Lauren
I’ve been digging into Hazlewood’s backlog as I’ve read most (if not all) of her current work. Her work is very formulaic, which I enjoy. I pick up her books when I need the silly, goofy, romcom vibe to break up my heavier reads, and typically they hit just right. This was one of two now that didn’t work for me (Problematic Summer Romance being the other). Her writing has clearly gotten better in her more recent books (which I expect), but that wasn’t really the issue. I felt like Olive had no spine. After the event that causes our third-act problem (as all romances have), I just wanted to yell at her to stand up. What happened to her is real and serious, but her reaction to it, I just wanted more from her.
The dialogue was also extra cringy. The millennial vibes were overly strong in this one.
It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t nearly as strong as the books that came after it.
I’ve been digging into Hazlewood’s backlog as I’ve read most (if not all) of her current work. Her work is very formulaic, which I enjoy. I pick up her books when I need the silly, goofy, romcom vibe to break up my heavier reads, and typically they hit just right. This was one of two now that didn’t work for me (Problematic Summer Romance being the other). Her writing has clearly gotten better in her more recent books (which I expect), but that wasn’t really the issue. I felt like Olive had no spine. After the event that causes our third-act problem (as all romances have), I just wanted to yell at her to stand up. What happened to her is real and serious, but her reaction to it, I just wanted more from her.
The dialogue was also extra cringy. The millennial vibes were overly strong in this one.
It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t nearly as strong as the books that came after it.