Yvon
Beautiful and diverse characters. Wonderful plot. This book made me feel seen and not alone.
Rating is low cuz there are several things that dont make sense to me:
1. What does freddy even like about laura? The make out sessions and thats it?
2. Whats the reason behind laura breaking up besides being cruel? Like, for real. She already fools around with everyone so why the need for break ups?
3. The teen pregnancy thing ruined the book for me. Especially the way it happened. Doodle might be a victim but i do not feel bad for her at all. She even said sth like “seeing u w a person as toxic as laura made it seem ok for me to have sex w this married man” Just no. That's immature and disgusting.
4. I understand doodle's dad being pro-choice but he's kind of too relaxed about this whole situation?? Dude, theres a creep out there who got involved w ur daughter
No kind of love in this book (romantic, platonic). No build up to the MC relationships. Very underwhelming. Most characters are toxic and i couldn't connect to any. Didn't like the writing style either. Too much confusion. Nothing interesting happens in this book.
I think this book is amazing in understanding the basics of non-monogamy. However, it was a little too focused on opening up an already existing relationship (what about people who are single and wish to join a polycule?)
Its just that good.
Some bits of descriptions were odd but overall i enjoyed it. It was refreshing to see FWBs portrayed as something loving and with mutual consent. The setting and storyline converge into a beautiful short story. No big thoughts, just cozy vibes.
2 stars is a generous rating coming from me and here's why!
–>Spoilers ahead–>
Im gonna start positive, i liked the idea of a queerplatonic relationship seen from an allo perspective as i kind of had to deal with that in my life as well. But oh boy this was not a fun read...
1. Cliché character typology. We have the classic fuckboy Albert who cheats, which aint a surprise to anybody, not even his gf. And poor her got heartbroken after loving him- oh, nvm. In her words: she was just attracted to him, but never loved him. And she was also losing that attraction. So her being furious about the dude cheating makes little sense to me, especially since she knew from the beginning about his cheaty behavior
Yeah speaking of which, 2. Ironic how Emma has amazing communication skills with Noah, but awful ones with Albert and all her exes. All her relationships, except the one with Olive, would've probably been less disastrous if it just occured to her “hey! Im worrying this relationship aint working! It doesn't make me feel good! I should bring this up to my partner!”
3. No, but this is what irked me the most: the miscommunication (which suddenly disappears around Noah)
4. Noah the rebound? I know it wasnt meant to be, but thats what it looks like and its hard to ignore
In my next points ill try to be more constructive in my criticism:
5. Is it really a queerplatonic story? Just because the idea of such a relationship is suggested, it doesn't make it the theme of the book. The theme felt more like “how do i get over my toxic ex and all my failures in dating”. I would've much rather had the story start with the ending. And actually get to see them trying out being in a queerplatonic relationship
6. Too much “this is this and that, and this is how i feel about it” and too little “this is the result of this”. In other words, please more show and less tell
7. Related to the previous, i wish the characters would've been described more, especially through more significant actions. Even through some flashbacks, like, involuntarily remembering key moments in their relationships, to see why they feel the way they do in the present, would've made them more interesting, or just anything really
All in all, not for me, disappointed, but i cant say i hate it from the depths of my soul