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alycejanine's review
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
This was a really fun quick read. It reads a lot like a memoir, and I found it really relatable as someone who worked in the restaurant industry for almost 10 years. Funny, fast-paced, and overall just really interesting to read about restaurant culture in the 70s and 80s.
laurenpott's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
hunterandrew's review
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
A perfectly decent book I feel very little about.
professor_elle's review
Thank you to the author, publisher, and to #StoryGraph for making review copies of this book available. I normally request only books I think I will like, so I rarely write negative reviews of gift books. But I quit this one 25% in and it was a slog getting that far.
As a child of the 70s, I often enjoy fiction set in that time period, so the description of this book intrigued me. But I gave up on it because I couldn’t detect any thread of a plot, and none of the characters were developed enough to sustain my interest without a story.
As a child of the 70s, I often enjoy fiction set in that time period, so the description of this book intrigued me. But I gave up on it because I couldn’t detect any thread of a plot, and none of the characters were developed enough to sustain my interest without a story.
bsabrowsky's review
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
emory's review
funny
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
I thought the premise was great, and it's a perfectly nice story, but I wish it had more to carry it than flat dialogue and extreme detail about each restaurant's menu. The story being written in vignettes worked against the main idea of the plot to me, making the unique characters feel disjointed from the story and forgettable. Nothing really stood out and the ending came with no real reflection at all. I would've liked more showing rather than blunt telling. It all felt very blunt throughout, which isn't my cup of tea in storytelling.
The main character exists in a sort of paradox of having an extremely distinct voice, but the voice in question is almost indistinguishable from a snarky Saturday morning cartoon character. There are so many moments of cleverness and wit that have to fight past the disaffected class clown voice to shine through. They do though, anyway, and there's quite a lot of great humor in the form of quippy anecdotes and callbacks.
I didnt dislike it, but it felt unfinished. Nice concept but somehow even with a rotating cast of characters and quippy anecdotes, the story felt empty. Would love to see it get its feet under it.
The main character exists in a sort of paradox of having an extremely distinct voice, but the voice in question is almost indistinguishable from a snarky Saturday morning cartoon character. There are so many moments of cleverness and wit that have to fight past the disaffected class clown voice to shine through. They do though, anyway, and there's quite a lot of great humor in the form of quippy anecdotes and callbacks.
I didnt dislike it, but it felt unfinished. Nice concept but somehow even with a rotating cast of characters and quippy anecdotes, the story felt empty. Would love to see it get its feet under it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use
Minor: Homophobia and Misogyny
Characters of color and almost all female characters are spoken of quite oddly, although Ill be generous and chalk a lot of it up to the book's time period. A bit of stereotyping of the characters of color (always introduced first and foremost by their race) and a bit of painful eye dialect. The latter carries to European characters as well, so it seems to be without any malice; worth mentioning anyway.livia_thierry's review
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.25
thehaylflayl's review
dark
informative
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Sweet story, could use more editing.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol