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mmccombs's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
I loved the distinct, irreverent voice of this book, it was casual and introspective and silly and vulnerable, kind of like reading a diary. I love reading books that feel like watching train wrecks, I could see the ending coming from a mile away but still felt satisfied when we got there. I do think this could have been shorter, it was pretty repetitive (we get it! Things are messy!). I also couldn’t help but feel so distracted by the Covid content, I know the pandemic experience in Australia was different than it was in the U.S., but doing an affair during a pandemic whilst your partner is pregnant and therefore more vulnerable!! just feels extra disrespectful, and the overall tone about it was so blasé on the verge of feeling gross to me.
On the whole I really enjoyed this in a #relatable way, a great depiction of late-stage capitalist malaise and the extent to which we will go just to feel something at all.
On the whole I really enjoyed this in a #relatable way, a great depiction of late-stage capitalist malaise and the extent to which we will go just to feel something at all.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity
Moderate: Animal death and Eating disorder
alicesayshi's review against another edition
emotional
funny
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Infidelity
Minor: Animal death, Alcohol, and Eating disorder
star's review
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
i received this book through a little free library. it is an ARC -- i believe the actual release date is in a few days. i am hoping that it will be different in its final form.
this book was.... for lack of a better way of putting it, extremely painful to get through. the plot can easily be explained through the synopsis on the back cover - woman, 24 years old, falls in love with 40-something year old married man.
i disliked this book immensely, but was attached enough to hera that i wanted to see it through. i am relieved to have finished it, and pray i never know about a sequel if it comes up - as it was hard to get through, for sure, but i am attached enough i fear i may read it.
hera is... frustrating. she reminds me a lot of myself a few years ago (which makes sense, as we were born in similar years - if she were real, she would be probably a year older than me now), i will say it's nice to see a problematic bi girl out there in the wild - i did laugh at the mention of co-star for sure.
but this book was.... not my favorite, and i really really had to push myself HARD (to the point of forcing myself) to get through it. i will be donating this to a different LFL on it's release date... good luck to whoever gets it.
spoiler tags for the rest of my thoughts.
hera is an irony-poisoned asshole! which is sad to say, as i had to frequently put the book down due to how much she reminded me of me a few years ago. it took me almost 2 months to get through the first part of the book (the book is split into 5 parts, or at least, the ARC is.) this was in part due to the lackluster writing style but also the extremely frustrating way that hera behaved.
i HATED arthur the entire time. this was so typical, "i love you and ill tell my wife sometime soon, promise". i thought the pull at the end with maisie was awful, too, and imagine knowing for your entire life that you named your baby the thing your mistress suggested! i kept wanting hera to fucking talk to kate about it... but she never did. UGH.
and jesus christ, the way that hera treated her fucking dad. that poor man. and poor jude.
this book was.... for lack of a better way of putting it, extremely painful to get through. the plot can easily be explained through the synopsis on the back cover - woman, 24 years old, falls in love with 40-something year old married man.
i disliked this book immensely, but was attached enough to hera that i wanted to see it through. i am relieved to have finished it, and pray i never know about a sequel if it comes up - as it was hard to get through, for sure, but i am attached enough i fear i may read it.
hera is... frustrating. she reminds me a lot of myself a few years ago (which makes sense, as we were born in similar years - if she were real, she would be probably a year older than me now), i will say it's nice to see a problematic bi girl out there in the wild - i did laugh at the mention of co-star for sure.
but this book was.... not my favorite, and i really really had to push myself HARD (to the point of forcing myself) to get through it. i will be donating this to a different LFL on it's release date... good luck to whoever gets it.
spoiler tags for the rest of my thoughts.
i HATED arthur the entire time. this was so typical, "i love you and ill tell my wife sometime soon, promise". i thought the pull at the end with maisie was awful, too, and imagine knowing for your entire life that you named your baby the thing your mistress suggested! i kept wanting hera to fucking talk to kate about it... but she never did. UGH.
and jesus christ, the way that hera treated her fucking dad. that poor man. and poor jude.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Infidelity, and Animal death
Moderate: Pregnancy and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Eating disorder and War
maddiemooney's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
She’s a mess!!
I loved these characters even though they were the worst!
I loved these characters even though they were the worst!
Content Warnings
Minor: Alcohol, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Biphobia, Animal death, Toxic relationship, Infidelity, and Pandemic/Epidemic
e11en's review against another edition
emotional
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity and Sexual content
Moderate: Eating disorder
Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic
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