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A review by luluwoohoo
By Any Other Name by Lauren Kate
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
By Any Other Name by Lauren Kate
☀️☀️🌤️
A rapid romance that opens a lot of promising doors but slams some of them closed much too quickly.
Firstly, I loved the premise here. The conflicts felt natural and significant from that alone, so I trusted that the execution would be an easy sell. Unfortunately I found the overall plot a bit lacking in places, mostly within the second half which skipped over several relevant scenes, rushed through others, and cut off before what was arguably the second most important scene of the book (obviously them getting together is #1, which was nice enough but equally rushed).
The romantic relationship was average at best and suffered because of the aforementioned length issue. I'm usually a big advocate for trimming unnecessary fat but boy did this book need an extra 100 pages to flesh out what we missed once they weren't fighting anymore, to build palpable chemistry and introduce each other to their lives. Just as Lanie's relationship with Ryan disappeared in a blink, her crush on Noah felt unrealistic and forced for the sake of the plot. Her behaviour throughout was unprofessional verging on cringe, but I did like the supporting characters much better.
This had so much potential to be a showstopper romance novel, but the lack of depth in the romance and the rushed third act spoiled what goodwill had been built beforehand.
☀️☀️🌤️
A rapid romance that opens a lot of promising doors but slams some of them closed much too quickly.
Firstly, I loved the premise here. The conflicts felt natural and significant from that alone, so I trusted that the execution would be an easy sell. Unfortunately I found the overall plot a bit lacking in places, mostly within the second half which skipped over several relevant scenes, rushed through others, and cut off before what was arguably the second most important scene of the book (obviously them getting together is #1, which was nice enough but equally rushed).
The romantic relationship was average at best and suffered because of the aforementioned length issue. I'm usually a big advocate for trimming unnecessary fat but boy did this book need an extra 100 pages to flesh out what we missed once they weren't fighting anymore, to build palpable chemistry and introduce each other to their lives. Just as Lanie's relationship with Ryan disappeared in a blink, her crush on Noah felt unrealistic and forced for the sake of the plot. Her behaviour throughout was unprofessional verging on cringe, but I did like the supporting characters much better.
This had so much potential to be a showstopper romance novel, but the lack of depth in the romance and the rushed third act spoiled what goodwill had been built beforehand.
"One day," she said, "in the comfort of your unknowable future, you'll look at this picture, and you'll be glad we took it today."