Saturday, 2 April 2016

REVIEW + CONFESSION + LIST: IS (PRESENCE OF) DIVERSITY ENOUGH TO MAKE YOU FALL IN LOVE WITH THE BOOK?

Yesterday I finished a book that I had been excited about for a long time but it did not meet my expectations. Sad, I know. More importantly, it made me think about diverse books and I realized that I have a confession to make...


Right of First Refusal by Dahlia Adler

(Radleigh University #2)

Genre: New Adult Romance

Release date: March 15th 2016

    
     
On the lacrosse field, Cait Johannssen gets what she wants. Off the field is another story. Because what she wants is the school's hot new basketball student-coach, Lawrence Mason, who also happens to be the guy who broke her heart in sports camp two years earlier.

But it's Cait's new roommate who's got him.

Cait and Mase agree it's best to keep their past a secret, but she doesn't expect him to completely ignore their history...or how much it'll hurt when he does. So when a friend on the basketball team asks her to pose as his girlfriend for a night, Cait can't turn down the opportunity for distraction. (Okay, and a little spite.) But what starts as an evening of fun turns into a fake relationship with more lies than the usually drama-free Cait can handle, and it's only keeping her from the one truth that's nagged at her for years: Why did Mase cut her out of his life to begin with?

And is it really too late to get him back?

MY REVIEW:


What a disappointment. I admit, I read this book strictly because of second-chance romance. After quite good first book  Last Will and Testament (forbidden student/teacher romance) I was looking forward to reading this second standalone installment and I was very curious to see how author would deal with second-chance romance trope that I like so much. It went badly.

Instead of meaningful and thoughtful romance I got shalow and underdeveloped romance together with weak heroine (who thought that she was "broken" once she realized that the world doesn't revolve around her) fangirling about how perfect object of her obsession looks like, how sexy and attractive he is...I mean, I get it. Mase was hot. But I didn't need to be reminded all the time. There was only minimum mention of stuff that would make me like him as a person because constant mention of his hotness overshadowed everything else. Moreover, resolutions of all the problems were too quick and unsatisfactory considering what a big deal everything had seemed to be to Cait. Overall, all things combined made this story and romance look shallow in my eyes.

The only aspects of this novel that I truly liked were presence of diverse characters and positive and heartwarming portrayal of female friendship that made reading this novel bearable. And this leads me to my confession...


MY CONFESSION:


I know that many readers were happy that author featured diverse characters (gay/bisexual/pansexual friends, dark skinned hero) in this novel as multiple super positive reviews suggest. Nonetheless, featuring diverse characters on its own does not make a book for me. What is the point of having diverse character if you put him in the shallow story? What is the point of including racial diversity in the book if storyline isn't catchy or adequate? Lately, it seems to me that many readers put diversity above good ol' writing and storytelling skills and let themselves be appeased by presence of diverse character even if book itself is mediocre at its best. Or I just have shitty luck with diverse books lately...

Sometimes I even feel pressure from bookish society to automatically love/praise books if they heavily promote diversity in a good light. Sometimes I feel like publishers/reviewers push high-quality writing aside in favor of "better good" of promoting diversity, as if the most important thing was to have diverse factor in the book and all others aspects be damned. Maybe I'm exaggerating but that's how I have felt lately, that's the impression I'm getting from some parts of bookish community. However, I refuse to give into this pressure and I keep on judging the books based on storytelling and writing skills of the author.

I welcome diversity in books and I wish there were more high-quality novels featuring diverse characters out there. But I emphasize that such books have to have much more than just simple presence of diverse character to wow me. So, yeah. Even though I'm pro diverse books, I don't want to read artificial ones which "fit current demand". I will always put high-quality writing and storytelling on the first place when it comes to books I read.


MY LIST:


my favorite diverse books / vanilla scented tea candles

But not to conclude with negative thoughts, I have list of diverse books that won me over because they proved themselves in more aspects (writing, storyline, characters development, twists, feels) than simply featuring diverse character(s):

SIX OF CROWS by Leigh Bardugo -

(racial and sexual diversity, hero with disability)

I'LL MEET YOU THERE by Heather Demetrios -

(handicapped hero who lost his leg in a war)

FIRE AND THORNS SERIES by Rae Carson -

(strongly religious heroine)

PAINTED FACES by L.H. Cosway -

(heterosexual drag queen, gay community)

PUDDLE JUMPING by Amber L. Johnson -

(hero who has Aspergers)

THE BLUE AMARYLLIS by Sonia De Leon -

(cultural and racial diversity of isolated Amazon tribes)

WHAT IS YOUR STAND ON THIS TOPIC?
WOULD YOU RATHER READ MEDIOCRE BUT DIVERSE BOOK
OR PERFECTLY WRITTEN STORY WITH NO DIVERSITY?
WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE DIVERSE BOOKS?

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Lucia @Reading Is My Breathing

Lucia is 29 years old passionate reader and reviewer who enjoys talking about all bookish things. Currently she lives in Prague, works in business industry and dreams of starting her own publishing company. Her weakness? She can never say no to cake, coffee or good novel.

Comments (22)

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I have read one book by this author and liked it. Sad to see that this one totally fell flat for you. On the diversity issue, I rather have a really great book than a not great book that features diversity. I mean ideally I want it all :) But I just want to read great books and I think we should review all books honestly no matter what. I have Six of Crows and I'll Meet You There so I am excited to read them. I need to check out Painted Faces and Puddle Jumping from your list now. Great post!!
1 reply · active 477 weeks ago
Oh yes, I would also prefer to have always both - diversity and great writing/storytelling. But lately it has been struggle to find such a combination...
I hope you will enjoy Six of Crows and I'll Meet You There. And Painted Faces is one of my favorites, it is worth your time ;)
Such a great discussion Lucia! I totally agree that there needs to be something more than just diversity. I kind of felt this way with both The Summer of Chasing Mermaids and Not If I See You First. Don't get me wrong, I liked both books but I definitely didn't love them and I almost felt like I was supposed to just because of the diversity. Sorry that this one didn't work for you but I am going to check out the first book in the series!
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1 reply · active 477 weeks ago
First book in this series was really good, especially if you are fan of forbidden teacher/student romance trope as me :)
I'm starting to wonder if diversity is seen as the next big thing, as weird as that sounds. Like vampires and werewolves, now there's diverse casts of characters 'just because' in mediocre stories that otherwise would have been all white before (which probably sounds awful when I say it like that, but I think it's true).

I won't read a book just because it has a diverse character list, but I will read it if it's a good story; because at the end of the day that's why I read. For the story!
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1 reply · active 477 weeks ago
Yes! I have the same impression as if diversity was easy and sure way of gaining readers so authors write diverse characters without thinking it through and publishers publish diverse books without paying attention to quality of the writing. It is all kinds of sad :/
I absolutely love your discussion on diversity! I feel like a lot of these books aren't developed well and that the characters who are diverse are often cardboard cut-outs of characters. I totally agree that it should be explored in a more meaningful way. I'm glad this book was diverse, but it sounds pretty shallow.
1 reply · active 477 weeks ago
I am glad that I am no the only one who feels this way! It is so discouraging that whenever I pick up book based on positive reviews that praise diversity, I end up totally disappointed with writing and story itself :/
I don't really read contemporary, so this just isn't really my kind of book to begin with. But I agree with you that diversity alone doesn't make a book good. As you said, what's the point even if the story is just going to be shallow anyway? How is that helping anyone or accomplishing anything?

I'm dying to read Painted Faces though! I know that sounds contradictory to my "I don't really read contemporary" statement, and it is lol, but I make exceptions when a book really catches my interest, and that one just sounds great.
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1 reply · active 477 weeks ago
I totally understand your fascination with Painted Faces. It is not kind of book that I read usually, but that one just called to me on a very strong level and I am glad that I gave in and read it because it was fabulous and I have already re-read numerous time in last couple of years. I hope you will love it too, Kristen :)
This is so true, I agree with your view on diversity completely. I feel like sometimes authors just throw it in there, and it's just like... Why? This sounds like a book I'm definitely going to skip - thanks for taking one for the team! xD

On the other hand, I really need to read the Fire and Thorns series!
1 reply · active 477 weeks ago
Yep, you definitely should read Fire and Thorns series. As fantasy junkie I think you will love it :)
I love you for writing this Lucia! I have a lot of thoughts on the subject... I'll just write what won't get me in trouble :)
I feel like diversity has become nothing more than a trend lately. It feels like you have to automatically love a book with diverse characters or else you are considered small minded and shallow. These books end up getting so much hype because of the diverse characters, that it kind of makes you feel like there is something wrong with you if you a) didn't like the book or b) aren't interested in the book to begin with.

Not liking a book with a gay MC doesn't make you a homophobic, just like not liking a book with a black MC doesn't make you a racist. It can simply be that you did not like the book/story/writing.

I read Just Visiting by this author and I thought it was kind of funny that since shes such a huge advocate for diversity (especially in a in-you-face kind of way) that her representation of hispanics was so far off the mark. And yes, I may have DNF that book and it wasn't because 'I don't get it' because I'm fully hispanic and I love in Arizona so I now how hispanics are treated here (which was important to the book), but the main reason I didn't like the book was because the characters sucked. End of story. It took me 3 weeks to read 40% and I had no desire to finish or see what would happen to the characters.

Last year, authors thought it was enough to add 'diversity' to their books by adding secondary characters who were gay/bisexual/a different race (how many gay best friends were there?) and this year it seems like they are using diversity to check it off their list which is a shame.
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1 reply · active 477 weeks ago
My thoughts exactly! You put my thoughts into the words perfectly, I could not have said it better, Nereyda :)
I am glad I am not the only one feeling that I "must" love books that feature diverse characters otherwise I am labelled old-schooled or backward.
I am not sure who started this trend, but I am fed up with novels being 5-starred and praised for promoting diversity while their writing and characters suck!
This post resonate with me so much, Lucia. Featuring diverse characters on its own does not make a book for me too. And I feel this pressure from bookish society too.

I’ve heard a lot of positive things about Painted Faces, definitely need to read it.

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1 reply · active 477 weeks ago
I am glad that this post resonated with you and that I am not alone in my struggle, Ksenia! And I cannot recommend Painted Faces enough :) It is worth your time for sure.
Sorry this book didn't work for you! I think when it comes to diverse books, they should exist and people should hopefully be trying to read them. At the same time, I would hope that publishers would try and release books with good writing AND diverse characters. Not all books are going to be that diverse, and that's fine - it doesn't always happen or whatever. But in general, I'd like a good mix.

-Lauren

PS Book giveaway on the blog if interested!
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1 reply · active 476 weeks ago
Oh yes, the good mix of both is the best. But lately I came acros plenty of diverse books that had been praised and promoted even though writing was terrible... Thanks for stopping by and sharing your opinion!
THIS. ABSOLUTELY. 100%. I agree with what you said about diversity and I'm having that trouble too, because I think books get so highly praised and they don't have good writing AT ALL. And then other really excellently written/told books are just dragged through the mud because they're not diverse. It's not fair. Gah. Diversity should not be done just because it's a "trendy" thing. :(

Also I just about jumped out of my skin when I realised the book was about a girl named "Cait". XD I HAVE NEVER SEEN MY NAME IN A BOOK BEFORE. And I'm not about to read this series either because, eh, shallow books = no no. XD
1 reply · active 476 weeks ago
I am starting to feel like diversity was next vampire/warewolf/time-traveling-character and I dont like it. I want to read diverse books but I dont want to sacrifice good writing in the name of diversity. And "Cait" in this book would definitely annoy you... so do not be tempted by your namesake lol :)
I have read Adler's book Daylight Falls and was okay with it but on its sequel Under The Lights? I couldn't get through. I don't like how it was written. There's something that is so off. I don't think I would read another book from her. :/
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1 reply · active 471 weeks ago
I haven't read the two books that you mentioned, only Last Will and Testament (which was okay) and Right of First Refusal which I cannot recommend to anyone. All in all, you are not missing anything by not reading this book!

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