A review by elemomi
Hard Sell by Hudson Lin

emotional lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

This book was a massive disappointment. There are some elements that didn’t work for me, which is fine, but there were some references, actions by characters, and views that are actively harmful that I wish I had known about beforehand.

First, there was a one-off comment by Tobin that audiobooks don’t count as reading. I believe this was an internal comment, so other characters couldn’t correct him (more on that later), but this view is incredibly ablest and condescending. And, quite frankly, it’s incorrect.

Second, Tobin jokes at one point to his roommate and her girlfriend that maybe Danny was into
pedophilia or incest
because of their long history and age difference. His roommate’s girlfriend immediately calls out the harmfulness of that joke, but in the wider context of the ongoing right-wing rhetoric around queer people (this book was published in 2021), a comment like this is really tone deaf and perpetuates harm. This also isn’t the only time Tobin or Danny makes a reference like that, although it is the only time it’s called out.

Finally, although the book has a content warning early on that it mentions sex trafficking, that fails to take into account the very cavalier way it is handled by Danny and Ray, including failing to report it to authorities until it was beneficial for their company. Using sex trafficking as a (minor to the plot, not in horribleness) plot point is arguably a poor choice, but having your characters actively ignore it until it benefits them is categorically shitty. I don’t care if that’s true to the finance world - do better.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings