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skudiklier's reviews
602 reviews
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Minor spoilers ahead:
I definitely want to read more by this author! Thank you to Sourcebooks Casablanca and Netgalley for the chance to read and review this ARC.
Graphic: Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Outing, Abandonment, and Classism
Moderate: Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Body shaming, Bullying, and Child death
5.0
Also I fully forgot that she has an after of me in there :') I loved seeing my name pop up suddenly.
Anyway I would definitely recommend this!! It's so good! Diane is a genius and a beautiful writer!
Moderate: Death, Blood, and Alcohol
Minor: Sexual content
3.25
But I liked it less and less the longer it went on. A lot of the humor felt repetitive--like, I can only read so much about making fun of the all the men she's been with before I get tired of it. By the end I was pretty uninterested and just waiting for it to be over.
I did read the first edition, and she re-ordered the essays for the later editions. Maybe the new order would have kept my interest more. But idk, I just felt like some of the essays were doing/saying the same things as previous ones, and it wasn't funny enough for that to be worth it.
Also there were some things that have not aged well--lots of fatphobia and internalized fatphobia, as well as internalized sexism. Also some things about the environment that I don't feel like she would say ten years later--at least, I hope not.
Anyway I'm giving this four stars because I did like it for a while, and I'm trying not to let my "meh" feelings at the end change my whole thoughts on the book. I don't think I'd recommend it, but maybe I'd try reading some of her later books.
Update: I changed this to 3.25 stars. I was trying to not let the parts I didn't like affect my rating too much, but the more time passes the less I think I'd recommend this. I did like a couple essays and I didn't hate this book or anything, but I no longer think I'd try reading some of her later books even. Just not for me.
Graphic: Body shaming, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Fatphobia, Sexism, Excrement, and Death of parent
Moderate: Ableism, Body horror, Drug use, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Racism, Self harm, Sexual content, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Alcoholism, Bullying, Cancer, Drug abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Sexual harassment
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Some of the pacing is weird; like their first kiss is pretty anticlimactic, and some scenes felt super drawn out while others felt brushed over, in ways that took away from the story in my opinion.
Also there was just so much repetitive stuff about their trauma and anxiety--now, please don't get me wrong, I am super down for those parts of the story. And mostly it was well-done I think, but some of it felt forced/on the nose in a way where it's like, okay I get it, this is the major conflict here, but having it brought up multiple times in every scene is a little much.
Small things I liked though: the Portland stuff, and how they clearly made sure to keep their lives separate in a healthy way. Also I would read a sequel about Ty and Emma, ngl.
Thank you to Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and Netgalley for the chance to read and review this ARC.
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Car accident, and Death of parent
Moderate: Grief and Injury/Injury detail
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
At first, I was worried it would be too dark--not that it was unrealistic, but it was bringing back all my climate anxiety/despair, and I thought it might all be very hard to read. But by the end (or even by halfway through, really), I flipped to wondering if the book is too optimistic. Even given all the challenges, all the "too little too late"--
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Slavery, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Cursing, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Grief, Murder, Colonisation, and Classism
Minor: Animal death, Child death, Drug use, Fatphobia, Racism, Sexism, Death of parent, Alcohol, and War
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Overall I liked this book. I knew absolutely nothing about it going in--not the premise, not the genre, nothing. I picked it solely based on the cover. Throughout the first half of it I just felt a sort of rising tension, as I waited for the shoe to drop. This book was well-written and while the ending devastated me, I don't think it should have been changed.
This book makes me want to read more by this author, because I really liked how well it showed tiny social things that feel hard to capture/explain but can make a real impact on how a situation feels or a relationship progresses. Small things that Jean worries over momentarily, that just felt really well-done.
Graphic: Ableism, Death, Sexual assault, and Abortion
Moderate: Infidelity, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Antisemitism, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Death of parent, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Minor: Cancer, Incest, and Lesbophobia
For non-book records, review text and ratings are hidden. Only mood, pace, and content warnings are visible.
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Edit to add: I actually kind of forgot what The Charm Offensive was about, and now that I went back to look at my (5 star) review for that book, I'm even more convinced that Alison Cochrun is one of my new favorite romance authors. In both books, I was super sucked in and read them basically in one sitting. But even better, in both books I felt like even the parts of romances that I don't like (e.g., when they have a fight and break up near the end, usually over some miscommunication) were handled much better in these books than in most romance novels. Like, Cochrun clearly puts a lot of effort into making sure the relationships are as healthy and realistic as possible, while still giving us all the normal pieces of a romance and keeping the drama amped up. I'm just so impressed! And I can't wait for Cochrun's next book.
Graphic: Child abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, and Alcohol
Moderate: Biphobia, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Transphobia, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Cancer, Death, Homophobia, Incest, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Vomit, Grief, Stalking, Acephobia/Arophobia, Murder, Pregnancy, Outing, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Violence, Murder, Outing, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism
Minor: Self harm, Sexual assault, Slavery, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, and War
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Death, Infidelity, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Sexual content and Pregnancy
Minor: Racism and Xenophobia