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A review by lisibee815
How to Align the Stars: A Novel by Amy Dressler
Did not finish book.
I received an ARC of this book as a LibraryThing Early Reviewer in exchange for my honest review. This was not the book for me, I got about 20% of the way in and just could not finish so be aware that this review only focuses on the first part of the book. I also refer to some spoilers, please proceed with caution.
Reasons I wanted to keep reading:
• To find out if Bea and Heron end up with their happily-ever-afters (or just whatever makes them happy, whether with someone else or not).
• To discover whatever the "campus scandal" is that was referenced in the book description.
Reasons I could not finish the story (some spoilers):
• Heron's personality was so bland, I didn't care too much what happened with her plot line.
• I like Bea. I related to Bea. But Bea's storyline just made me mad. The gaslighting that had to happen for the match-making to occur and be successful was too aggravating to me and yanked me right out of enjoyment of the story.
• The amount of forgiveness everyone expected Bea to give to Ben didn't seem realistic. The fact that the expectation was coming from her friends, family, and colleagues made it feel like they didn't truly care about her or what she wanted.
• The fact that everyone around Bea expected her to forget about the public fat-shaming she endured 15 years prior didn't feel like it was meant to be healing. Rather, they wanted her to move on with her life and see Ben in a different light. That could and should have been handled in a much healthier way than the secret match-making they had planned.
• The matchmaking felt condescending and insulting to Bea, a grown woman who was objectively intelligent and stated (and showed) that she was fine being single. To step in and match-make meant they thought that her own opinions about her own life couldn't be trusted. Yikes.
• And finally, even if I could get past all of that, Ben wasn't likeable enough for me to ignore their past and suspend disbelief that they belonged together. In the part that I read, Bea bore the brunt of forgiveness and it was presented as if her inability to forgive was all that was holding them back from being together. But Ben also had a responsibility to be truthful with her and he wasn't. And my gosh, why on earth would the author have him ask her if she was dieting, given their history?
I think this is a fine book if you're a fan of Much Ado About Nothing, you're looking for a quick surface read, and you enjoy the misunderstanding/match-making tropes (and are able to overlook a *lot* in order for the main characters to get together). It just wasn't the book for me.
Reasons I wanted to keep reading:
• To find out if Bea and Heron end up with their happily-ever-afters (or just whatever makes them happy, whether with someone else or not).
• To discover whatever the "campus scandal" is that was referenced in the book description.
Reasons I could not finish the story (some spoilers):
• Heron's personality was so bland, I didn't care too much what happened with her plot line.
• I like Bea. I related to Bea. But Bea's storyline just made me mad. The gaslighting that had to happen for the match-making to occur and be successful was too aggravating to me and yanked me right out of enjoyment of the story.
• The amount of forgiveness everyone expected Bea to give to Ben didn't seem realistic. The fact that the expectation was coming from her friends, family, and colleagues made it feel like they didn't truly care about her or what she wanted.
• The fact that everyone around Bea expected her to forget about the public fat-shaming she endured 15 years prior didn't feel like it was meant to be healing. Rather, they wanted her to move on with her life and see Ben in a different light. That could and should have been handled in a much healthier way than the secret match-making they had planned.
• The matchmaking felt condescending and insulting to Bea, a grown woman who was objectively intelligent and stated (and showed) that she was fine being single. To step in and match-make meant they thought that her own opinions about her own life couldn't be trusted. Yikes.
• And finally, even if I could get past all of that, Ben wasn't likeable enough for me to ignore their past and suspend disbelief that they belonged together. In the part that I read, Bea bore the brunt of forgiveness and it was presented as if her inability to forgive was all that was holding them back from being together. But Ben also had a responsibility to be truthful with her and he wasn't. And my gosh, why on earth would the author have him ask her if she was dieting, given their history?
I think this is a fine book if you're a fan of Much Ado About Nothing, you're looking for a quick surface read, and you enjoy the misunderstanding/match-making tropes (and are able to overlook a *lot* in order for the main characters to get together). It just wasn't the book for me.