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A review by whatjuliareads
The Royal Correspondent by Alexandra Joel
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
I just did not enjoy this one. The premise and the plot are really interesting, but I just found their execution lacklustre at best. I expected more about women in journalism, more about what was going on at the papers, but the whole newspaper angle to this thing read like a lens to see Blaise's increasingly bizarre "love" triangle through.
My biggest criticism sums up most of my issues: Everything was so surface level. It meant that the stakes never seemed high and problems were played out very conveniently. We have moments where there are these seemingly dramatic things happening, but they don't matter until it's convenient for the narrator. The narrator doesn't really have to struggle with anything because she's so exceptional. And so on and so forth.
On the other hand, the fashion writing was very entertaining. I do love some good vintage fashion and the book delivered on that. Though the author and narrator majorly play down the importance of any woman other than Blaise, I enjoyed the fact that Dora and Harriet were pivotal in how things played out. With zero credit to them, naturally. The writing itself was fine, it seemed well edited, efforts were made to do some interesting things, it just fell flat.
My final point is just a general ick - race and sexuality were played off in this only insofar as it was convenient to tell the reader that Blaise isn't racist or homophobic.
My biggest criticism sums up most of my issues: Everything was so surface level. It meant that the stakes never seemed high and problems were played out very conveniently. We have moments where there are these seemingly dramatic things happening, but they don't matter until it's convenient for the narrator. The narrator doesn't really have to struggle with anything because she's so exceptional. And so on and so forth.
On the other hand, the fashion writing was very entertaining. I do love some good vintage fashion and the book delivered on that. Though the author and narrator majorly play down the importance of any woman other than Blaise, I enjoyed the fact that Dora and Harriet were pivotal in how things played out. With zero credit to them, naturally. The writing itself was fine, it seemed well edited, efforts were made to do some interesting things, it just fell flat.
My final point is just a general ick - race and sexuality were played off in this only insofar as it was convenient to tell the reader that Blaise isn't racist or homophobic.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Sexism, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Sexual assault
Minor: Xenophobia