Reviews with content warning for Rape - Emergency Contact

The setting feels like it is supposed to be a funny story: over the top cliche characters, ditzy mothers, super rich roommates/friends with famous rockstar boyfriends, ex-girlfriends who are beautiful, funny, perfect, but kind of a bitch (oh, and of course also super rich). And then it tries SO hard to be a serious story. Which didn’t work for me. It’s neither fun to read nor particularly profound.

The characters were all pretty unlikable, partly because Penny saw everyone in such a negative light. Which could have been fine, unreliable narrator and all. But her character growth (if you can even call it that) came way too late into the story to have any impact. I was just annoyed at everyone all the time.

Sam’s feelings and thoughts made the most sense to me. He’s kind of a mess, and understandably so.
His backstory made sense. Penny’s, however, feels forced and almost like an afterthought. The set-up was there from the beginning but to me it felt flat, one-dimensional. Like the author put it in there for the drama. Yikes.

You should be able to write complicated female characters without them being SAed. Especially when in the end her mother goes “you’ve always been like that [single-minded but also narrow-minded, judgmental, etc.]”. Okay, so what was the point of adding the r***? Can’t she just have flaws, and be rude and unlikable as a person? Because that just how people are sometimes? And then grow up and learn to be better? Couldn’t the focus have been her character growth?

The only truly enjoyable parts for me were the moments where Penny and Sam talked to each other in person - there were some funny moments. And that both Jude and Celeste told Penny off at the end.

2.5 - I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it, but listening to the audio book at least kept me somewhat entertained while I cleaned my apartment.

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lighthearted medium-paced

Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Very cute and light YA romance book. I'm such a sucker for cranky people discovering warmth and connection and this delivered so strongly on that front. Good audiobook narrators too.

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