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Steph

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shallow story, repetitive, instalove

Overall
3 out of 5 stars
Performance
3 out of 5 stars
Story
3 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 12-22-24

If I had to hear them reference the way those two met one more time...
I'm not a fan of this in-love-because-looks thing that's old and overdone. They're both gorgeous, able-bodied White men, so they have so much in common? I really don't understand why this couple feels they have to be together, and it's frustrating.

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Generally good, kinda culty

Overall
4 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
4 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 12-16-24

I'm a bit creeped out by this family and the indoctrination of the people in it/ surrounding it. That aspect is uncomfortable for me because it's not really acknowledged in the novel that the way they're acting is abnormal and not dramatically overbearing. Anywho, I enjoy a novel with some solid self-pitying and people with martyr complexes, so I enjoyed the experience of audio reading it in general. The characters are mostly consistent within themselves, which is nice, and the sex is mostly hot and not overdone. I just don't know about this creepily-connected family and its devoted hangers on.

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Fix The Error

Overall
4 out of 5 stars
Performance
4 out of 5 stars
Story
4 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 12-07-24

This novel neeeeeeeeeds to remove the description of "The Oriental Woman" from the audiobook (chapter 8) YESTERDAY. I almost metaphorically threw this thing out the window after hearing it. The novel is otherwise pretty good and interesting, but slurs really don't do it for me, so I'm not sure how to evaluate. You can call a rug Oriental, not a sentient being.

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Frustrating, Irrational Characters

Overall
3 out of 5 stars
Performance
3 out of 5 stars
Story
4 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 11-20-24

The plot is alright: closeted cop and out business owner with a chaotic and criminal family crossing paths. My issue, which takes away from the story significantly, is the bizarre criminal family members' behaviors and the lead's responses to them. It's difficult to root for someone who allows people to trample on his feelings time and time again. Either the author should have given fewer examples of these behaviors (we get it, let's move on in the plot), or the author could have shown an episode of further personal growth from the lead at each instance of badgering from family. Are we beating the dead horse for increased sympathy? I don't want to get started on the accents, but they're not good, and these country folks with limited education sure do have expansive vocabularies. Okay, I'm done now.

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Maybe unrealistic, definitely very fun

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
4 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 11-19-24

I enjoyed this novel. It's very sweet and the characters are interesting. Some of the film industry stuff doesn't make sense, but that's background, so can be ignored. Narrator pleasant.

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too much time wasted on ambivalence

Overall
3 out of 5 stars
Performance
4 out of 5 stars
Story
3 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 11-09-24

I like some of this author's novels much more. Two thirds of the novel is Red knowing he doesn't want to be a model, but allowing various pressures to influence him one way or another. There's minimal romance between the two male protagonists, but they're super into one another and I'm not sure why.

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not a fan

Overall
3 out of 5 stars
Performance
3 out of 5 stars
Story
3 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 11-05-24

It is challenging for me to root for this pair, as the older professor doesn't seem to make reasonable, mature, or logical choices throughout the novel. There are excuses that can be made for the college freshman. Not to stereotype professors as intelligent, but I would expect they would know not to kiss a student at a school function. Voice actor performances are fine, but some words are mispronounced and some sentences have incorrect emphasis.

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I'm just a bet?!?

Overall
3 out of 5 stars
Performance
4 out of 5 stars
Story
3 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 10-29-24

This plot has been very very done, so I was hoping it would somehow surprise me. Unfortunately, it's a repeat of the plotline from the 90s teen movies (but gay sex scenes). The performance is good, so there's that.

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not buying the premise, but okay

Overall
3 out of 5 stars
Performance
4 out of 5 stars
Story
3 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 10-15-24

This is probably the most unnecessarily dramatic installment of the series, and at times, I found myself rolling my eyes in frustration at the characters or writing. I have difficulty with the idea that these two people would be so fixated on one another for 6 years but never see each other during that time. There's not a good enough explanation for the extended separation, and it's all so very over-the-top with everybody's emotions. Not my favorite of the series, but it's still decent.

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not for me

Overall
3 out of 5 stars
Performance
3 out of 5 stars
Story
3 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 08-31-24

The previous novel in the series is far more believable, and this one is nearly silly with how bizarre the situations are. There's too long in a SAW type of scenario with a really boring escape room. This sociopath dude put a whole lot of time/energy into a puzzle for people he just met. Not buying the premise, not buying the decisions made by the established characters from the first novel, not into it at all. I'm not bothering with the next one.

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