A review by lauren_shilling
The Idea of You by Robinne Lee

emotional sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This is absolutely a five star review, but I want to start it off by saying that this is not at all a perfect book. However, I loved it so much, and I think it deserves five stars for the emotional response I had to it. Sometimes you just have to give a book five stars for the reading experience, not the book itself, because in the end, to me the experience is the most important part of reading. I wanted the movie with a friend and was surprised by how much I enjoyed it, so I wanted to read the book. The book surprised me, because the tone is very different than the movie. To me, this book is less of a romance and more of a contemporary story that happens to center on two people falling in love, if that makes sense. It also feels intelligently written to me. The author clearly has a well rounded view of humanity in general, as well as fame and how it can be both positive and negative, and I really enjoyed unpacking it all. There were a few plot points that bothered me because it felt like we weren't treating them with the full range of emotions and impacts they should have, but overall, I feel like it was written by an intelligent person with intelligent thoughts about the subject matter discussed and the characters the book centered on. I also really enjoyed learning about the dynamics between certain characters, including Solene and her ex-husband, Solene and her daughter, Hayes and Oliver (though I'd have loved to get more information about this, but I also understand why we didn't), and the band in general. I found all of the characters to be well rounded and consistent, and they felt very real to me. I felt a whole range of emotions reading this book too. I really loved it, and though it isn't perfect, I enjoyed it very deeply. It gave me one of the best reading experiences I've had in a while. It also got me out of my reading slump, which was had been dragging on for almost four months now, so I am very grateful for that!
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