Oof. That’s most of what I have to say about this one. OOF.
Now, I am going to do my ARC disclaimer at the beginning here. I was sent this ARC digitally by the publicist, and I am very VERY appreciative of them thinking of me. I’ve loved other titles from that publisher. But this one was not for me. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, truly, for sending this ARC to me. I know there are readers out there who will love it!
In Smothered, Eloise “Lou” Hansen graduated Summa Cum Laude from Columbia, and because she didn’t immediately get a job, she moved home to Southern California to move back in with her parents. Except she and her mother are not on great terms, and Lou can already tell this isn’t going to go well. She also keeps her boyfriend a secret and compares taking an algae shot to going to an actual war. Plus, one of her acquaintances from childhood got a great internship or job or something and is also moving to SoCal and Lou isn’t having it.
There’s a lot going on here. And I have some feelings. But the important thing to note is that I only made it to the 11% mark before giving up.
Why I DNFed
Lou is probably the most entitled character I’ve ever read in fiction. The blurb that was emailed to me compared her to Rory Gilmore, and I guess that’s fair. Rory is also entitled. But Rory is lovable, and she doesn’t really start living her entitledness until she goes off to Yale in season 4. There is nothing lovable about Lou. She constantly complains without trying to solve anything, she keeps her poor boyfriend a secret from her family (what he sees in her, I couldn’t tell. He kind of seemed like the male version of a manic-pixie-dream-girl.), and in the couple of weeks that span during the first 11% of the book, SHE NEVER APPLIES FOR A JOB. Like, what?? I couldn’t take it. I wanted to like it. There was a lot of potential in the mother-daughter dynamic. But it didn’t work for me, because I could not like the character of Lou.
Would I Pick This Up Again?
Honeslty, no.
However, I do think that this book is funny and there are people who would enjoy it. AND I am not against the author in any way. This one just wasn’t in my wheelhouse.
Have any of you DNFed anything because you couldn’t stand the main character?
Happy reading!
Snark & Squee 