Ordinary World

This book had me revisit a conundrum which I've had in the past: “is it possible to like a book when you dislike one of the MCs?” Sometimes the answer has been YES, particularly when there's another to balance it out or the story is particularly riveting. Sadly, in this case, the answer is a no. Not an ALL CAPS no, but a no nonetheless.This is a sequel to [b:Faking It 6610856 Faking It Elisa Lorello https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1347357268l/6610856.SY75.jpg 6804841]. It picks up 5 years after the events in that book, and I can't really recommend it as a standalone. Andi's husband, Sam, has died and practically the entirety of this book is a journey from paralyzing grief to living again. So not really a romance. Thankfully I haven't lived through such an experience, but most of the stages Andi goes through seem pretty authentic. My problem is that, besides her mourning, Andi comes off pretty much as selfish and unempathetic to anything but her own feelings. David, her ‘tutor' from the last book, unexpectedly comes back into her life, and they sort of start up a relationship. A very unequal one in which David is willing to lay everything on the line, but Andi can't even pay him the courtesy of addressing him by his name. I know many, and clearly the author too, will pull out the “Andi is grieving” card, but it goes beyond that. Grief can be an all consuming thing, which something Andi has always resented her mother for, how she shut down after Andi's father died. If she knows this, if she's not ready to be open to anyone else, why string David along when she knows he wants so much more? To make matters worse, in this outing of Andi and her world, reiterated what I felt about her in the last book. She's one of those women, written by the author as wonderful, though she doesn't know it (super coyly), but I don't know. Andi seems more like the girl who has always been pampered and cared for by men: her father, her brothers, her husband, her male friends. Not her fault, and I'm not complaining, but it makes her define her life (and most of the women in this series are characterized the same) by the men in it. She has a PhD, she's a published author, she's a well regarded professor, and yet she's still holding a gripe over a boyfriend who broke up with her over six years ago (frankly I thought he had good cause), obsessed over her body, snippy about other women, particularly if they flirt with men she's claimed as hers, (but not really) etc. Save for two female friends, Andi's attitude towards other women can only be described as catty, even with her own mother. In her perception all women look down on her, or are trying to flirt/steal her man du jour. Wore is Andi's/the author's double or triple moral stance on sex, specifically slut shaming. David/Devin can never overcome having been an escort, it's something Andi never wastes anytime throwing in his face whenever she's feeling pressured. She's a “bring a gun to a knife fight” kind of girl. In her mind David is always “Devin The Escort”, and she's not being charitable when she says it. The women who used David's services where either taken advantage of by an escort, or shameless hussies, not grown women with agency and sexual urges or fantasies of their own, which they acted on. The fact that Andi herself used David, and has him to thank for her “sexual liberation” is irrelevant. She's downright cruel and selfish when it comes to David, to the point of telling him that she will always be Sam's wife even if they are together, but the narrative is meant for us, the readers, to be on Andi's side. She's the heroine of this story. I didn't buy that ticket. I understand sorrow, loss, and grief but it doesn't exempt you from being a decent human being. If you find you can't manage those things maybe it's best to not socialize, much less romantically tether someone to you.As always YMMV and I'll probably listen to the 3rd book in the series, because I like [a:Cynthia Barrett 6979965 Cynthia Barrett https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]'s narration, and I'm a completist nut.