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larn7's review
5.0
Another great novel from McBain! This one is particularly plot-forward, filled with wordplay and humor.
khylabevibin's review
3.0
3.5 stars.
This story follows the interactions of a self conscious blogger after her nose surgery makes her look like her sister. Suddenly everyone is comparing her to her sister, even the hot Italian ex friend from her past.
This book was an okay read, my first by Louise McBain. There was humor and entertainment but I did have a few problems.
None of the characters seemed fully developed to me. Astrid was boring and most of the times, despite this being her book, I was confused on her feelings. I'd expect the constant comparison to her sister and references to her 'new beauty' to have more of a draining affect on her. But the most the author did for that was one or two lines about her not liking it. A deeper look or more emotional statement from Astrid herself may have actually made me care or feel sorry for her. I also didn't really feel the chemistry between her and Simone but I didn't hate them together. The conflict between them was underwhelming. At the end there wasn't really much growth in Astrid, I would have expected her to gain more self love or respect, maybe even stand up to the constant comparisons. As the synopsis says 'its a woman's journey to find her true self on the way to her happily ever after' but I just didn't see that happening.
The writing was nothing special either. This author does have a few books under her belt but they are all very recent so I'm not completely turned off from her books as there's still a lot of time for improvement. Still time for her to 'own' the writing style and make it her b-tch! Also not sure about the medical accuracy, thought nose jobs would've taken longer than two weeks to even go down in swelling. Maybe it was two weeks, either way the book confused me on that one.
Also the Synopsis gives way too much away.
Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC in return for a honest review
This story follows the interactions of a self conscious blogger after her nose surgery makes her look like her sister. Suddenly everyone is comparing her to her sister, even the hot Italian ex friend from her past.
This book was an okay read, my first by Louise McBain. There was humor and entertainment but I did have a few problems.
None of the characters seemed fully developed to me. Astrid was boring and most of the times, despite this being her book, I was confused on her feelings. I'd expect the constant comparison to her sister and references to her 'new beauty' to have more of a draining affect on her. But the most the author did for that was one or two lines about her not liking it. A deeper look or more emotional statement from Astrid herself may have actually made me care or feel sorry for her. I also didn't really feel the chemistry between her and Simone but I didn't hate them together. The conflict between them was underwhelming. At the end there wasn't really much growth in Astrid, I would have expected her to gain more self love or respect, maybe even stand up to the constant comparisons. As the synopsis says 'its a woman's journey to find her true self on the way to her happily ever after' but I just didn't see that happening.
The writing was nothing special either. This author does have a few books under her belt but they are all very recent so I'm not completely turned off from her books as there's still a lot of time for improvement. Still time for her to 'own' the writing style and make it her b-tch! Also not sure about the medical accuracy, thought nose jobs would've taken longer than two weeks to even go down in swelling. Maybe it was two weeks, either way the book confused me on that one.
Also the Synopsis gives way too much away.
Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC in return for a honest review
angieinbooks's review
3.0
The concept of Astrid Inside/Out is what drew me to this novel, as the conflict was so different than what I usually read. It's not entirely new--it plays on the ugly duckling/swan trope, but the execution is different. And this isn't a book or storyline that will stick with you when it's finished, but I did have a good time with the conflict and the characters in this novel. This was my first Louise McBain book and I was really happy with what I found.
Astrid is a successful blogger who's created a loyal following of readers who are interested in life in the D.C./Maryland/Virginia. She likes her life, she adores her older sister, she even likes her Roman nose (which her sister somehow avoided and most of the women in her family choose to fix when they reach adulthood). She's not happy about her relationship, but that's an entirely different drama.
On the eve of her sister Claire's departure (as the lead in a nation-wide ballet tour), Astrid has an accident and the casualty is her nose. And when she emerges from surgery, she discovers her signature Roman nose is gone and she looks exactly like her sister, a reputed beauty. And for the first time in her life, people are calling her beautiful. Understandably, this experience--and an entirely new face--causes a lot of trauma and insecurity for Astrid. And it's the catalyst for her girlfriend to dump her, which is humiliating because her girlfriend really deserved to be dumped.
And just as she's dealing with the aftermath of her surgery, a fight with her mother, and the end of her relationship, she runs into her sister's childhood friend, the daughter of a former Italian diplomat, Simone. The same Simone Astrid credits with her sexual awakening. The problem is, when her new face, can Astrid trust anyone likes her for her and not because of her newfound beauty?
I don't think anything McBain presents here is extraordinary. It's probably not going to become your favorite book ever, but I enjoyed it as an engaging weekend read and I was pleasantly surprised by what I found.
Astrid is a successful blogger who's created a loyal following of readers who are interested in life in the D.C./Maryland/Virginia. She likes her life, she adores her older sister, she even likes her Roman nose (which her sister somehow avoided and most of the women in her family choose to fix when they reach adulthood). She's not happy about her relationship, but that's an entirely different drama.
On the eve of her sister Claire's departure (as the lead in a nation-wide ballet tour), Astrid has an accident and the casualty is her nose. And when she emerges from surgery, she discovers her signature Roman nose is gone and she looks exactly like her sister, a reputed beauty. And for the first time in her life, people are calling her beautiful. Understandably, this experience--and an entirely new face--causes a lot of trauma and insecurity for Astrid. And it's the catalyst for her girlfriend to dump her, which is humiliating because her girlfriend really deserved to be dumped.
And just as she's dealing with the aftermath of her surgery, a fight with her mother, and the end of her relationship, she runs into her sister's childhood friend, the daughter of a former Italian diplomat, Simone. The same Simone Astrid credits with her sexual awakening. The problem is, when her new face, can Astrid trust anyone likes her for her and not because of her newfound beauty?
I don't think anything McBain presents here is extraordinary. It's probably not going to become your favorite book ever, but I enjoyed it as an engaging weekend read and I was pleasantly surprised by what I found.
khieeae's review
3.0
3.5 stars.
This story follows the interactions of a self conscious blogger after her nose surgery makes her look like her sister. Suddenly everyone is comparing her to her sister, even the hot Italian ex friend from her past.
This book was an okay read, my first by Louise McBain. There was humor and entertainment but I did have a few problems.
None of the characters seemed fully developed to me. Astrid was boring and most of the times, despite this being her book, I was confused on her feelings. I'd expect the constant comparison to her sister and references to her 'new beauty' to have more of a draining affect on her. But the most the author did for that was one or two lines about her not liking it. A deeper look or more emotional statement from Astrid herself may have actually made me care or feel sorry for her. I also didn't really feel the chemistry between her and Simone but I didn't hate them together. The conflict between them was underwhelming. At the end there wasn't really much growth in Astrid, I would have expected her to gain more self love or respect, maybe even stand up to the constant comparisons. As the synopsis says 'its a woman's journey to find her true self on the way to her happily ever after' but I just didn't see that happening.
The writing was nothing special either. This author does have a few books under her belt but they are all very recent so I'm not completely turned off from her books as there's still a lot of time for improvement. Still time for her to 'own' the writing style and make it her b-tch! Also not sure about the medical accuracy, thought nose jobs would've taken longer than two weeks to even go down in swelling. Maybe it was two weeks, either way the book confused me on that one.
Also the Synopsis gives way too much away.
Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC in return for a honest review
This story follows the interactions of a self conscious blogger after her nose surgery makes her look like her sister. Suddenly everyone is comparing her to her sister, even the hot Italian ex friend from her past.
This book was an okay read, my first by Louise McBain. There was humor and entertainment but I did have a few problems.
None of the characters seemed fully developed to me. Astrid was boring and most of the times, despite this being her book, I was confused on her feelings. I'd expect the constant comparison to her sister and references to her 'new beauty' to have more of a draining affect on her. But the most the author did for that was one or two lines about her not liking it. A deeper look or more emotional statement from Astrid herself may have actually made me care or feel sorry for her. I also didn't really feel the chemistry between her and Simone but I didn't hate them together. The conflict between them was underwhelming. At the end there wasn't really much growth in Astrid, I would have expected her to gain more self love or respect, maybe even stand up to the constant comparisons. As the synopsis says 'its a woman's journey to find her true self on the way to her happily ever after' but I just didn't see that happening.
The writing was nothing special either. This author does have a few books under her belt but they are all very recent so I'm not completely turned off from her books as there's still a lot of time for improvement. Still time for her to 'own' the writing style and make it her b-tch! Also not sure about the medical accuracy, thought nose jobs would've taken longer than two weeks to even go down in swelling. Maybe it was two weeks, either way the book confused me on that one.
Also the Synopsis gives way too much away.
Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC in return for a honest review
judeinthestars's review
3.0
I really liked [b:Claiming Camille|52316032|Claiming Camille|Louise McBain|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1562106493l/52316032._SX50_SY75_.jpg|71763623] and [b:Maybe Charlotte|55922776|Maybe Charlotte|Louise McBain|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1605632463l/55922776._SY75_.jpg|87135640] and was hoping to get the same feeling of simple enjoyment with this novel, my third by Louise McBain.
Unfortunately, I didn’t. I found the premise interesting, the idea that an unwanted physical change might be seen as an improvement by the people close the character but not by the character themselves. I never really got into the story, however, and while Astrid was an interesting character, the romance felt rushed and the writing a bit too choppy, not flowing enough.
My favourite part was the author’s description of nature. McBain obviously loves the outside (if you follow her on social media, you already know that) and shares that love with her readers through this book. I hope she keeps doing that in her future books.
I received a copy from the publisher and I am voluntarily leaving a review.
Unfortunately, I didn’t. I found the premise interesting, the idea that an unwanted physical change might be seen as an improvement by the people close the character but not by the character themselves. I never really got into the story, however, and while Astrid was an interesting character, the romance felt rushed and the writing a bit too choppy, not flowing enough.
My favourite part was the author’s description of nature. McBain obviously loves the outside (if you follow her on social media, you already know that) and shares that love with her readers through this book. I hope she keeps doing that in her future books.
I received a copy from the publisher and I am voluntarily leaving a review.