poegostick's reviews
171 reviews

I had a lot less fun with this one. Liz's humor got old quickly, and felt far too immature. Seriously, I never want to see the word cootie again. It seems strange to have the second book set in isolation when all the interesting plot would be happening back at the tribe. Liz felt downright misogynistic in her woman hating at time. I ended up skimming the ending.

There was some potential at the beginning of this story. The tender moments between Elliot and Macy, while a little cringe at points, had heart. The love story between the FMC mother and father, and the way they fumbled to heal after the death of her mother felt real.

What ironically ruined it was the way that we progressed into the relationship.

The novel spends its time alternating chapters between the present and past, but it felt like the authors would have rather enjoyed spending time in the past. I question why this was an adult, second chance novel when the times spent with Macy as an adult were painfully underdeveloped. We never learn who Macy is outside of her obsession with Elliot and her hatred of other girls that are "skanks" and "sluts." We never learn why Macy is obsessed with Elliot beyond him getting suddenly hot at seventeen and his love of pretentious books.

Any side characters involved were hollow shells, included simply to drive the plot along.

The ending really ruined it for me. I was already not enjoying myself, and then at the 90% mark, we finally get to know what caused the big rift between our couple. The decidedly flippant and dismissive way that the MMC's assault is handled absolutely disgusted me. Instead of spending pages and pages talking about underage sex these two had, we could have spent time to allow both characters to digest what was really happening. But no, we are rushed into a very HEA in less than 50 pages.

If this were my first book by this author, I would never touch another one of their works again.

I was hopeful when I first started this book, as someone who also experienced a complicated relationship with my mother who has now passed. However, the more I got into this story, the more I realized just how much McCurdy lacks self-awareness. She vilifies her mother by sharing only the darkest moments of their relationship, however fails to realize that she is only mirroring those actions with her own relationships. She repeatedly belittles the pain and experiences of others, which is shocking in an industry infamous for its manipulation of child stars, directly mimicking the narcissistic actions of her mother. This combined with her uninterested, monotone narration made her come off as arrogant and un-relatable.

I think that this book was important in her healing journey, but I think that she wasn't ready to share that just yet. I hope she continues to heal and find peace in this world.

a good example of how too much telling and not enough showing can ruin a fun concept.

This book is like a warm hug. I want to stay in the cozy castle with Howl, Sophie, Michael, and Calcifer forever.