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A review by theamyleblanc
Total Creative Control by Joanna Chambers, Sally Malcolm
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
2.5
Once again, I've fallen victim to an adorable cover and an intriguing synopsis.
I didn't enjoy this. The only reason I finished it is because Aaron is a fanfiction writer and I wanted to see how that would play out. Unfortunately, it was just as disappointing as everything else. The conversation around it was preachy and weird. Lewis and Aaron were both so unyielding in their opinions when some perfectly valid points were made. I wish the sense of community that fanfiction offers was explored more. And yeah, Aaron loves it but his reasons were kind of shallow.
If you're going to use a story as social commentary, make the conversation worth it.
Aaron is a decent-enough character but he's the only one. He can't carry the story by himself amidst all the other awful, 2D caricatures. Charlie is despicable, Mils and Geoff are practically pointless, Toni seems cool but doesn't get enough screen time to make much of an impact. And Lewis, good lord Lewis. He's not a grump, he's a d*ck. The number of times I wanted to scream at him "Sir, you're 34 years old. Stop acting like a spoiled brat and get your sh*t together!" I'll never understand what Aaron saw in him.
Technically, the narrative is annoyingly repetitive. I was able to skim whole chunks and not miss much. The spicy scenes are the flattest, more boring than vanilla, most unremarkable scenes I've ever read. Both Aaron and Lewis gush over the experience in their PoVs, about how different and special and romantic it was. But none of that came across in the writing.
I'm so disappointed.
I didn't enjoy this. The only reason I finished it is because Aaron is a fanfiction writer and I wanted to see how that would play out. Unfortunately, it was just as disappointing as everything else. The conversation around it was preachy and weird. Lewis and Aaron were both so unyielding in their opinions when some perfectly valid points were made. I wish the sense of community that fanfiction offers was explored more. And yeah, Aaron loves it but his reasons were kind of shallow.
If you're going to use a story as social commentary, make the conversation worth it.
Aaron is a decent-enough character but he's the only one. He can't carry the story by himself amidst all the other awful, 2D caricatures. Charlie is despicable, Mils and Geoff are practically pointless, Toni seems cool but doesn't get enough screen time to make much of an impact. And Lewis, good lord Lewis. He's not a grump, he's a d*ck. The number of times I wanted to scream at him "Sir, you're 34 years old. Stop acting like a spoiled brat and get your sh*t together!" I'll never understand what Aaron saw in him.
Technically, the narrative is annoyingly repetitive. I was able to skim whole chunks and not miss much. The spicy scenes are the flattest, more boring than vanilla, most unremarkable scenes I've ever read. Both Aaron and Lewis gush over the experience in their PoVs, about how different and special and romantic it was. But none of that came across in the writing.
I'm so disappointed.