a realistic, complex, modern woman (I think) but really she just came off as slightly selfish and a bit annoying, the architect of her own misadventures (even if she's not supposed to be). I didn't always agree with her supposedly feminist ways. I didn't think some of her treatment to Jon, her then boyfriend, was very good (she does admit that later on). He did some dumb things, but the way she treated him was pretty crap.

I really didn't get why she was so mad at her friend for dating her ex. Who cares! This is a plot-line I never got. Once you break up with someone, it's over. That means they are free to do what they like, sleep with whom they like. What, if you can't have him, no one can? How selfish is that? And then Harriet just assumes her ex is doing it to "get at her." That is so selfish!

Then there's the whole toxic relationship curveball in the last third. It wasn't what I expected at all. It was an interesting dissection of an emotionally abusive relationship but it wasn't the kind of book I wanted or expected...

I never got much chemistry between Harriet and Cal. I never really liked her long-time friends Lorna and Roxie. Her newer friends, Marianne and Nina, were much more likeable and interesting, despite their flash appearance.

Anyway, this sort of book might work for some but it wasn't what I wanted and don't think I'll return to the author. It's just not my genre.

TW: 1st person POV of a toxic, emotionally abusive relationship

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kt_timms's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I found myself able to read this quickly! It’s medium-paced, and it felt natural to read in large chunks (just how I like to read books). The characters are both lovable and relatable, while others I found to be irritating and not-my-favorite (likely the point the author was trying to convey)! The style of writing was really nice, and again, easy to read as it flowed well together from chapter to chapter. I’m a sucker for a good romance novel, and this definitely hit the spot. I’m so glad I came across this book randomly while browsing on StoryGraph!

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katrinaward's review against another edition

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dark emotional slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.0

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