Love & Other Carnivorous Plants

by Florence Gonsalves

[Amber (The Literary Phoenix)]

I very much wanted to love this book, and it didn't happen for me. There was a lot going on that I wanted to get behind, a lot of topics I love to see rep for (people come in all shapes and sizes!) but I felt that there were some flaws in the writing and characterization.

Depending on the type of reader you are, that may be a complete non-issue. I just didn't believe Danny. I felt like she was a flat characters. We heard all about the different horrible, crazy things going on in her life, but through the entire novel, I never felt like I felt any of it. Even though this was first person, I felt like I was watching things fall to pieces through a thick, dirty window, were you could only see some things and the dialogue was muted. And that's a real bummer to me because with a little emotional involvement, I think this could have been a much more successful book.

I do support the conversations had throughout the book about the seriousness of alcoholism and eating disorders. I think people will experience things in different ways, grieve and cope in different ways, and as such... this book may feel more relatable to others than it does to me. I hope that others find what they are looking for when they read this story - I just wish I loved it more.