A review by rainyamy
Maybe in Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid
3.0
“‘Naturally,’ she says. ‘Or maybe I’ll just leave Mark. You and I could raise your baby together. […] Just me and you and the baby.’” (175)
There was a point nearing the end where I was so hopeful and starting to excitedly believe that this is where the book was heading, that this was going to subvert expectations of the cheesy grandiose romance and be an uplifting and comforting story of friendship, and of identifying what matters most to you as an individual and remaining true to that. A story of two women who endured pain and difficulty but helped each other to create their own happy endings, with their deep connection being the only constant in their uncertain lives. And I’m sure this book thinks it still accomplished this. But to me, there was a deus ex machina level of quickly reconnecting the romantic relationships without actually solving the problems that originally came between the characters in any real way, and it just reinforced my opinion that this is an unremarkable romance novel. A nice, quick, entertaining read, with some nice characters and nice moments, but nothing extraordinary. The relationships were very basic and they were sweet enough while they lasted, and there wasn’t anything terrible or wrong about them, but by the end, I just wasn’t rooting for them at all. I want to read about the universe where Hannah is able to be brave and stable and independent without being rescued by a man who’s already let her down before. Maybe in another life, she is able to be happy on her own terms.
It wasn’t the book I wanted it to be. And it was overall very surface level, very flat. I liked the idea of it, but I wanted more from the writing and from the character Hannah. I will keep trying to like romance novels and at least to not look down on the genre as a whole, but it feels like other genres tend to contain way more beautiful romances, with fewer irritating and upsetting quirks. The book did its job entertaining me, but I feel unsatisfied now that it's over. But I do think this is a flaw in my expectations; it delivered exactly what it was supposed to, and I was the one who wanted it to change genres for me. Not a bad book, just not the great one I hoped for.
Also I want a cinnamon roll now. I should have kept track of every time they mentioned cinnamon rolls, because it was a whole lot.
I’ll end this with another quote that stuck out to me, while I sit and ponder why I optimistically expect too much of some books: “I wonder if I’ll be able to make it to my car before I burst into tears, before I cease to be a human being and become just a puddle with big boobs and a high bun.” (234)
There was a point nearing the end where I was so hopeful and starting to excitedly believe that this is where the book was heading, that this was going to subvert expectations of the cheesy grandiose romance and be an uplifting and comforting story of friendship, and of identifying what matters most to you as an individual and remaining true to that. A story of two women who endured pain and difficulty but helped each other to create their own happy endings, with their deep connection being the only constant in their uncertain lives. And I’m sure this book thinks it still accomplished this. But to me, there was a deus ex machina level of quickly reconnecting the romantic relationships without actually solving the problems that originally came between the characters in any real way, and it just reinforced my opinion that this is an unremarkable romance novel. A nice, quick, entertaining read, with some nice characters and nice moments, but nothing extraordinary. The relationships were very basic and they were sweet enough while they lasted, and there wasn’t anything terrible or wrong about them, but by the end, I just wasn’t rooting for them at all. I want to read about the universe where Hannah is able to be brave and stable and independent without being rescued by a man who’s already let her down before. Maybe in another life, she is able to be happy on her own terms.
It wasn’t the book I wanted it to be. And it was overall very surface level, very flat. I liked the idea of it, but I wanted more from the writing and from the character Hannah. I will keep trying to like romance novels and at least to not look down on the genre as a whole, but it feels like other genres tend to contain way more beautiful romances, with fewer irritating and upsetting quirks. The book did its job entertaining me, but I feel unsatisfied now that it's over. But I do think this is a flaw in my expectations; it delivered exactly what it was supposed to, and I was the one who wanted it to change genres for me. Not a bad book, just not the great one I hoped for.
Also I want a cinnamon roll now. I should have kept track of every time they mentioned cinnamon rolls, because it was a whole lot.
I’ll end this with another quote that stuck out to me, while I sit and ponder why I optimistically expect too much of some books: “I wonder if I’ll be able to make it to my car before I burst into tears, before I cease to be a human being and become just a puddle with big boobs and a high bun.” (234)