
hello everyone! today i’m gonna be talking about head over heels by Hannah Orenstein. i gave this book 3/5 stars. i honestly didn’t really care for this book, since it was all over the place. and overall, not that good, which got to be kind of sucky, since it had so much potential.
trigger warning- abuse and sexual assault
one thing that kind of annoyed me, was i found this book to be one massive circle. like Avery and Ryan got to be close, and then they would just be like oops we can’t be together, take a break for a couple days, and then start the cycle over again. and honestly, it got to be a bit annoying, since it happened so much, and it would always end the same way.
but, i feel like this book was just one massive pity party. i mean, i feel like it was so much pity about how she moved to California, got with the wrong crowd, hurt her leg, couldn’t go to the Olympics, got with some loser boyfriend, broke up with the said boyfriend, and then had to move back home with her parents. like at the start i felt bad for her, but then it got annoying, since it was brought up so much it just got on my nerves.
on another note, i really liked the dynamic between Ryan, Avery, and Hallie. i mean, i really like how they all worked together and they all had the same goal in their mind, about getting to the Olympics. and i honestly really like that Ryan and Avery were so supportive about it, and they always just pushed Hallie to do better and better.
i also really liked the whole talk about the sexual assault in the gymnastic world and how thing aren’t as perfect as they look to be. and i mean, i really liked how it was talked about and how it was this massive thing and how many people dealt with it in different ways. but, i do wish it was talked about more, and not just when it was convent to the story and the plot of everything.
another thing is i wished we got told more about Jasmine. since, we did get told a decent amount about her, but like it was only “oh she and Avery were best friends growing up” and “now she’s with some loser husband that’s abusive.” which, i feel bad about, but like we knew nothing about her, so it was hard to actually feel bad that she hates her husband and that she has such a terrible life.
i also feel like there wasn’t that much growth in this book. like, yeah i feel like Avery got to be a little more independent by the end of the book. but, i also feel like she was a lot of the same that she was from the start of the book. which, honestly got to be a bit annoying, since this was kind of boring and got bland after awhile.
but, i also feel like everything kind of happened to easy. like with her boyfriend breaking up with her and so she meets Ryan, moving back right when the job opens up, and so much more. it honestly kind of reminded me of a Hallmark movie, but that could just be me since i’ve been watching so much of it with my parents. and since everything clicked so quick, and there was never any doubt.
i also feel like there wasn’t that many sex scenes or anything like that. i could just be remembering this book wrong, but i only remember one sex scene, and that was honestly kind of weird by its self since they were like in the open gym at work. but, that was honestly the only one, which was honestly kind of a surprise. and it wasn’t even that good.
and i also feel like the author had so much that she wanted to do in this book. between the sexual assault, Jasmine issues, the romance, training and also the Olympics, it just didn’t work out that well. like, it had so much potential, but i feel like to much was packed into this small book, and you can definitely tell. and when it came to the romance, it was lacking so much, since they were trying to accomplish so much.
but, i also feel like this book told, instead of showed. like they just laid everything out, and never really showed you anything. and since this does deal with sports as a main topic, i kind of expected more showing then telling, but it was the complete opposite.
and also none of the characters had a personality. like i feel like all the characters were completely the same from each other. and it got to be a bit annoying, since everyone was an exact copy of each other. this is probably because this was only about sports, but still.
Avery- she was honestly kind of a basic romance love interest in my mind. like, she wasn’t like that different then some of them, but she has like a job that’s not like coffee shop owner, flower shop owner, or something like that.
Ryan- overall, he annoyed the hell out of me. when Avery was telling him not to do something, since working somewhere else isn’t going to be a good fit, since his boss is abusive, and after Avery tells him 100 times, he still looks at the job and almost takes it. i don’t know about you, but if i ever have a partner and they are telling me not to get a job somewhere cause they have history with the boss, i’d 100 percent not take that job. and i wouldn’t even think about it.
anyway, that is all for today! happy blogmas day 12! this book was honestly kind of bad, and i’m not sure if i just expected more, or if it was just the terrible development, but it was still bad.