A review by hannah_rosem
Bad Romance by Heather Demetrios
1.0
*kind of spoilery* This book had an excellent message, but it somehow just wasn’t what I needed it to be. It put forward what I think is an accurate portrayal of an abusive relationship, and it was great to see that the friends played such a massive part in helping the problem. What bothered me was the part with Gideon. I understand that many people suffering under the abuse of their romantic partner may only be pulled out of this when they realise there are other people who could potentially be romantic interests, but it was kind of frustrating that Gideon was the only thing that really made Grace realise how trapped she was. On top of that, I felt as though the author changed the personalities of Grace’s Mum and the Giant in ways that were inconsistent just to suit what she wanted to write. Sometimes Grace was forbidden from leaving the house, sometimes she was able to hang out with her friends, no questions asked.
The fact that Grace was so intolerant of her mother’s OCD was also a part of the story I couldn’t enjoy. I understand that living with someone with OCD could be difficult, but Grace doesn’t even try to think about anyone but herself. The way the book was written was also something I couldn’t get on board with. It was sort of ‘addressed’ to Gavin and immediately gave away that their relationship was not a good one. I liked the reflective elements and how it showed Grace’s development past the main events of the novel, but I think the message of the novel may have been more effective if we, as the audience, were left to find out just how abusive Gavin was along with Grace. The references to pop culture (songs and musicals) was also a bit annoying to me, but that’s a personal thing.
Also, and this is entirely trivial, this book was written in 2017, but Grace goes on and on and on about Gavin’s fedora as if it’s the hottest thing a man could ever wear. Fedoras haven’t been cool or attractive for at LEAST 7 years, and every time it was brought up it just invalidated the whole ‘Gavin is so attractive so who can resist?’ element to the story.
But yeah anyway, I wouldn’t say this was a bad read, it just wasn’t right for me.
The fact that Grace was so intolerant of her mother’s OCD was also a part of the story I couldn’t enjoy. I understand that living with someone with OCD could be difficult, but Grace doesn’t even try to think about anyone but herself. The way the book was written was also something I couldn’t get on board with. It was sort of ‘addressed’ to Gavin and immediately gave away that their relationship was not a good one. I liked the reflective elements and how it showed Grace’s development past the main events of the novel, but I think the message of the novel may have been more effective if we, as the audience, were left to find out just how abusive Gavin was along with Grace. The references to pop culture (songs and musicals) was also a bit annoying to me, but that’s a personal thing.
Also, and this is entirely trivial, this book was written in 2017, but Grace goes on and on and on about Gavin’s fedora as if it’s the hottest thing a man could ever wear. Fedoras haven’t been cool or attractive for at LEAST 7 years, and every time it was brought up it just invalidated the whole ‘Gavin is so attractive so who can resist?’ element to the story.
But yeah anyway, I wouldn’t say this was a bad read, it just wasn’t right for me.