A review by sjburton127
Decked with Holly by Marni Bates

2.0

I did enjoy parts of this book, but I think I would’ve enjoyed it a hell of a lot more if it wasn’t so degrading to the majority of females out there. Apparently because us females don’t look like supermodels, that makes us average and too ugly to date a celebrity. Oh and don’t forget, makeup and a nice dress suddenly makes you really hot! If only that were true. Also I spent the entirety of the book wanting to punch Holly’s cousins. I really expected too much from the ‘confrontation scene.’ There I was thinking here we go, this is it, she’s finally going to stand up for herself and those awful cousins are going to regret the day they were born, but it was so pathetic and they still posted out the pictures anyway?? I mean seriously, was it that difficult to write in something awful happening to the cousins, was that really too much to ask? They treated Holly like absolute garbage and her auntie constantly made comments about her weight. This is a 17 (almost 18) year old girl and she’s got family members calling her fat and treating her like scum because she’s an orphan?? There was absolutely no explanation for their behaviour and no character development at all; they did not learn from their actions and that is the worst possible thing that could ever happen if I’m being honest. Don’t even get me started on her grandpa. He was supposed to be the only family member who treated her kindly, but why the hell did he just sit there and accept all the harsh words being thrown at Holly? Yes I understand that maybe she should stick up for herself, but how are you supposed to do that when the one person you thought cared about you doesn’t even stick up for you?? Of course she felt worthless, I would too! I have never felt rage like this before, I was waiting and waiting for him to put the auntie and her cousins in their place, but I got…nothing. He cared more about Nick coming on the scene and being nice to her than the constant wearing down from her own family members. Unbelievable. Her friend was a complete waste of space - not believing anything she said because Nick was a ‘hot celebrity with great abs’ is ridiculous, how could she even call herself a friend? But she definitely wasn’t the worst character in this book.
Nick was okay once he got past his whole ‘this girl is a mess ew get her out of here’ phase. He was rude to begin with (I guess I can’t blame him too much for that), but he wasn’t entirely a bad person. Yes he could’ve stood up for Holly and they should have had some clearer communication about the whole PDA in front of cameras, but it’s a bit iffy with him being a celebrity and the fake relationship and all that so I guess I will let him off.

However, due to the frustration I felt throughout the entire book because of Holly’s unbelievable family members and friend, I would not recommend this book to anyone.