A review by ariana3
Exciting Times by Naoise Dolan

emotional funny reflective 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 sucked so bad. I finally got in the groove towards the end, but the whole book was confusing. I didn't understand what I was reading. It's an Irish author, so references, jokes, and just colloquial language was hard for me to understand. And I hated the humor (aka everything about the main character...).
Basically about a girl who hated her life at home (despite what sounds like a loving, caring family) to go teach English in Hong Kong to mix things up. She's miserable because she doesn't let people in, then finds this odd (and maybe autistic?) English banker she starts sleeping with. She ends up being a freeloader and moves into his nice ass apartment, not paying rent. She's tortured by the way he treats her, since they're basically roommates with benefits, but she's unsure if she wants more. She meets this girl, they start fucking and fall in love (turns out the main character might be bisexual or just a lesbian? Unclear), but of course the main character fucks it up because she's too scared to express her feelings and regrets and apologize. The ending is vague and ambiguous on purpose, but it could be that they get back together right as the main character is literally headed to the airport to move to Berlin with her roommate-with-benefits...so freaking stupid and childish
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