I did not realize this was a short story when I started reading it. I do not typically read short stories because I find them lacking in character development and all the other important little details. This was a short,fun, and sexy read. There is a mean ex boyfriend, fun guy roommates, and a cute guy who has been secretly crushing on our female lead. It gets steamy and the British language made it even more fun. The only thing I didn't like was the lack of detail. I still have no idea what any of the characters actually look like. It made it kind of difficult to imagine the story in my head but I improvised so it was ok! I don't think in the history of anything, I've ever rated a book 1 star. I'm normally an extremely generous person when it comes to rating books, because I know how long and how much effort it takes to write a book. I appreciate each author's individuality, and I understand that not everyone's going to be a modern-day William Shakespeare. We all have different styles of writing, protagonists and choices made in the book, and as someone who also enjoys writing books, and also as a reader, I figured that it's nice to respect others and their works, just as I like mine to be respected.But, as is customary in life, to every rule there is an exception. And, meet Beautiful Mess, the exception.Now, I won't go on to point out many flaws, but let's just nitpick a couple for the fun of it, eh? First off, the grammar. Not everyone is a natural born Grammar nazi, but, for a book that made it onto shelves, whether it was self-published or not, an editor should be able to pick up certain, um, flaws in the novel. Like missing quotation marks, spelling errors, and just general sentences that weren't worded properly.The next was the vulgarity of the book. The language took me aback, as it was raw and rough and edgy, kind of avant-garde in it's own way. It was different to most books, and I liked the YouTube aspect of it, but it wasn't really touched upon all that much. The only reason I read it was that, one, it was a freebie on the Amazon bookstore, and, two, it was so short that I figured I could get through it in one night and feel fulfilled that I didn't have to stop halfway through.But, in being so short, it lacked a lot of detail, and we didn't really get a good inside view into Bailey's world. I think we learnt more about her pet rats than we did about the males she lived with, and I would've loved for her roommates to be touched on a little bit more. I feel like we met Olly and the other one (I've forgotten his name now) were hardly even seen besides a couple of short scenes. Another hundred pages and this book could've gotten another one or two stars for details and in-depth plotlines. This one was pretty straightforward; a light book to knock over in an hour or less. (Three for me, since I had to take continuous breaks to cleanse myself and prepare for another chapter.)But it wasn't all bad. I did find myself liking the originality of the occupation she worked, and found that quite imaginative. And Linc was pretty nice too. And that steamy scene between the two of them in his apartment. Though it was hot and sweet and totally incredible - maybe one of the best I've read in a long time - the relationship between Bailey and Linc(oln) felt very forced. I was reading it going, "One second they're just normal friends spending a Valentine's day of loneliness together, and the next they're in his apartment and he's doing... this to her....... How did this happen?" I think more character development for everyone would not have gone astray.I did finish it though, but I don't plan to ever revisit the pages of this book again.Thanks for the attempts at a book, and you did keep me entertained, even if it was only to mock character judgments with my snarky, sarcastic inner voice1/5 stars, and staying that way.Aaaaand I'm out. X
What do You think about Beautiful Mess (2014)?
en serio, tenia que poner una estrella pero bien se merece cero estrelas...
—Meghan
