fatzbrekker's review
lighthearted
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? It's complicated
1.0
I did NOT enjoy this, and the only reason I read the whole thing was for the sake of finishing another book.
The protagonist, Nina, was quite relatable to me. I liked her a lot and understood a lot of her. But that is all I have to say about here really. She didn't stand out well enough.
There were far too many characters to the point where it got incredibly confusing. I couldn't differentiate between where each of the side characters fell into her life; none of them stood out as significant and they all seemed to mould into one personality.
Don't even get me started on the love interest. I found Tom insufferable from first meeting him. He was creepy and icky and a walking red flag. Some of the things he said to Nina were truly gobsmacking, in particular the way he acted when she initially broke up with him, and especially at the end when he said:
"What about the next time you freak out? I don't want to be with someone who's ready to throw me under the bus every time she loses her composure."
HELLO?? SHE LITERALLY HAS ANXIETY AND HAS REPEATEDLY TOLD YOU THAT!!! And I cannot fathom why Nina would choose to be with him after he said this to her PUBLICLY. So, no, I cannot accept that he was supposed to be a good love interest, or the best person for Nina, and I did not like him at all. Nina, girl, you can do so much better.
In terms of the whole "new family" aspect of the plot, I don't think it was executed as well as it could have been. It felt really forced, as though the author was trying so hard to MAKE it fit into the story. Again, the amount of characters being introduced didn't help with this at all. And the whole will reading towards the end felt so anti-climactic. Like I said, because this storyline felt forced, it didn't tie together very nicely.
Another thing that really, truly bugged the heck out of me throughout my reading process, was the writing. When you first start the book, it begins with Nina's pov, and this goes on for a while so naturally, you get used to being in the head of the protagonist and expect it to continue as such throughout. That is not the case. What made me have to stop reading a lot of the time, was the random pov changes MID-PARAGRAPH. It went from Nina one line to Tom in the next and back to Nina, And it didn't end there. Polly (one of the many side-characters, I think?) also got a pov for a few lines in one chapter. I had to go back and read it to make sure I was understanding the text properly. It didn't make for an easy, flowing read which a reader would usually expect from this type of book.
It was also very, very wordy. There was a lot of unnecessary description on characters and topics that hadn't been built up at the start. It felt congested and claustrophobic at times, reading a chunky paragraph of page on something that had no relation whatsoever to any of the characters or storylines. It definitely could have been at least 50 pages shorter, if not more.
Anyway, this was a TERRIBLE book. Don't waste your time.
The protagonist, Nina, was quite relatable to me. I liked her a lot and understood a lot of her. But that is all I have to say about here really. She didn't stand out well enough.
There were far too many characters to the point where it got incredibly confusing. I couldn't differentiate between where each of the side characters fell into her life; none of them stood out as significant and they all seemed to mould into one personality.
Don't even get me started on the love interest. I found Tom insufferable from first meeting him. He was creepy and icky and a walking red flag. Some of the things he said to Nina were truly gobsmacking, in particular the way he acted when she initially broke up with him, and especially at the end when he said:
"What about the next time you freak out? I don't want to be with someone who's ready to throw me under the bus every time she loses her composure."
HELLO?? SHE LITERALLY HAS ANXIETY AND HAS REPEATEDLY TOLD YOU THAT!!! And I cannot fathom why Nina would choose to be with him after he said this to her PUBLICLY. So, no, I cannot accept that he was supposed to be a good love interest, or the best person for Nina, and I did not like him at all. Nina, girl, you can do so much better.
In terms of the whole "new family" aspect of the plot, I don't think it was executed as well as it could have been. It felt really forced, as though the author was trying so hard to MAKE it fit into the story. Again, the amount of characters being introduced didn't help with this at all. And the whole will reading towards the end felt so anti-climactic. Like I said, because this storyline felt forced, it didn't tie together very nicely.
Another thing that really, truly bugged the heck out of me throughout my reading process, was the writing. When you first start the book, it begins with Nina's pov, and this goes on for a while so naturally, you get used to being in the head of the protagonist and expect it to continue as such throughout. That is not the case. What made me have to stop reading a lot of the time, was the random pov changes MID-PARAGRAPH. It went from Nina one line to Tom in the next and back to Nina, And it didn't end there. Polly (one of the many side-characters, I think?) also got a pov for a few lines in one chapter. I had to go back and read it to make sure I was understanding the text properly. It didn't make for an easy, flowing read which a reader would usually expect from this type of book.
It was also very, very wordy. There was a lot of unnecessary description on characters and topics that hadn't been built up at the start. It felt congested and claustrophobic at times, reading a chunky paragraph of page on something that had no relation whatsoever to any of the characters or storylines. It definitely could have been at least 50 pages shorter, if not more.
Anyway, this was a TERRIBLE book. Don't waste your time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism
Moderate: Mental illness
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