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Anna Somers's avatar

This post was the push I needed to finally beg my library to add We Don't Talk About Carol to their catalog! I've heard nothing but great things.

I'm very into Bookstagram and I spend a lot of time reading reviews with similar sentiments to yours, which often makes me wonder why we all seem to have an issue with messy characters, particularly women. The connection you made is so spot on and I'm sure there are many others who feel the same way. It also made me think about why I love messy characters and I'm now realizing that as an extremely Type A person who is at times too rigid, I maybe find myself living through these characters when it feels too hard to give myself permission to be messy. Thanks for sharing this!

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Morgan Fisher's avatar

Reading is supposed to make us more empathetic. But what happens when the person you struggle the most to extend grace to is yourself?

This hard truth gave me chills. 💯

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Jenay Zhyrov's avatar

Love love loooove this connection you made and the vulnerability of what you wrote. Makes me want to think a little deeper about why I love/hate certain types of characters and tropes.

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Alexis Reliford's avatar

Thank you! 💕 It definitely took me a few weeks to hit publish lol.

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Jenay Zhyrov's avatar

I’m glad you did 🫶🏽

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Kayli's avatar

I feel you so hard on the messy characters. I heard great things about American Mermaid, but couldn't finish because the main character just grated on me. lol. Also, I just finished Empire of the Elite — loved it!

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Alexis Reliford's avatar

Ooooo i'll have to check these out!

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Sara H's avatar

We Don’t Talk About Carol was also a 5-star read for me. I devoured it!

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