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wisewayfarer's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, and Alcohol
Moderate: Addiction, Suicidal thoughts, and Abandonment
Minor: Sexual content
amystainton's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book is quite a rollercoaster. You go into it thinking that it will be a really lighthearted, because it is an easy read. I was really taken aback by how reflective it made me. Hearing the same story from the perspective of so many different characters and personalities really made me think about how quick we are to judge people, and think we know exactly what kind of person they are, and how their brain works.
I absolutely adored this book, and style of writing. Human nature is really astounding, and I love the type of books that solely focus on that, so I guess bare that in mind.
But very well written and enjoyable. 5⭐️
I absolutely adored this book, and style of writing. Human nature is really astounding, and I love the type of books that solely focus on that, so I guess bare that in mind.
But very well written and enjoyable. 5⭐️
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Biphobia, Homophobia, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
pencilspeaker's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Just love how Dolan writes messy, (almost) unlikable characters. and even though they were so messy, they were so relatable sometimes, maybe because that made them feel more real.
I think the ending of the book is also just perfect: the happy couple is happy not being a couple. Nice. And also nice that Luke and Archie did not end up together .
I think the ending of the book is also just perfect:
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Infidelity, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Drug abuse and Suicidal thoughts
joensign's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Alcohol
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
hmatt's review
challenging
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
It's lazy to compare this novel to Sally Rooney's writing, but the style felt similar to me (in a good way). The narration kind of rambles on, regardless of who is narrating, and that rings as genuine. I like that this story is exactly as short as it needed to be, and I liked that everyone is a little terrible.
Where this fell short in my estimate was really just its "oomph". Since everyone is terrible and no one seems to carewhere Luke went during the engagement party , nothing really actually matters. And maybe that's the point and others will find this a brilliant little snapshot of a toxic relationship! I found it entertaining, but not wow-ing.
Where this fell short in my estimate was really just its "oomph". Since everyone is terrible and no one seems to care
Content Warnings
Moderate: Infidelity, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship
_fallinglight_'s review against another edition
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Suicide attempt
thatswhatshanread's review
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
This book reads like several different thoughts and feelings until it doesn’t. Which is to say, at first I felt a little lost in the quick dialogue and characters whose relationships overlapped in too many ways—until, without knowing it, I fell into their world with no effort, surrounded by the complex nature of looking for love and wanting companionship, but never quite in the right way. “The Happy Couple” in question is never very happy, and their exes are never very happy, and the impending wedding seems less and less likely as the story goes on in starts and stops, present day and scenes of the past ten years.
Celine and Luke are relatable in the fact that sometimes they are not relatable at all and yet, you see them in pieces everywhere around you. Their relationship is made up of all of the other relationships they’ve been in and are in, not necessarily on just the two of them, and therein lies the dilemma. Luke and Celine aren’t really meant to be together with such an unsteady foundation, but neither of them wants to disturb the peace, which is really a lack thereof.
Perhaps I don’t really know what I’m talking about, but my main takeaway was that, although the timeline was a little murky at times, and there were probably too many characters that I mixed them up at times, I still felt a part of this story. Like maybe I was one of those other relationships that makes up the one. WHAT I’M SAYING IS… Naoise Dolan has a way of getting into your head. Her characters aren’t exactly lovable or particularly notable, but the ways they act and the things they do read just like everyday life. It’s personal in its ambiguity.
Some favorite quotes:
She said one thing and your job was to contradict. You don't care about me' meant Tell me you care', and 'I put all the work in' meant ‘Tell me you're still committed'.
Loneliness wasn’t having no one. Loneliness was the gap between what you hoped for and what you got.
Jane Austen was Jane Austen, and wrote novels that have elicited centuries of tears and laughter. She had an intellect so huge that millions still long to know it. Countless hours of human life have been spent gratefully enjoying the output of her consciousness. If you measure love by how much time another person can spend in your mind while considering the benefit all theirs, then Jane Austen is possibly the most adored woman of all time. And she still couldn't imagine a happier ending than a man becoming less mean.
Celine and Luke are relatable in the fact that sometimes they are not relatable at all and yet, you see them in pieces everywhere around you. Their relationship is made up of all of the other relationships they’ve been in and are in, not necessarily on just the two of them, and therein lies the dilemma. Luke and Celine aren’t really meant to be together with such an unsteady foundation, but neither of them wants to disturb the peace, which is really a lack thereof.
Perhaps I don’t really know what I’m talking about, but my main takeaway was that, although the timeline was a little murky at times, and there were probably too many characters that I mixed them up at times, I still felt a part of this story. Like maybe I was one of those other relationships that makes up the one. WHAT I’M SAYING IS… Naoise Dolan has a way of getting into your head. Her characters aren’t exactly lovable or particularly notable, but the ways they act and the things they do read just like everyday life. It’s personal in its ambiguity.
Some favorite quotes:
She said one thing and your job was to contradict. You don't care about me' meant Tell me you care', and 'I put all the work in' meant ‘Tell me you're still committed'.
Loneliness wasn’t having no one. Loneliness was the gap between what you hoped for and what you got.
Jane Austen was Jane Austen, and wrote novels that have elicited centuries of tears and laughter. She had an intellect so huge that millions still long to know it. Countless hours of human life have been spent gratefully enjoying the output of her consciousness. If you measure love by how much time another person can spend in your mind while considering the benefit all theirs, then Jane Austen is possibly the most adored woman of all time. And she still couldn't imagine a happier ending than a man becoming less mean.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Drug use, Infidelity, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Addiction, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Alcohol
annoyedhumanoid's review
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
+3 stars for references to Taylor Swift and Mitski
+2 stars for an enjoyable, genuinely funny cohesive collection of character studies that each serve an overarching plot. (Phoebe is my favorite, she's just like me for real—which is exactly what i said about the narrator of Dolan's first novel, Exciting Times.)
-1 star for the awkward length, about halfway between a novel and a novella. there was very little plot progression compared to character development, which isn't inherently bad, but it felt like the story stood in place while we re-litigated every character's past. if it's between being longer with more plot or shorter with less character development, and as someone storygraph brands as "Typically choos[ing] fast-paced books that are <300 pages long", you can imagine i would advocate for the latter. the obvious one to go is Vivian—i don't really know why she got her own part in the first place, except i suppose that what plot it did have couldn't have been told through Luke's because his took the format of groom speech drafts.* i appreciated her outlook on life but it felt only tangentially connected to the rest of the book. i do recognize, though, that her character is the only woman explicitly said to be a person of color, leaving a hole in her absence. it's a difficult predicament then, for which i don't have a good solution that doesn't completely deviate from the author's intent. obviously none of this matters or will ever happen, i just like thinking about how to create the (probably nonexistent) "perfect story".
*+0.5 stars for the very fun format at times. the tables? yes please! tabularly-formatted data is so pleasing to me.
and if you haven't been keeping track, that's 3+2-1+0.5, which comes out to 4.5 stars.
+2 stars for an enjoyable, genuinely funny cohesive collection of character studies that each serve an overarching plot. (Phoebe is my favorite, she's just like me for real—which is exactly what i said about the narrator of Dolan's first novel, Exciting Times.)
-1 star for the awkward length, about halfway between a novel and a novella. there was very little plot progression compared to character development, which isn't inherently bad, but it felt like the story stood in place while we re-litigated every character's past. if it's between being longer with more plot or shorter with less character development, and as someone storygraph brands as "Typically choos[ing] fast-paced books that are <300 pages long", you can imagine i would advocate for the latter. the obvious one to go is Vivian—i don't really know why she got her own part in the first place, except i suppose that what plot it did have couldn't have been told through Luke's because his took the format of groom speech drafts.* i appreciated her outlook on life but it felt only tangentially connected to the rest of the book. i do recognize, though, that her character is the only woman explicitly said to be a person of color, leaving a hole in her absence. it's a difficult predicament then, for which i don't have a good solution that doesn't completely deviate from the author's intent. obviously none of this matters or will ever happen, i just like thinking about how to create the (probably nonexistent) "perfect story".
*+0.5 stars for the very fun format at times. the tables? yes please! tabularly-formatted data is so pleasing to me.
and if you haven't been keeping track, that's 3+2-1+0.5, which comes out to 4.5 stars.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Cursing, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Alcohol
Minor: Racism, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Colonisation
znvisser's review against another edition
funny
reflective
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
This blurb promised a mess and I was here for it. After I started reading I spotted some Sally Rooney comparisons in other reviews, but I found Dolans characters more interesting and the writing more fun (it's been a while since I tried Rooney tho). I enjoyed the awkwardly human dialogue, observations and reflections from the characters. And even though I couldn't relate to the 'romantic' relationships portrayed, the non-romantic ones and the roles all characters fulfilled in each others lives felt very real. Wasn't fond of how the distracted enabler and the very troubled cause schemed against their mutual interest towards the end - as if their situations weren't a result of all three of them making mistakes again and again - but I guess realistically it is how such situations would unfold. And luckily, I did feel the last chapter cleared it up and made up for it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Infidelity and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Religious bigotry
abi2xoxo's review against another edition
fast-paced
3.75
I did enjoy this book. I got confused at times of who was speaking and terminology used also confused me but I enjoyed the characters! I like the ending and it was satisfying!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Infertility, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship