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A review by applesodaperson
Thirst for Salt by Madelaine Lucas
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
This book was actually terrible. It was like a romance book but the love interest man, Jude, is such an insanely bad and unlikeable person to the point where there was never a point where I was rooting for him and the main character. Like he sucks so bad. He gives misogynistic vibes, is absolutely terrible at communication, is a gaslighter, and has zero emotional intelligence. And he doesn’t progress or change or grow at all. The whole time I was just questioning why the main character even liked him at all. Because seriously I was eye rolling when she said that she didn’t think she would ever stop loving him.
And beyond the terrible love interest, the main character was boring. It was interesting when she talked about her mother and their relationship, but she was kind of whiny when talking about anything else. She wasn’t very interesting and she didn’t even grow as a person that much throughout the story. Like book is told in a retrospective style, where she is talking about when she was 24, but she is currently in her 30s. But the stylistic and literary styles were the same. She seemed unchanged, which was not very realistic because I think most middle aged people would say they are very different from when they were young.
This book also treated the age gap trope in a really weirdly. The way characters talked about it just felt awkward.
I didn’t like any of the characters, and it was long and boring, and the relationship was not at all compelling. I think that some people might like this book, but coming from the perspective of being in a happy and healthy relationship, I just hated it. It felt like the least romantic book and I wished I had not read it.
And I’m not saying that books about toxic relationships can’t be good, because they can be really entertaining and enjoyable. But these characters were so one dimensional that it was so awful to read.
Listened to on Libby.
And beyond the terrible love interest, the main character was boring. It was interesting when she talked about her mother and their relationship, but she was kind of whiny when talking about anything else. She wasn’t very interesting and she didn’t even grow as a person that much throughout the story. Like book is told in a retrospective style, where she is talking about when she was 24, but she is currently in her 30s. But the stylistic and literary styles were the same. She seemed unchanged, which was not very realistic because I think most middle aged people would say they are very different from when they were young.
This book also treated the age gap trope in a really weirdly. The way characters talked about it just felt awkward.
I didn’t like any of the characters, and it was long and boring, and the relationship was not at all compelling. I think that some people might like this book, but coming from the perspective of being in a happy and healthy relationship, I just hated it. It felt like the least romantic book and I wished I had not read it.
And I’m not saying that books about toxic relationships can’t be good, because they can be really entertaining and enjoyable. But these characters were so one dimensional that it was so awful to read.
Listened to on Libby.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abortion
Moderate: Animal death