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A review by dlrosebyh
Not Here to Be Liked by Michelle Quach
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
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
2.0
this book is advertised as an academic rivals to lovers slow burn story, so that’s what i expected going in this book— and not here to be liked was definitely not that book.
i do understand why it’s marketed as an academic rivals to lovers. eliza, our protagonist, and len, our love interest, were competing against each other for the better editor. though it seems like an academic rivals to lovers trope, it’s more of an enemies to lovers trope as eliza was pretty much the only one exerting effort to prove herself worthy for that spot.
for the slow burn trope, this book was pretty much instalove. did they get together at around 85% of the book? yes. but only because they barely had interactions. i could barely sense their chemistry, and that sucked because this book was supposed to be a romance book.
i didn’t necessarily like eliza. she was very intolerable, especially her pride. her idea of feminism is not feminism at all, which threw me off.
the only thing i liked about this book was each characters’ development, and that basically was the only element i stayed for.
i do understand why it’s marketed as an academic rivals to lovers. eliza, our protagonist, and len, our love interest, were competing against each other for the better editor. though it seems like an academic rivals to lovers trope, it’s more of an enemies to lovers trope as eliza was pretty much the only one exerting effort to prove herself worthy for that spot.
for the slow burn trope, this book was pretty much instalove. did they get together at around 85% of the book? yes. but only because they barely had interactions. i could barely sense their chemistry, and that sucked because this book was supposed to be a romance book.
i didn’t necessarily like eliza. she was very intolerable, especially her pride. her idea of feminism is not feminism at all, which threw me off.
the only thing i liked about this book was each characters’ development, and that basically was the only element i stayed for.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Misogyny, and Sexism
Moderate: Sexual assault, Vomit, and Alcohol