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A review by pushingdessy
Authentically Izzy by Pepper Basham
Did not finish book.
1.0
Nope. Nope. Nope. No more straight romance ARCs, I say!
I received this ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
DNF at... less than 20%, I think. Not looking back.
I should have looked up this book here before requesting it. Then I would have seen it's aptly marked as "Christian romance" -which it wasn't on NetGalley- and known this wasn't going to be for me.
Or maybe the premise alone of a "well-meaning" *cough judgemental asshole with no boundaries* relative making a profile on a dating site for someone who isn't interested just because they think they know best and it's time for baby to lower her expectations and settle down, a trope that is as overdone as it is tiring, should have been enough to put me off. But alas, the Lord of the Ring references got to me!
First off, the Christian content is hard to miss, and that's fine - again, if you mark the book as such and readers know this going in. I'm not here for it, but I thought "okay, just a few pages more, just out of the graciousness of my heart".
Yeah, that was a mistake. What made me quit, really, was the way Izzy was treated by her cousin(s) - like her life was lacking because she hadn't found a man, like she had to find someone to settle down with before it was too late, like she had to lower her expectations, like she had to be pushed into a dating site without her consent just so this miracle would happen for her. SHE'S THIRTY YEARS OLD. In addition to whatever the fuck that is, there was sexism and shaming galore. Have some choice quotes:
Once her babies are born, she'll have something else to take up her time. WHAT. WHAT??!!
Can't you become obsessed with another type of ring to change your real world instead of a fantasy one? Thanks, I'll take the One Ring.
Now I'm sure he thinks I'm a lazy, bookish simpleton. And probably fat. Yeah you know what, I was being prejudiced by the Christian thing, this is exactly it. Comen hostia y cagan diablo.
Now, I skipped to the ending for this one:
It took being forced into unwanted matchmaking for me to discover who I was, what I wanted, and my own perfect match. Isn't that what we all want down deep? Yeah totally, I think everyone should let their family set them up on a dating site, set up blind dates they didn't ask for, and constantly harass them so they can find their own, God-given true love!
Yes, the point of the book is that, instead of changing herself into the person her obnoxious cousin thinks she should be, Izzy embraces her authentic self and finds true love that way. I mean... I guess. Based on the title. I sure hope so. But this whole trope... ENOUGH. BASTA.
The beginning is also told exclusively in epistolary style, which means Izzy writes some damn long emails. Not only these people are exchanging giant emails every days (who does that?? just get on the phone), but they also talk like they're in a Jane Austen novel. That and the way Josephine was bent on getting Izzy a man made me feel like I was reading Pride and Prejudice, except bad.
Just no, no, thank you, but no.
I received this ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
DNF at... less than 20%, I think. Not looking back.
I should have looked up this book here before requesting it. Then I would have seen it's aptly marked as "Christian romance" -which it wasn't on NetGalley- and known this wasn't going to be for me.
Or maybe the premise alone of a "well-meaning" *cough judgemental asshole with no boundaries* relative making a profile on a dating site for someone who isn't interested just because they think they know best and it's time for baby to lower her expectations and settle down, a trope that is as overdone as it is tiring, should have been enough to put me off. But alas, the Lord of the Ring references got to me!
First off, the Christian content is hard to miss, and that's fine - again, if you mark the book as such and readers know this going in. I'm not here for it, but I thought "okay, just a few pages more, just out of the graciousness of my heart".
Yeah, that was a mistake. What made me quit, really, was the way Izzy was treated by her cousin(s) - like her life was lacking because she hadn't found a man, like she had to find someone to settle down with before it was too late, like she had to lower her expectations, like she had to be pushed into a dating site without her consent just so this miracle would happen for her. SHE'S THIRTY YEARS OLD. In addition to whatever the fuck that is, there was sexism and shaming galore. Have some choice quotes:
Once her babies are born, she'll have something else to take up her time. WHAT. WHAT??!!
Can't you become obsessed with another type of ring to change your real world instead of a fantasy one? Thanks, I'll take the One Ring.
Now I'm sure he thinks I'm a lazy, bookish simpleton. And probably fat. Yeah you know what, I was being prejudiced by the Christian thing, this is exactly it. Comen hostia y cagan diablo.
Now, I skipped to the ending for this one:
It took being forced into unwanted matchmaking for me to discover who I was, what I wanted, and my own perfect match. Isn't that what we all want down deep? Yeah totally, I think everyone should let their family set them up on a dating site, set up blind dates they didn't ask for, and constantly harass them so they can find their own, God-given true love!
Yes, the point of the book is that, instead of changing herself into the person her obnoxious cousin thinks she should be, Izzy embraces her authentic self and finds true love that way. I mean... I guess. Based on the title. I sure hope so. But this whole trope... ENOUGH. BASTA.
The beginning is also told exclusively in epistolary style, which means Izzy writes some damn long emails. Not only these people are exchanging giant emails every days (who does that?? just get on the phone), but they also talk like they're in a Jane Austen novel. That and the way Josephine was bent on getting Izzy a man made me feel like I was reading Pride and Prejudice, except bad.
Just no, no, thank you, but no.