nolongerreader

[nolongerreader]

Beautiful Disaster (by Jamie McGuire)

Originally posted on October 25 2023

(Please do not kill me for my opinion on this book. Again, AVOID IF YOU LIKE THIS BOOK!)

Tl; Dr: If you're looking for a great bad boy book, please read Once Upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber and The Cruel Prince by Holly Black.

DNF 90%

Where do I even begin with this book?

For my safety, I'm going to try to be as respectful as possible. I know a lot of people like this book a little too much to the point where they hurt critics, so if you're one of those people, please be respectful as possible. I'm only doing this so that way I can help other possible readers if they want to read this or not. With that being said…

This is your final warning. Please leave or else. I won't placate your opinions. Nor would I apologize for having mine. If you are offended, then I'm sorry, and harassing me will only solidify that. Additionally, to newer readers, I might be treading into spoiler territory, but the rest of the review is spoiler-free.

Before I begin with the negative, let me start with the few positives that I liked about this story.

I do like this book for trying to portray a relationship regardless of how healthy or unhealthy their mental health is. While the execution falls flat for me, it's still something I want to commend the book for. Another thing is the fact that the story tries to give the main character, Abby, a fleshed-out backstory. I don't think it was executed well (something I'll get into), but I appreciate the idea. The writing was decent. It was nothing out of the blue but more or less mediocre. There were a lot of arguably dull moments, but it was fine.

There were only two characters whom I liked in this story, Parker and Kara. Parker was, of course, the better option, in my opinion. And unlike Travis, he gave out a transparent accountability that didn't feel forced. He was one of the most genuine characters in this book. Parker didn't even try to get back with Abby and only looked after her best interest. Would he be boring as a love interest? Arguably, no. You can make any love interest work. Just as long as they don't border on abuse. And Kara was the only one who made any sense of the story. Is what she's saying harsh? Yes. But is it true? Yes. In all of the cases, she was absolutely in the right.

OK, now the good part is out of the way. Let's get into the majority of what I think about this story.

Now let's start with the least bad but still bad part of this story, the plot. The plot was all over the place. But I think I can somewhat forgive it due to the nature of it. But it only consisted of Abby and Travis getting into some hijinks that eventually led to them breaking up. This is a perpetual cycle of breaking up and getting back together that honestly annoyed me. No matter how unique the situation is, they always manage to do the same thing as they always do. They rarely made progress as characters, much less as people. Travis would always make some big grand gestures just to win her back (it always felt manipulative to me). The plot goes over this, again and again, not letting the relationship develop naturally. It feels stagnant and cyclical. This shows the relationship of the main couple as being stagnant and cyclical. And from the contents of the book, it's not a good look.

Outside of the other two characters I just mentioned, the other side characters were either annoying or downright enabling Travis's behavior. America flip-flops from being Abby's supportive friend to being Travis's enabler. She rarely gives him any consequences, which frustrates me. She says she's looking out for Abby, but she rarely does that well. I can only name a few times where she acted like Abby's friend, but overall, she doesn't do a good job at it. Shepley downright did not do anything to reprimand Travis and even made his behavior worse. I honestly was shocked but not surprised that he's just another version of Travis.

These two side characters did a lot of guilt-tripping to Abby, just for her to stay with Travis. It was uncomfortable and horrifying to see that. It didn't feel as if they respected Abby and shamed her for even trying to leave at times. They say it's for Travis, but arguably, they didn't think about what Abby needs in that situation. Instead, they choose to side with Travis. And that's not a great environment for anyone to be in. Abby is basically isolated from anyone who could protect her from Travis. It almost solidifies the fact that she's isolated in this. And that's the most worrisome part about this.

And there were many other forgettable side-characters that didtn't want to delve into just because they were either too much or too annoying.

While I still want Abby to be safe, that doesn't mean I like any of her actions. She's hateful and shames other women. The amount of slutshaming she does is hypocritical, considering what Travis does (and what she would eventually do against Parker). I don't completely blame Abby for staying with Travis because, after all, an abusive relationship is hard to leave. But what I do blame her for is ruining the chance to run and stand her ground as a character. I would consider her spineless because she rarely follows through with anything she said against Travis, as other reviewers pointed out. She left him a lot of times, and I feel as if it's fair for her to leave. And she didn't. I don't like the implications of her staying for "love and good memories" because those are the same tactics abusers use to force their victims to stay. Her backstory is interesting, but unfortunately, the execution falls flat. It wasn't as focused on as I would like it to be. And the moments it was, I skipped it because it was boring and wasn't built up well.

I gave up reading this around 90% because I can't stand Travis's character. Actually, him having a better ending ultimately led me to the decision to rate the book so lowly and even lower if I could. Travis is one of the worst characters I have ever read. If I had to be honest, I think he is selfish, hot-headed, repulsive, egotistical, and downright terrifying and abusive. He even mistreats the other women in his life. Sure, it was consensual, but consent shouldn't be met with disrespect and low-key misogynistic acts and insults. Even the good points I can bring up with him only make him look worse because his good qualities are wasted on his bad actions. I'm astounded at the fact that Abby can forgive, although he makes up with her in the most shallow ways possible.

Throughout the whole book, his actions for her never felt like they were for her.

It was always like it was for him and his pride. Sure, he's "devoted" to her, but in a way, it satiates what he feels. It fills up his void. Even the stuff for her suits his ego. In a way, he never asks for what Abby wants. He never considers what she wants. And he assumes the best for her even if Abby would know better. Of course, Abby never told him. But every time she makes things clearer with him, he doesn't listen. And interestingly enough, these are the times when she blatantly rejects him. It's not interesting because I want it to happen (goodness no) but interesting because it shows me that he doesn't care for her.

He forces her into situations where it benefits him and makes her uncomfortable. It was an uncomfortable experience, to say the least. He manipulates her into getting back with him. He puts her in the wrong for leaving him. And that is not ok. No one should make anyone guilty of leaving.

And the scene where he and Shepley beat up every single guy in the club? No. That is not ok. That's assault and should warrant an arrest warrant, a night in the cell, and a restraining order.

And he may say that he "fucked it up" but we never get the sense of what he actually did wrong. I, as a reader, never saw or read him taking up actual accountability for anything he does. Using the words "fucked up" is not really indicative of a real mistake or taking accountability.

In fact, I compared Parker and Travis a lot. And Parker arguably has one of the biggest growths as a character. Only Parker has mentioned his own mistake and made it up while Travis remains vague and says how much he needed her. And how she's the only person in the world. While Parker is straightforward, Travis goes all over the place, thinking that he and Abby can go back to each other. Even Parker respects Abby's space to be alone and remains friends with her. Travis couldn't stop trying to be with her. Even if it intrudes upon her space. You could see a rather disturbing trend of Travis disrespecting Abby's wishes and boundaries.

One of the worst parts about Travis is that he uses anger and violence. As mentioned before, he demonstrated violent tendencies that did not change throughout my reading experience. Mix this in with his controlling obsessive behavior, this makes his behavior have the potential to turn his relationship with Abby into something worse. One of the worst examples of this is the scene where he outright kidnaps her. I don't think there's any way to put it. Anything else would imply she consensually wanted to go back to his place. But she didn't. It was the most disturbing thing I have ever read in a romance. This eventually led to my decision of not to finish the book. Although, transparently, I have heard that this scene has happened and I was quite curious as to how it will play out. And I deeply regret my decision to read it any further than I did. In fact, I'm still in shock from reading such a horrific scene.

While people may blame Abby, I would like to ask you this. If an unattractive guy keeps evading your no and keeps persisting with you, would you call it love then? Or would you call the police? If he destroyed everything in his house just because you left, would you still stay? If he took you unwillingly from a party and forced you to go to his place, would you stay till then? All of this is better as a fantasy but at the end of the day, Travis isn't someone you should romanticize or date just because he's hot or obsessed. I pray to God that you don't end up the same way as Abby or worse.

Is he mentally troubled? Yes. But is he responsible for his own actions? Yes. He even points this out multiple times but he still won't take accountability. Actual accountability. Love-bombing doesn't count because that's manipulative and quite frankly, gross. He shouldn't have tried to force Abby to stay with him. In fact, he should've stopped after the first time they broke up.

But no, he keeps going back and back and back because that's what abusers do in reality. They drag their victim back into themselves, thinking that they'll be better even if they don't put into the actual work. And I don't want to even mention the fact that he went to therapy. I know he did in the end even if I haven't read the ending nor do I plan to. We don't see him trying to become a better person and whatever satisfaction I would've felt falls flat when he never had any actual consequences. Him having therapy at the end actually robs us of seeing his growth as a character. Him growing out of anything. Even if he did change, he doesn't deserve to be in a relationship. To simply put, it wouldn't be as realistic or impactful because he would just be unhealthily dependent on that person again.

Speaking from a logical point of view, he should have a character growth where he doesn't rely on people for his own growth. Or at least, they could be his inspiration to change, not his lifeline. He's a grown man and quite frankly, he should be able to deal with his problems by himself.

The story robs this potential of allowing Travis to have consequences. It not only removes his development, it robs me of seeing any actual development of him as a person.

Overall, I do not recommend this story to anyone. The plot is cyclical and stagnant. The side characters make the love interest's actions look worse. The protagonist is not someone you should root for. And worst of all, the love interest is horrifying and abusive. While some may enjoy it for fantasy, I have difficulty portraying it as anyone else's. But if it's yours then please let it be a fantasy, it's not going to be one in real life. If you haven't read this, please I don't recommend it. If you really want a romance with a bad boy, then I recommend Once Upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber and The Cruel Prince by Holly Black. While both are set in fantasy worlds, they have compelling bad-boy love interests who are swoon-worthy.

Again, keep things civil. I will not be afraid to block those who refuse to heed my warning. I have tried my best to express my opinion here as respectfully as I can. But if you don't want to show that then I will block. Feel free to disagree with what I'm saying. But my only rule is to be respectful and kind.

Thank you for reading this.

[nolongerreader]

Things We Never Got Over (by Lucy Score)

Originally posted on June 21 2023

1/5 stars (lower if I could)

(Warning: this is not my best review. I made a lot of mistakes here.)

TLDR: The story is not good and I suggest “People We Meet on Vacation” by Emily Henry as an alternative.

Do not read this if you liked the story. I'm serious. I'm going to be extremely critical. So avoid this review if negativity bothers you. If you liked the book for whatever reason, good for you. You don’t have to read this review. Also, there will be a lot of spoilers.

Alright with that out of the way!

I absolutely disliked this book. I noticed a lot of mistakes in this book not just because of nitpicking but also genuine problems.

I'll list down what I liked about it...

✨Waylay

✨Nash (even though his insistence on the "main" couple's relationship is weird and forceful)

✨I liked a few good lines

✨Some descriptions were decent.

✨When Waylay and Naomi had a decent and cute relationship… In the beginning

✨I finished the book

Moving on what I didn’t like about it.

Let’s start with the plot. The plot was inconsistent due to the many subplots. There were a lot of subplots that either barely had the or lack the consistency and were unnecessarily numerous. Not only that but these subplots would end in the most convenient way possible. And even if they had build-up beforehand, the tension would completely dissipate because it was solved too quickly, removing any tension or intrigue. The story just seems to bring up unnecessary drama for the sake of drama rather than having any thought behind them. Additionally, these subplots are stereotypical at best and problematic at worst. The stereotypical elements made the story unbelievable and it was hard for me to give them the benefit of the doubt.

Next, the writing style. While the writing style is simple, the euphemisms (especially ones during CERTAIN scenes) can make the characters seem childish. They often make me feel like a child despite the contents of the story. Although not necessarily a problem, the descriptions feel lackluster and I had a hard time imagining the characters. And when they do, the word choices feel out of place for the character and their pov. So it can also make the character portrayal confusing at times. And there were a lot of phrases like “you had a f-me body” and “tight wet wonderland” that left me… speechless in not a good way.

The side characters were at best stereotypical and at worst immature. Even though I liked a few characters, the overall cast just feel like they were there to support the main couple and any dimensions they could have had. Some of the chemistry of the main couple comes from the insistent behavior of the other characters for Knox and Naomi to end up with each other (despite Knox’s abusive tendencies). The side characters honestly make the main couple’s chemistry almost unnatural. They also acted like they were teenagers even though they were all supposedly adults. There were times I was nearly convinced that I was reading a story about a high school romance.

The only character here who has a semblance of depth is Nash, Knox’s brother. I liked Nash far more than the male protagonist/love interest because he had depth and layers and was a better person than Knox. But even he is not immune to the forced romance of the story and he was ruined for me during the end because he went along with Knox's controlling nature to Naomi.

Although Tina wasn’t a great person, I am surprised that she wasn’t much of an active villain and antagonist which would be interesting and possibly make the story more consistent. And the “villains'' acted like cartoon characters. While I understand some characters are meant to be villains like Tina and Warner (Naomi’s ex), they played off tropes and didn’t develop them beyond that. We don’t even get to see Warner again. They all relied on tropes but it felt restrictive to their tropes and nothing more and nothing less. Like the plot, the believability is minimal at best (I’ll get to what made the story realistic in a minute) so oftentimes, I can’t take the plot seriously.

Another complaint I have is the representation of the story, specifically concerning women and the LGBT community. Again, they played off tropes and never developed them beyond that. And even worse, it sometimes feels like their existence relies on supporting the main couple. What I don’t like is the fact that they center their existence on the hetero couple and their stereotypes rather than being people. There are a lot of members of the LGBT community who can embrace the stereotype but that doesn’t mean all of them don’t have their own lives or center their existence on their sexuality or being the gay best friend of the hetero main character. And let’s not forget about Knox’s homophobic and racist remark! And the language toward women feels uncomfortable and stereotypical. One of the only characters who emphasizes these stereotypes is Knox. It was hard for me to like Knox because of the language and behavior he had toward women. I don’t like to say this often but he also seems rather sexist at times ESPECIALLY at the beginning of the story. It also lowered any possibility of me liking or tolerating Knox because of it.

SPEAKING OF KNOX…

Finally, the BIGGEST complaints I have about the story is the romance of the abusive relationship between the main couple and specifically, Knox and his attitude towards LITERALLY EVERYONE ELSE. Since I don’t already like the trope the main couple is based on, I had lower expectations but I was shocked at how abusive Knox was. Naomi is a bland (and not the brightest) character for sure, but at least I understood her more and admire her determination and kindness. But Knox is unbearably controlling and manipulative towards Naomi and Nash. He often shames and belittles her and Nash. Although Knox is technically Naomi’s boss, he often lacks professionalism and is downright cruel to her. And even out of work, he still goes beyond her boundaries (like buying her underwear despite her saying no to it). Even when they broke up briefly (it was one of the weirdest and most unnecessary breakups I have ever read), he still resorts to controlling her even when she doesn’t want his “protection”. You can argue “protection” yet Naomi clearly doesn’t want to be protected and can possibly protect herself. Not only that but there was a specific incident where he slaps her butt despite it being clearly unwarranted and nonconsensual. I can’t even decide if that could count as either physical abuse or sexual harassment. And yet, Naomi still goes back to him because he tells his “backstory” (it felt like a justification and excuse for his abusive behavior) and she’s convinced to forgive him.

The fact that he’s doing the same thing as her abusive ex is concerning. I compared Warner and Knox’s dialogue with a friend, and we both agreed that they sound remarkably similar and even downright uncanny at times. Knox kept texting and calling Naomi despite the fact they broke up and this is also VERY SIMILAR to what Warner does. He has so many similarities to Warner to the point where I almost feel bad for Naomi for falling into the same cycle of abuse. I said “almost” because he convinced Naomi to “stay with him” for 48 HOURS despite Waylay sneaking off. They did the “devil’s tango” for those 48 hours. Not only is he controlling but he is also selfish and irresponsible to the point where he risks A CHILD’S life. I know it's a small town and all but that’s still risking Waylay’s life. For all Naomi and Knox know, she could’ve been killed or kidnapped. ANYTHING can happen in 48 hours. But I am not taking any responsibility off of Naomi because Waylay is still her responsibility and her safety matters.

Sure, Knox helped Naomi on her feet, but Naomi doesn’t owe him a relationship. She doesn't even have to sleep with him (unlike what the people around her believe). And when Naomi refused to talk to him, I felt relieved. But everyone else around them keeps forcing a relationship that shouldn’t happen under the guise of “love is messy”. Love is only messy if you choose not to do anything about your problems with each other. And I hate and loathe this phrase because it keeps justifying abuse. And I feel disturbed by the lack of consent between these characters and it almost feels like it's justified due to their bedroom “chemistry”. Other than the forced connection by the other characters and forced attraction and love, I feel like the only reason why they end up together is because of lust. You can have a relationship based on lust but if you want to make a romance out of it, you have to make sure they have shared interests and activities BEYOND lust. I failed to see any deep and emotional connection beyond trauma, lust, and lack of consent.

Overall, I disliked the story and would’ve given the story a far lower score if it were not for Goodreads’ system. I found the plot inconsistent and incoherent. The writing style was simple yet made the main characters a bit inconsistent. The side characters annoyed me. The representation was stereotypical at best. There were hints of sexism from Knox that were left unaddressed and made me uncomfortable. And the romance was so shallow, toxic, and lacking that I had a hard time believing their chemistry outside their trope. And Knox was one of the worst male love interests I ever had the displeasure of reading.

If you can avoid this book, please do so by all means. If you truly want or crave an opposite-attract romance, I suggest “People We Meet on Vacation” by Emily Henry. The main love interest there is a bit of a grump but he is dorky and lovable. The protagonist was a bubbly and sunshine girl who I might have disliked if it were not for her equally lovable and charming nature. The relationship is also NOT TOXIC and consensual. So if you are looking for the Sunshine and Grump trope, I suggest “People We Meet on Vacation” by Emily Henry. It's not purely the trope but it doesn’t play into it. It also subverts my expectations in a surprisingly good and charming way. Overall, I recommend this book.

Thank you for reading my review and I hope it somewhat helped some of you decide if you want to read this book or not. Or if you disliked the book as I do, I hope you read something worth your time (in fact, I’m going to do that right now).

[nolongerreader]

A Touch of Darkness (by Scarlett St. Clair)

Originally posted on: September 21 2023

1/5 stars (lower if I could)

Avoid if you like this book

Please don't read this review if you loved the book. I become extremely negative here.

TLDR: Just read Lore Olympus until season 2 on Webtoons (it's also free). If that story isn't your thing, then just wait for Madeline Miller's book based on the myth.

DNF 50%

I have never been so disappointed with a book. I wanted to read this book out of curiosity and love for the myth.

Alright, let's start with the things I liked about the story. Just to be positive…

✨️ Minthe (she was the real queen of the story)

✨️ That one ogre/cyclops who had been so poorly treated by Persephone (HE WAS JUST DOING HIS JOB)

✨️ Every single character that had been mistreated by Persephone

✨️ some lines I guess

✨ Some shade on the MC herself

✨️ It's one of the first books since After that I rarely have any good things to say about

First of all, the story lacks subtlety.

OK, so the lore makes no sense. Not just the real-life Greek mythology aspect but overall in general. At best, the lore is undercooked and vague, and at worst, it makes no sense. Like why doesn't Persephone know more about Hades or even know what he looks like? She's in freaking college and she is AN INTERN JOURNALIST, GODDESS, and DAUGHTER OF ONE OF THE OLYMPIANS. For crying out loud, there's even the internet…Is there no Google equivalent here?

And this is all connected to the plot. I don't understand Hades' bet at all. His bet is basically about her making a garden or whatever because the Underworld is supposedly barren or lacks nature. But that doesn't make sense when the FIELDS of Asphodel and ELYSIUM have both been mentioned (and the former MENTIONS PLANTS AND GRASS FREQUENTLY). And even then, I agreed with one user who asked why Persephone couldn't just buy some seeds or whatever if she couldn't grow any.

Another thing about the plot is Persephone's continuous idea that Hades is a tyrant. While I do understand where that is coming from, it doesn't make ANY sense in terms of the lore. It's frequently been shown that Hades is a technically competent ruler. The kingdom's working just fine and the citizens (at least in Asphodel) seem pleased. And even his SERVANTS frequently mention how good he is. But Persephone still thinks he's a bad and tyrannical ruler? Again, I would be fine if this was the quarter mark but halfway into the book, there's barely any development on that.

The plot execution makes no sense. It feels like a string of random events with no connection to each other being forced to become a cohesive unit. The plot feels like it's tackling way too many subplots and it doesn't know how to build them well.

Additionally, all the side characters are either really generic or really annoying. They all play into their tropes so much that it annoys me. And even worse, they sometimes feel like mouthpieces to the chemistry of the two characters. While not all of them comment on it, the ones that do ruin the chemistry for me. Speaking of chemistry…

The romance is just toxic and most of all, boring. Persephone spends the whole book with her inconsistent views on Hades. While Hades spends most of the book being an absolute creep. The chemistry relies on unexplained "infatuation" (not prompted by anything), lust, and as I mentioned before, other mouthpieces. I want to see the chemistry and development of the characters. I don't want to know how good Hades is or how "strong and brave" Persephone is (which is another can of worms that I'll get into). I can read and even enjoy some toxic romances but this one was just boring for me. In my opinion, it's more of "you see? You see? They're PERFECT for each other". It's also motivated purely by lust and that gets boring and shallow pretty fast.

And I don't think I need to explain how Hades is creepy in this version. I mean, I could see why he could get offended with the things Persephone had said about him. I would be too if my work had been completely undermined. But he's still creepy for all the other weird actions towards Persephone. It doesn't excuse that.

Lastly, the MAIN CHARACTER is simply unlikeable. While I understand her reactions, that doesn't mean that I appreciate the way she's treated others.

Remember the ogre that I mentioned earlier? He didn't deserve to be treated the way that he did because HE WAS JUST DOING HIS JOB. She just doesn't treat him poorly, she acts like this with other characters. Persephone threatens a poor innocent waitress (WHO'S JUST DOING HER JOB). She frequently hates Minthe for no reason other than her being in some kind of dubious relationship with Hades (on Hades' part, I don't blame Minthe as much). Basically, anyone with a job isn't safe (even Hades). All of her interactions with these specific characters alone made her come across as arrogant and even downright entitled. This doesn't make her a strong female character but an entitled and arrogant character. I would be OK with this if this were to be the case. But no, she's just the character we should root for. Even I could argue that Minthe's annoyance with her is arguably justified. I don't understand how the people of Asphodel see her so positively. She literally tried to ruin the reputation of their beloved king.

She barely does anything in regard to her circumstances. Persephone remains the character who COMPLAINS SO MUCH. I agree with other reviews that Persephone complains a lot but doesn't change her circumstances. And when she does, you know it's not the SMARTEST move. It makes me groan every time Persephone does something remotely dumb (for lack of a better term). Again, she could've taken up Minthe's offer to advance the plot but NOOOO, Minthe is just a crazy jealous nymph offending a Goddess.

Lastly, her motives and character confuse me. I don't really know what she wants as a character. I also agree with a review here concerning her motivation. It's confusing and inconsistent. Looking back at it now, I don't know what she wants, truth? Freedom? Adventure? Her fascination with the Underworld makes no sense. It comes completely out of nowhere. And no, "curiosity and unexplained magnet" shouldn't be the only reasons why she's fascinated with the Underworld. Also if she's so "fascinated", why doesn't she know more about Hades? Or even what he looks like? I know she has a controlling mother and all but she's in college and she's A JOURNALIST WHO SHOULD KNOW ABOUT THE BASIC INFORMATION ON HADES AND THEIR WORLD. And her feelings for Hades are so confusing considering their relationship this far.

Overall, this book makes no sense. It had some potential but everything else wasn't executed well. The lore and plot made no sense. The side characters are boring. Hades is creepy. And Persephone is a whole can of worms as I explained before. I didn't even read this book to hate it and it's probably one of my most disliked books I read this year.

I recommend reading Lore Olympus. It's a better alternative (even down to the urbanized setting). It also has one of my favorite art styles I have ever seen. If you didn't like the webcomic (I know a lot of people do and have either justifiable or unjustifiable criticism), then I suggest waiting for Madeline Miller's retelling (it's coming out either this year or next year). Knowing it's Madeline Miller, I know she's going to do one of my favorite myths justice.

If you didn't heed my warning earlier, please note that this is my opinion based on my observations and feelings on the book. If you like it, then that's great. Just please be civil if you have any criticisms of what I said about the book.

Anyway, thanks for reading, and keep things civil, please.

[nolongerreader]

The Hazel Wood (by Melissa Albert)

Originally posted on September 15 2023

2/5 stars

Avoid if you like this book.

The book is aggressively fine. It's not bad just fine.

The only things that kept me reading any further were the interesting plot and lore but everything else just fell apart.

I think the story was a little too edgy and tropey for my tastes (especially the beginning). The writing style for the stories was....not that good. It felt off and less fantastical. The story reminds me of an edgy fairytale version of Percy Jackson except it's just fine. And the story just drags with the constant dialogues. I think the story would've been better if they didn't add in some of the unnecessary dialogues. And it would hopefully make the story feel less rushed.

The characters were...fine (although there are valid criticisms for our MC, Alice). They were decent but I felt like the characters lack some depth for this story.

Overall, this story is fine. But I am disappointed that the last name "Psoperine" was utilized since its the literal Roman name of Persephone (one of my favorite mythological Greek goddesses) .

I recommend it? No. The only other alternatives I could recommend are Percy Jackson and Once Upon A Broken Heart. Percy Jackson is probably an obvious recommendation at this point, but if you want a dark fairy tale themed story, Once Upon A Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber is probably the story for you. It's more fantasy-based, but it does have a similar vibe. The plot doesn't drag as much. And it's paced nicely.

Anyway, this is just my opinion. Thanks for reading and please keep things civil.

[nolongerreader]

If He Had Been With Me

Originally posted: September 2 2024

It was 1/5 stars on Goodreads. But I would've gone lower.

Avoid this if you liked the book.

I tried… I tried so hard to like this book.

But when I first read the line, "In third grade, I announced that I was a feminist," I lost faith.

Warning: If you cried about the ending, then don't read this review. Trust me, it's going to get negative. And I barely have any positive things to say about it.

I'll list down what I liked about it:

✨️Finny (even if I agree that he's a little too perfect)

✨️Her mom (even though I disliked her in the beginning, she was trying her best)

✨️For a story that was supposed to make me cry, I laughed. Not at the jokes but at things like the MC's tiara and her pick-me behavior (more about that below). I laughed so hard (and it's hard to make me laugh)

✨️It's realistic in a sense because the stuff that MC does are almost the same things that the popular kids back in my days would do.

✨️I liked a few lines but those lines can come across as shallow.

✨️I finished it, I guess.

First of all, the plot was inconsistent and full of cliche and contrived "misadventures". These misadventures barely have the male lead in question. So not only did I have to read contrived misadventures but I barely got a chance to care about the MC's relationship with Finn because she was mostly focused on Jamie. And the time that it did, it ended up feeling forced because Mc kept gushing over someone else. I have read another review of this story here, and it compared this to a middle-grade story. And I perfectly agree, except unlike those stories, this one is inconsistent and dull and drags out too many plotlines.

Second of all, I did not like the writing style. While I understand it's from the perspective of a teenager, I found it too melodramatic and even pretentious in times where it's not warranted. And I agree with some reviews that the exposition just dragged the plot. There was way too much of it for me to keep up. Especially when I did not care for it.

Third of all, the side characters are….ngh… not the best. They're all just as annoying as the main character. In fact, some of her friends are people I don't care about. And fighting over a lunch table? Really? It's not a war or a battle. It's just a squabble over a table. I know there's probably some "deep" metaphor, but I don't know if there is. In all honesty, if you removed most of them, the story would've been a lot more consistent and focused. And if you removed her boyfriend, I think the story would be a bit better. Even though I wasn't their age not that long ago, they made me mature fast.

And worst of all, the main character. I can not express how much I disliked the main character. She was selfish, but not in a normal teenager way. The main character couldn't literally care about anyone else without it being shallow. Autumn can surprisingly come across as borderline narcissistic at times and put down the popular kids (for no reason). I don't understand why she stopped being in the "Cliche"? She still does the same things as the popular kids but mildly worse. And the "weird" things she does (apart from her tiara) are barely something I can consider as "weird."

Did I mention that the main character has almost no empathy for her depressed mother? That's disturbing, really disturbing how self-absorbed she is with her own problems. What makes it even worse for me is that her mother is trying to help her, but she just says she's "projecting" even when she's being supported. This can make her come across as self-absorbed in her own issues.

One of the things I disliked most about the main character is her hypocrisy and her pick-me behavior. If she's not friends with them, she puts other girls down. She points out other people's issues even though shes just as worst as them. She even shames another person in an inappropriate way because her friend is "better and prettier." This even affects her friendships. Her pick-me behavior made me uncomfortable because it aged poorly. This also led to pretty arrogant statements that made me dislike her even more. If she was a popular girl, it would make sense. But she's the weirdo that everyone should like, so it baffles me a bit more. I get it she was popular before, but wouldn't it make more sense if she strayed away from that behavior and was more accepting? I don't know if I had met her in real life, I doubt that I would be friends with her myself.

She was also the reason why I could care less about the ending. Her relationships up to that point were so shallow that it was hard for me to even indulge in them. Much less her relationship with Finn. I did not care, and I thought it didn't make any sense. Her "I love Finn" moment absolutely did not make any sense to me. I was so confused at that moment. I was so confused, and it made her relationship with her boyfriend shallow to me. I mean, it was shallow before, but it was starting to become really shallow when she started "loving" someone. It was hard for me to cry over the ending because I heavily disliked the main character and did not care about her pain. Even with the amount of empathy and understanding I have over her age, I still didn't like her enough to cry over it.

Before anyone starts saying that I would've done the same things, no, I would not. Despite my self-absorbed and emotionally toxic moments, I was also aware and empathetic at times when I was their age. I wasn't and still not in a relationship because I found myself to be too emotionally unprepared for a relationship. And despite my lack of experience, that didn't mean that I didn't know what love looked like. And it sure did not look like this. In fact, I wouldn't do most of the things that MC would do. I was self-absorbed and arrogant, but not to the extent where I would put down other women. Even I stopped being a pick-me around her age because I knew that kind of behavior wasn't doing anyone, most especially other women, justice. From what I noticed in my personal life, the people who had this behavior would either cringe about it eventually or still act like this but worse.

Overall, I had high hopes for the book, but it disappointed me greatly. I didn't like any of the characters, most especially the main character. The plot was slow , inconsistent, and contrived. The writing style is mediocre at best and melodramatic and honestly pretentious at worst. Reading it wasn't a good experience for me. I do not recommend this book but if you like cheesy teenage drama shows, then this book is for you. If you want stories where you can cry, I suggest Patron Saints of Nothing and If We Were Villains. The former is a bit more politically charged, but it did make me emotional (again, that would be difficult). The latter is dark academia levels of fun but tragic. But if this story made you cry, I'm glad that you're able to enjoy something that I will never enjoy.

Thank you for reading this review, and please keep it civil in the chat.

Edit: Now that I have read "Normal People" by Sally Rooney, I recommend that over this one. It's not perfect by any means, it's a great alternative.

[nolongerreader]

A brief introduction to my account

Hello! I'm No Longer Reader! Lengthy name, I know. This account will be for all of my reviews for books that I didn't enjoy. While you can find these reviews on my Goodreads, I also want to make another account for my review for a larger audience.

I will post some of my older reviews here. I will eventually post my later reviews, but for now, I want to post the... "classic" reviews I have written two years ago.

Warning: If you like any of the books that you enjoy, please note that these are my opinions. Also, do not take my reviews as law since these are my opinions.

Anyway, that is all I have for now. Lackluster conclusion, but I hope you get the chance to read my reviews.