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BookClub: Me, Myself & I *
Month: August, 2024
Theme: Read a Book From a Favourite Author
* BookClub Me, Myself & I is just a "book club" where I pick up a prompt each month and I have to "force" myself to read a book that fits that prompt.


I guess not everything your favourite author(s) writes is gold.

Synopsis:

The story begins with Justin laying on a Reddit thread how he has a curse: every woman he dates goes to find their soulmate after they break up. When Emma slides into his Dms with the exact same problem, they forge a plan: they’ll date each other and break up, thus their curses will cancel each other and they’ll find the love of their lives.

It’s crazy� but so it’s their love life.

“Four dates. A kiss. One break up.� is their motto and it is supposed to be something quick and painless but when Emma’s toxic mother shows up and Justin finds himself needing to assume the guardianship of his siblings, their navigating more than they bargained with.

Is their curse truly a curse or was the universe waiting for each other?

Review:

This is the first time I’ve given any of this author’s work a 3 star rating.

It doesn’t mean this is bad. It is not. It really isn’t but there were things here that I didn’t particularly liked and it had almost nothing to do with the author’s writing (well, she created the characters so I guess you can fault her(?)).

ANYWAY,

When it comes to individual characters, Justin was definitely so mature, one of the most mature men I’ve ever read. He had conflicting feelings, sure, he’s human but he saw so much beyond it. Although I did find him unrealistic, for boys like that don’t exist, I don’t read romance books for their accuracy. Otherwise, I’d just deal with real life boys/men and� honestly, no, thank you, next.

Regarding Emma, there is so much self-sabotage and misguided empathy a person can take. Though I don’t think we should have everything figured out in our late 20s � we’re human, we’re always learning and trauma can be difficult to deal/heal -, I do think that, AS A NURSE who’s always travelling and working in different departments, Emma should’ve been a little bit more aware of trauma symptoms and, since her BEST FRIEND was CONSTANTLY telling her that she had unresolved trauma, you’d think she’d be a little bit smarter and self-aware.

She had such a difficult life, and I don’t want to minimize that. It should never be minimize but it cannot be used as an excuse, as a justification to her actions.

Together, it felt like Justin was putting every effort into the relationship and Emma just there just for the vibes. I understood why she fell in love with Justin but� I couldn’t see how Justin would fall for Emma. She contributed with almost nothing to the relationship other than a few laughs and being a nurse.

The reason my rating is not 2 stars is because of Justin, the siblings and Maddy. Maddy deserved her own book: she is selfless, dedicated, best of best friends and so empathetic and understanding.
Here’s a few quotes that make me go insane and my very entertaining comments (which kinda showcase Emma’s personality):

“If you have to choose between anger and empathy, always choose empathy.� As an extremely empathic person myself, there is a line and Emma’s mother crossed it a decade before.

“I got small.� “I get small.� This is was Emma described when she got numb and emotionally detached. It was an excuse for her to completely cut contact with people with barely any word and justify her actions. You’re not being selfless. You’re being rude, disrespectful and indecent. She has no regards for other people’s feelings. I more than understand the need to have personal space to deal with your emotions and problems. HOWEVER, I do not understand the need to push everyone away without care and use it as a justifications to literally not work on yourself.

“I was Irish and German.� Emma when talking about a DNA test she did. Bro, you’re American.

“Keep her near you. Put her in a room, let her isolate, let her sleep, bring her food. Don’t talk to her until she’s ready to talk, give her time to come out of it. But don’t let her leave.� Maddy when talking about Emma getting “small�. Bro, go see a therapist. She’s 28 and a nurse.

Overall, Justin is a better person than me, Maddy is a fucking saint and Emma nearly made me DNF the book. I’ll continue to read this author’s books because one “I-want-to-throw-this-book-at-the-wall� is nothing compared to the other 5 books which I rated 4 and 5 stars.

I’m looking forward for more of Abby Jimenez and she’s still one of my favourite authors.