Scan barcode
A review by aquietglow
Done Dirt Cheap by Sarah Nicole Lemon
4.0
I'm a little disappointed, but I figured out pretty early that this was not what I expected and I still enjoyed it. Maybe 3.5 stars is more accurate?
I think it picked up in the middle, but I spent a lot of time feeling confused. Part of that is probably the characters being a little clueless about some things, but it didn't feel... smooth? It felt like things were left out, skipped over, unclear.
There were times when I was nervous, when I really didn't know what was going to happen or what certain consequences would be, which I bet some readers really enjoy.
When I say it's not what I expected, I mean I thought Virginia and Tourmaline were gonna fall in love! I should've known they wouldn't just from reading the reviews on the back.
I imagine some people will hate the love interests and age gaps, but I made my peace and could deal with it. Some of the race stuff was... clunky. There was an explicit attempt to address stuff, but. It's hard for that to be enough when Cash isn't a main character and we don't spend a lot of time with him.
Truly I was frustrated that these two girls were always surrounded by men, older men, depending on them, needing their help, fighting off the bad ones. Just. So many men. I just wanted to step in and help them and give them tools to help themselves. It was great when they did figure it out! "We're friends because when girls -- women -- are alone in this world, they're easier to pick off." That's beautiful! I wanted more of the book where the two are in harmony, working together. I loved Tourmaline being real and yelling at her dad, demanding to be seen! It wasn't awful, but it was less of what I wanted it to be.
I think it picked up in the middle, but I spent a lot of time feeling confused. Part of that is probably the characters being a little clueless about some things, but it didn't feel... smooth? It felt like things were left out, skipped over, unclear.
There were times when I was nervous, when I really didn't know what was going to happen or what certain consequences would be, which I bet some readers really enjoy.
When I say it's not what I expected, I mean I thought Virginia and Tourmaline were gonna fall in love! I should've known they wouldn't just from reading the reviews on the back.
I imagine some people will hate the love interests and age gaps, but I made my peace and could deal with it. Some of the race stuff was... clunky. There was an explicit attempt to address stuff, but. It's hard for that to be enough when Cash isn't a main character and we don't spend a lot of time with him.
Truly I was frustrated that these two girls were always surrounded by men, older men, depending on them, needing their help, fighting off the bad ones. Just. So many men. I just wanted to step in and help them and give them tools to help themselves. It was great when they did figure it out! "We're friends because when girls -- women -- are alone in this world, they're easier to pick off." That's beautiful! I wanted more of the book where the two are in harmony, working together. I loved Tourmaline being real and yelling at her dad, demanding to be seen! It wasn't awful, but it was less of what I wanted it to be.