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sarah_thebooknerd's Reviews (879)
I DNFd this book at 35% and will not pick up this author again.
I am someone who need CW and seek them out, I went to the authors website and she calls CW spoilers and newsflash they are not spoilers they are mobility aids for people who have trauma and mental health to navigate the work safely.
The author lists then all the ones not in the book to “not spoil” and then a very small list of what is in it. I was like this is a fucking weird ass way to spend your energy exhausting 15 things not in the book versus just listing what it in it!
And this was my bad at this point proceeding and thinking that the subjects and readers were going to be handled with care.
The FMC has a flashback or reliving due to a demon power of the death of her family including her 3/4 year old brother and the narrator even makes sure to talk in a child voice and in a child manner ask why she would hurt him/ kill them and goes into some detail of what happened to them with the gruesome way they died.
My Trigger is child loss- I’ve lost a child and in case people don’t get it or the author happens to look at her reviews: when you list that “child harm” is not in the book well…. Child death is child harm. And grief trigger is not enough, grief are the emotions people face after death not a flash point to a child begging his sister to not hurt them or cause harm to them by being near them because she attracts demons. It’s also super fucking triggering to your readers who have lost a child, as guilt comes into the grief process. So the specific aspect of a child making a FMC feel guilt over his death was truly one of the most traumatic ways to set me off.
I would not recommend this book or this author to anyone because they do not take the time to inform their readers in a way that will keep them safe from harm. They will make you aware of things not in the book that are not even comprehensive so read with caution and protect yourself if you do pick this author up.
I am someone who need CW and seek them out, I went to the authors website and she calls CW spoilers and newsflash they are not spoilers they are mobility aids for people who have trauma and mental health to navigate the work safely.
The author lists then all the ones not in the book to “not spoil” and then a very small list of what is in it. I was like this is a fucking weird ass way to spend your energy exhausting 15 things not in the book versus just listing what it in it!
And this was my bad at this point proceeding and thinking that the subjects and readers were going to be handled with care.
The FMC has a flashback or reliving due to a demon power of the death of her family including her 3/4 year old brother and the narrator even makes sure to talk in a child voice and in a child manner ask why she would hurt him/ kill them and goes into some detail of what happened to them with the gruesome way they died.
My Trigger is child loss- I’ve lost a child and in case people don’t get it or the author happens to look at her reviews: when you list that “child harm” is not in the book well…. Child death is child harm. And grief trigger is not enough, grief are the emotions people face after death not a flash point to a child begging his sister to not hurt them or cause harm to them by being near them because she attracts demons. It’s also super fucking triggering to your readers who have lost a child, as guilt comes into the grief process. So the specific aspect of a child making a FMC feel guilt over his death was truly one of the most traumatic ways to set me off.
I would not recommend this book or this author to anyone because they do not take the time to inform their readers in a way that will keep them safe from harm. They will make you aware of things not in the book that are not even comprehensive so read with caution and protect yourself if you do pick this author up.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Sexual content, Grief, Death of parent
challenging
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
challenging
emotional
inspiring
fast-paced
emotional
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
I DNFd this book at 200 pages.
When I went into this I knew it was going to be a romcom with outrageous plotlines and antics and I was here for that. The main FMC is plus sized woman who is from what I can tell confident in her body from the first 200 pages. She is a young adult librarian and was bullied pretty horribly in high school by the Queen Bees and so on the reunion planning committee team she lies and says she is dating her neighbor/ friend, Chris, the quarterback.
Chris, has been head over heels for Trixie for years and even asked her out 10 years ago where she declined. So when Trixie comes to him asking to fake date he uses it as an opportunity to show her that they can have something beyond friendship.
If you are someone who does not like a friends to lovers plotline where one of the friends is waiting for their chance, this is not going to be for you. I didn't have an issue with that but the friends to lovers trope didn't work for me here because we don't get to see him fall for her, he is already there and there are no flashbacks to the tension or miscommunication moments that led to them being friends vs lovers. When he admits he has feelings she is just all in and again there just wasn't this moment of tension of them falling for one another and it almost felt very insta-lovey in a way even though it doesn't happen until the 170+ page mark.
I also really struggled with Chris' headspace- it seemed like how people think guys are- super kind and nice and thinking of "jacking off" in the next sentence and it got to such a point with his inner thoughts on Trixie that I was like does he love her or just want to screw her and I think that's the issue of not seeing them fall for one another. So the dynamics seemed off and kinda creepy at times when how much he is thinking of cold showers and masturbation in order to be around her.
Trixi's mom is a former porn star turned sex educator and would call and leave the calls with an "orgasam a day keeps the doctor away" and send Trixie vibrators and sex toys. This was not a DNF point for me but I was mortified for the FMC because if my mom did that to me when I am a grown ass adult, like where are the parental boundaries here.... I was rooting for a positive sex worker situation but was confused with the messaging from the author because Trixie's insecurities and creepy interactions with grown men are because they think she is like her mom and want to get with her because of their thoughts and watching her mom's porn and again more could be flushed out in the end of the book that I missed but just something to note.
I will share the part that made me DNF- The MMC is meeting with a manager and the manager says "there is a difference in their attractiveness" because of Trixie being plus sized. This is not unusual for the plot so I was like okay- asshole move on but it was WEIRD because the manager goes on to state they are married to a plus sized super model and like what.... okay so what is with the attractiveness comment then and it was just shifted to not reading comments and getting thick skin if she is going to be his person.
So this is what I am going to say, I have read the author's other work and A lot of the books are only focused on curvy, curviest, thick thighs and busty and some other descriptions like lush but for the most part it is feeding into a lot of societal stereotypes of fat bodies that our attractiveness is in our hips, ass and breasts as women and I think that there is some internalized fatphobia here or uncomfortableness with describing the stomach, fat, or seeing our bodies in a positive light even though there is a plus sized character. So I think with where I am and where they write to I am just not a good reader for them.
There are plenty of readers who will find and appreciate this representation and I think that is great, it is just not something I can do without regressing in my thoughts about myself, worth and body.
When I went into this I knew it was going to be a romcom with outrageous plotlines and antics and I was here for that. The main FMC is plus sized woman who is from what I can tell confident in her body from the first 200 pages. She is a young adult librarian and was bullied pretty horribly in high school by the Queen Bees and so on the reunion planning committee team she lies and says she is dating her neighbor/ friend, Chris, the quarterback.
Chris, has been head over heels for Trixie for years and even asked her out 10 years ago where she declined. So when Trixie comes to him asking to fake date he uses it as an opportunity to show her that they can have something beyond friendship.
If you are someone who does not like a friends to lovers plotline where one of the friends is waiting for their chance, this is not going to be for you. I didn't have an issue with that but the friends to lovers trope didn't work for me here because we don't get to see him fall for her, he is already there and there are no flashbacks to the tension or miscommunication moments that led to them being friends vs lovers. When he admits he has feelings she is just all in and again there just wasn't this moment of tension of them falling for one another and it almost felt very insta-lovey in a way even though it doesn't happen until the 170+ page mark.
I also really struggled with Chris' headspace- it seemed like how people think guys are- super kind and nice and thinking of "jacking off" in the next sentence and it got to such a point with his inner thoughts on Trixie that I was like does he love her or just want to screw her and I think that's the issue of not seeing them fall for one another. So the dynamics seemed off and kinda creepy at times when how much he is thinking of cold showers and masturbation in order to be around her.
Trixi's mom is a former porn star turned sex educator and would call and leave the calls with an "orgasam a day keeps the doctor away" and send Trixie vibrators and sex toys. This was not a DNF point for me but I was mortified for the FMC because if my mom did that to me when I am a grown ass adult, like where are the parental boundaries here.... I was rooting for a positive sex worker situation but was confused with the messaging from the author because Trixie's insecurities and creepy interactions with grown men are because they think she is like her mom and want to get with her because of their thoughts and watching her mom's porn and again more could be flushed out in the end of the book that I missed but just something to note.
I will share the part that made me DNF- The MMC is meeting with a manager and the manager says "there is a difference in their attractiveness" because of Trixie being plus sized. This is not unusual for the plot so I was like okay- asshole move on but it was WEIRD because the manager goes on to state they are married to a plus sized super model and like what.... okay so what is with the attractiveness comment then and it was just shifted to not reading comments and getting thick skin if she is going to be his person.
So this is what I am going to say, I have read the author's other work and A lot of the books are only focused on curvy, curviest, thick thighs and busty and some other descriptions like lush but for the most part it is feeding into a lot of societal stereotypes of fat bodies that our attractiveness is in our hips, ass and breasts as women and I think that there is some internalized fatphobia here or uncomfortableness with describing the stomach, fat, or seeing our bodies in a positive light even though there is a plus sized character. So I think with where I am and where they write to I am just not a good reader for them.
There are plenty of readers who will find and appreciate this representation and I think that is great, it is just not something I can do without regressing in my thoughts about myself, worth and body.
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I feel like the discussions in this book are so important- coming out to Muslim parents, parents struggling to accept that their daughter is a lesbian, cultural appropriation, and racism by fellow classmates.
The FMC, Nishat is such a compelling character and I was in awe of the way in which she pushes for the protection of henna and the Bangladeshi culture. I did struggle a little bit with the love interest, Flavia engaging in cultural appropriation but never really working through it because they became attracted to one another. Flavia’s cousin was pretty awful when it came to racism and lesbophobia of Nishat and for Flavia to not own the harm she watched happen and didn’t step in cannot just be forgiven or not addressed.
But there is a lot of depth to this book and Adiba is quickly on my auto read list!
The FMC, Nishat is such a compelling character and I was in awe of the way in which she pushes for the protection of henna and the Bangladeshi culture. I did struggle a little bit with the love interest, Flavia engaging in cultural appropriation but never really working through it because they became attracted to one another. Flavia’s cousin was pretty awful when it came to racism and lesbophobia of Nishat and for Flavia to not own the harm she watched happen and didn’t step in cannot just be forgiven or not addressed.
But there is a lot of depth to this book and Adiba is quickly on my auto read list!
I stopped the book at 75% which is a long time to read before stopping. I love Leslie Jones and I loved the parts of her story where she was sharing her life. The book is 288 pages and the audio is 17 hrs. The book and the audio are actually not the same. Leslie had an outline for the audio and just sort of did her own thing. I think that led to an issue of the audiobook being longer, repetitive and dragged when it didn’t need to! If you go into the audiobook more like a podcast I think you will enjoy this book more. But just be aware that it’s not at all just a reading in audio of the book and the experiences are vastly different.
I might come back to this to finish the 25% but my patience was thin right now and mood was not great to enjoy the rest of the memoir. There are definitely so many incredible moments in this book and Leslie’s story is one that so many readers could connect with in terms of her family, struggles to make it and finding her career later in life.
I might come back to this to finish the 25% but my patience was thin right now and mood was not great to enjoy the rest of the memoir. There are definitely so many incredible moments in this book and Leslie’s story is one that so many readers could connect with in terms of her family, struggles to make it and finding her career later in life.