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A review by desiree930
Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
January 29, 2021
I started reading this in fall 2020. Then I stopped reading altogether for close to two months.
When I began this book, I tried to listen to it on audio. However, with the format of the book, I found the narration to be somewhat tedious. This book has several excerpts from fan fiction posts, emails, text chains, and movie scripts. The extra words that your eyes would just skip over when reading an email is all narrated, which ended up kind of taking me out of the story a bit. To be honest, I normally find things like excerpts to be momentum killers in and of themselves, but I did think this book did a nice job tying in themes from the fan fictions to what was going on in the main plot.
I mostly loved the characters. I did think there were a few things that were made more dramatic than they needed to be. For example, Marcus pretending to be a brainless himbo because he got flustered once in an interview and just decided to act that way forever was a little much. And it's never adequately explained why it was risky for him to just act like himself. Every celebrity has interviews they'd probably wish had gone differently. I would've understood if it stemmed from the fact that he is dyslexic, if maybe that caused him some level of anxiety or embarrassment, but he literally says that he doesn't care if people know that he's dyslexic. But somehow acting like he has half a brain could be detrimental to his career...just didn't quite buy it.
I love that April is a (mostly) confident plus-sized character. Of course, there are things that can be emotionally damaging, but she is very strong throughout the book and learns how to stand up for herself to the people she loves about their toxic attitudes regarding her physical appearance. There are a few moments where it takes her awhile, and I wish she would've used her words rather than close off and get passive aggressive, but as a fat person myself I know how hard it can be and there are so many moments in this book that rang true for me.
As far as the romance goes, I do think it happens very quickly. They go from zero to naked in about 3 dates. And if you prefer your sex scenes fade-to-black, this may not be the book for you, not only because the scenes between the main couple are pretty descriptive, but there are also many fan fiction excerpts describing various sex acts. I enjoyed it, for the most part, but I could definitely see some people skipping sections if they aren't comfortable.
One thing that I didn't care for but I'm sure other people loved was the somewhat meta nature of this book. Marcus in an actor on a big budget period show with a huge cast, with lots of violence, graphic sex, and political intrigue. This show is based on a series of very popular books, but the show went on after the point where the books end. The seasons that aren't adapting a book are generally looked down on as being inferior, and rumors are swirling that the final season completely butchers the characters and the story as a whole because the two showrunners are more concerned with their next project, a sci-fi called 'Spacefighters', than they are making sure that the show they are currently in charge of is handled properly. Sound familiar? I'll give you a hint...it rhymes with 'Shame of Crones'.
Seriously though, the GOT-like show being ruined in its final season is a little on the nose. Plus, later in the book the characters actually mention GOT and it just felt a little hokey to me.
I did love the script excerpts from Marcus' previous movies. Absolutely ridiculous in such a fun way. I would say it's unbelievable to think that any of these could actually be made in real life, but Sharknado is a thing, sooooooo...
It's obvious that the author is setting this up to be a series of books, and I will happily check out the next installment. This was fun, sexy, and exactly what I needed.
I started reading this in fall 2020. Then I stopped reading altogether for close to two months.
When I began this book, I tried to listen to it on audio. However, with the format of the book, I found the narration to be somewhat tedious. This book has several excerpts from fan fiction posts, emails, text chains, and movie scripts. The extra words that your eyes would just skip over when reading an email is all narrated, which ended up kind of taking me out of the story a bit. To be honest, I normally find things like excerpts to be momentum killers in and of themselves, but I did think this book did a nice job tying in themes from the fan fictions to what was going on in the main plot.
I mostly loved the characters. I did think there were a few things that were made more dramatic than they needed to be. For example, Marcus pretending to be a brainless himbo because he got flustered once in an interview and just decided to act that way forever was a little much. And it's never adequately explained why it was risky for him to just act like himself. Every celebrity has interviews they'd probably wish had gone differently. I would've understood if it stemmed from the fact that he is dyslexic, if maybe that caused him some level of anxiety or embarrassment, but he literally says that he doesn't care if people know that he's dyslexic. But somehow acting like he has half a brain could be detrimental to his career...just didn't quite buy it.
I love that April is a (mostly) confident plus-sized character. Of course, there are things that can be emotionally damaging, but she is very strong throughout the book and learns how to stand up for herself to the people she loves about their toxic attitudes regarding her physical appearance. There are a few moments where it takes her awhile, and I wish she would've used her words rather than close off and get passive aggressive, but as a fat person myself I know how hard it can be and there are so many moments in this book that rang true for me.
As far as the romance goes, I do think it happens very quickly. They go from zero to naked in about 3 dates. And if you prefer your sex scenes fade-to-black, this may not be the book for you, not only because the scenes between the main couple are pretty descriptive, but there are also many fan fiction excerpts describing various sex acts. I enjoyed it, for the most part, but I could definitely see some people skipping sections if they aren't comfortable.
One thing that I didn't care for but I'm sure other people loved was the somewhat meta nature of this book. Marcus in an actor on a big budget period show with a huge cast, with lots of violence, graphic sex, and political intrigue. This show is based on a series of very popular books, but the show went on after the point where the books end. The seasons that aren't adapting a book are generally looked down on as being inferior, and rumors are swirling that the final season completely butchers the characters and the story as a whole because the two showrunners are more concerned with their next project, a sci-fi called 'Spacefighters', than they are making sure that the show they are currently in charge of is handled properly. Sound familiar? I'll give you a hint...it rhymes with 'Shame of Crones'.
Seriously though, the GOT-like show being ruined in its final season is a little on the nose. Plus, later in the book the characters actually mention GOT and it just felt a little hokey to me.
I did love the script excerpts from Marcus' previous movies. Absolutely ridiculous in such a fun way. I would say it's unbelievable to think that any of these could actually be made in real life, but Sharknado is a thing, sooooooo...
It's obvious that the author is setting this up to be a series of books, and I will happily check out the next installment. This was fun, sexy, and exactly what I needed.