A review by samanthajore
'Tis the Damn Season by Kimi Freeman
1.0
This is a good debut. The author is also only 16 so I tried to keep that in mind. I picked it up because the title is literally my fav Taylor Swift song. I have a few major complaints about this book though.
1. the writing felt super juvenile at some parts. The author being 16 makes me understand this but the characters are supposed to be like 25 and they were so poorly written and acted so immature.
2. The main characters were both so hot and cold that I never got to see how their characters are actually supposed to act. Like one minute they’re having the pettiest argument over something small and then they’re talking about how they’ve loved each other since they were 17. I never understood the character development between them or if there really ever was any because they were just so hot and cold that it wasn’t like there was growth.
3. Every trope you can ever imagine is in this book. Like death of a military parent, death of an ill parent, miscommunication, sexual assault, miscommunication, toxic friendships, toxic relationships, gaslighting, panic attacks, cheating, second chance, pop star/normal guy, return to a hometown, bullying, and there’s even more.
4. The sexual assault came out of no where. it was hinted at multiple times but then it came outta left field.
5. There were no deeper feelings shown. Everything was surface level. When the assault came out I finally thought we would get some deeper feelings. I thought we would see her coping or the lasting effects of it but it continued to be surface level.
6. There was so much going on the whole time. in the present there was the church show, social media scandals, hometown drama. in the past, is the beginning of a relationship, bullying, parties, parental illness. Not to mention the little things going through both sides. it was confusing and frustrating. there was just so many things going on it just stressed me out.
I came into this with high hopes and was disappointed
Spoiler
1. the writing felt super juvenile at some parts. The author being 16 makes me understand this but the characters are supposed to be like 25 and they were so poorly written and acted so immature.
2. The main characters were both so hot and cold that I never got to see how their characters are actually supposed to act. Like one minute they’re having the pettiest argument over something small and then they’re talking about how they’ve loved each other since they were 17. I never understood the character development between them or if there really ever was any because they were just so hot and cold that it wasn’t like there was growth.
3. Every trope you can ever imagine is in this book. Like death of a military parent, death of an ill parent, miscommunication, sexual assault, miscommunication, toxic friendships, toxic relationships, gaslighting, panic attacks, cheating, second chance, pop star/normal guy, return to a hometown, bullying, and there’s even more.
4. The sexual assault came out of no where. it was hinted at multiple times but then it came outta left field.
5. There were no deeper feelings shown. Everything was surface level. When the assault came out I finally thought we would get some deeper feelings. I thought we would see her coping or the lasting effects of it but it continued to be surface level.
6. There was so much going on the whole time. in the present there was the church show, social media scandals, hometown drama. in the past, is the beginning of a relationship, bullying, parties, parental illness. Not to mention the little things going through both sides. it was confusing and frustrating. there was just so many things going on it just stressed me out.
I came into this with high hopes and was disappointed
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gaslighting, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Cancer, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Grief, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Terminal illness, Death, and Toxic friendship