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tbrnichols's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
These people... Suck? Honestly entirely unclear why I would want them to be happy or together. Why are they friends with Warren when he seems to have no redeeming qualities (it's constantly mentioned that he has a job but refuses to pay rent, he exclusively treats women as sex objects, he has no sense of boundaries)? Why are they all regularly casually transphobic? Why can't anyone handle their feelings without resorting to physical violence or property destruction? Why is she so into him speaking out loud? I think I would have felt a lot more comfortable with the non-Deaf person being the one going outside their comfort zone to communicate, rather than her being extremely into him having to confront his childhood trauma to communicate with her. Like not saying he can't grow and overcome it, but it didn't feel like he had much of a choice since she hadn't learned ASL at all. The only personal growth either of them seem to do at all is Ridge realizing that basing a relationship off of a year of pining and fantasy is not great. But never does he seem to address his ability to fall in love with a girl when he's already partnered. Shouldn't he address that with Sydney before they sleep together if he's not going to be able to be monogamous? And I didn't really feel like Sydney did any personal growth whatsoever. Even with Maggie's understanding attitude, they still ended a relationship that seemed plausible to be a forever situation and that felt really unfair to her. (But she also sucks like why does she parade Sydney around in her underwear when she's blackout drunk at a party??)
Graphic: Infidelity
Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexism, Transphobia, Medical trauma, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Dementia