Scan barcode
A review by mspilesofpaper
Party Animal by Ali K. Mulford
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Party Animal is the third book in an ongoing series and while it might be beneficial to read the previous books, I can say that you don't need to do it. There were more than enough points about the two previous couples to understand their relationships without having to read those books.
It is a fun contemporary sapphic romance in a zoo setting (on an island somewhere on the US East Coast) but the zoo part (and the island part) is a background thing. I think the only places within the zoo that play a larger part are the vet clinic and the restaurant/café as the couple is a zoo vet and a chef. In the book, we follow Goldfinch "Finch" Lachlan, who works as a vet at her family's zoo and lives for her work while avoiding any long-term relationships like the devil avoids a church, and Francesca "Frankie" Benedetti who is a (pastry) chef who got out of a long-term relationship with Jake who cheated on her. They both get into a fake relationship with each other for different reasons but as they continue with their "play of pretend", the lines begin to blur with each display of commitment.
My only issues with the book were:
- Frankie thought that she is a bisexual woman who just had never been able to explore relationships with women. I wish the author would have let her continue to be bisexual and just get her into a relationship with a woman instead of having her very short "aha" moment where she realises that she isn't bisexual but a lesbian. There aren't many books with bisexual characters in general, so this erase of a bi character irks me.
- The end. The author has a love for epilogue weddings. Unfortunately, she utterly spoils the upcoming book with it and the developments of Hawk's and Lark's relationships (the two siblings from the first two books).
- The fucking third act breakup. God, I hate those. All because of miscommunication in this case.
It is a fun contemporary sapphic romance in a zoo setting (on an island somewhere on the US East Coast) but the zoo part (and the island part) is a background thing. I think the only places within the zoo that play a larger part are the vet clinic and the restaurant/café as the couple is a zoo vet and a chef. In the book, we follow Goldfinch "Finch" Lachlan, who works as a vet at her family's zoo and lives for her work while avoiding any long-term relationships like the devil avoids a church, and Francesca "Frankie" Benedetti who is a (pastry) chef who got out of a long-term relationship with Jake who cheated on her. They both get into a fake relationship with each other for different reasons but as they continue with their "play of pretend", the lines begin to blur with each display of commitment.
My only issues with the book were:
- Frankie thought that she is a bisexual woman who just had never been able to explore relationships with women. I wish the author would have let her continue to be bisexual and just get her into a relationship with a woman instead of having her very short "aha" moment where she realises that she isn't bisexual but a lesbian. There aren't many books with bisexual characters in general, so this erase of a bi character irks me.
- The end. The author has a love for epilogue weddings. Unfortunately, she utterly spoils the upcoming book with it and the developments of Hawk's and Lark's relationships (the two siblings from the first two books).
- The fucking third act breakup. God, I hate those. All because of miscommunication in this case.