Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'

Queerly Beloved by Susie Dumond

3 reviews

mlindsay27's review against another edition

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I found this book very boring. It's described as being a romcom but the love interest has only been it for maybe 5% of what I did read. It also stereotypes the gay male characters as the "gay best friends" and stereotypes the love interest as a lesbian who has short hair and wears suits. and gives the message that someone NEEDS come out in order to be considered valid in the LGBTQ+ community. The book mentions that it takes place in 2013 but then references things that weren't common then (introducing yourself using pronouns). The one plus side to the physical copy of the book is that it has a recipe for cupcakes at the back.

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dogbuttsandbooks's review against another edition

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challenging emotional sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I’m always on the lookout for more contemporary sapphic romances, especially set in the southern United States, so I was VERY excited to get my hands on an arc of Queerly Beloved. And that’s where the excitement ended. This book had great story concepts, but needed some serious editing - there were so many different storylines. Is it about someone hiding their queer identity at work? Or a professional bridesmaid? Or a sapphic romance? Or a coming of age story? It was trying to do too much and ended up succeeding at none of it. The side characters were all severely underdeveloped and seemed to rely on queer stereotypes. Also this should not be marketed as a romance, it’s barely a part of the storyline and has the most forced HEA of all time. 

So many content warnings for homophobia. 

Last thing - while I love the frequent use of pronouns in the book, that would not have been normal in 2013.


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womanwill's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0


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