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A review by saibhandari
Everything's Fine by Cecilia Rabess
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
- Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC -
This book wasn't great - the two main characters, Jess and Josh, weren't particularly interesting and I couldn't tell you much about any of the supporting characters. I didn't really believe that they had chemistry, as most of their dialogue seemed to be insulting each other with zingy (but ultimately empty) comebacks. Rather than being an "enemies to lovers" novel, it felt more like a "people who have very little in common and don't even have a passion in the form of hatred to lovers who also don't really seem to like each other" and that just didn't make sense. I do wonder if, not being from the US, I missed some of the cultural context that would have made this book more interesting to me.
The second half of the book was a little bit more interesting (hence 2 stars rather than 1), as it explored the dynamic between Jess and Josh a bit more in terms of their differences and how their relationship is affected by said differences. I know this book has gotten a lot of flack from people on TikTok and I reckon a big part of this is because the blurb reads like a classic, cute, light-hearted romance novel, when that couldn't be further from the truth. Still, that doesn't make the book good, it's just not the weird, racist novel that people are portraying it as.
This book wasn't great - the two main characters, Jess and Josh, weren't particularly interesting and I couldn't tell you much about any of the supporting characters. I didn't really believe that they had chemistry, as most of their dialogue seemed to be insulting each other with zingy (but ultimately empty) comebacks. Rather than being an "enemies to lovers" novel, it felt more like a "people who have very little in common and don't even have a passion in the form of hatred to lovers who also don't really seem to like each other" and that just didn't make sense. I do wonder if, not being from the US, I missed some of the cultural context that would have made this book more interesting to me.
The second half of the book was a little bit more interesting (hence 2 stars rather than 1), as it explored the dynamic between Jess and Josh a bit more in terms of their differences and how their relationship is affected by said differences. I know this book has gotten a lot of flack from people on TikTok and I reckon a big part of this is because the blurb reads like a classic, cute, light-hearted romance novel, when that couldn't be further from the truth. Still, that doesn't make the book good, it's just not the weird, racist novel that people are portraying it as.
All in all, I wouldn't recommend this to my friends.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer, Death, Domestic abuse, Terminal illness, and Death of parent
Minor: Racism