'Our Stop' follows two characters who are both obsessed with the idea of luck, but both fairly unlucky when it really comes down to the reality. David and Nadia both get on the 7:30 bus and begin communicating through the missed communications section of the paper.
What I enjoyed:
- Friendships in this book were done really well and I feel like they were tested and examined in a way that explored what was normalised and important within relationships, especially amongst men
- The premise of this book is really unique - meeting in the bustling city of London on the tube and communicating through notes was incredibly adorable
- A number of serious topics were tackled, such as abusive relationships, grieving a parent and rape culture, and they were explored in a sympathetic way
What I didn't enjoy about this book:
- Although I think the feminist tone of this book was really important, at times it felt almost pretentious and clashed with the narration of the storytelling through unbelievable dialogue, this was often jarring and took me out of the reading experience jeopardising my enjoyment of the book
- It's stated in the blurb that this book is a 'not-quite-romance of near-misses', however it eventually was just frustrating that there were so many scenes where this couple almost met but then something happened that meant they didn't, and often these scenes were never addressed and seemed somewhat pointless
- A minor point, but characters often referred to a television programme called 'The Lust Villa', which was an obvious allusion to Love Island, however this reference often felt unnecessary and more distracting than anything else
Overall, this was an enjoyable contemporary romance novel that had likeable and interesting characters, dealt with a series of topics and raised some important questions giving it a multitude of layers. Although there were some minor issues that limited my enjoyment of this novel, overall it is one I would recommend.
What I enjoyed:
- Friendships in this book were done really well and I feel like they were tested and examined in a way that explored what was normalised and important within relationships, especially amongst men
- The premise of this book is really unique - meeting in the bustling city of London on the tube and communicating through notes was incredibly adorable
- A number of serious topics were tackled, such as abusive relationships, grieving a parent and rape culture, and they were explored in a sympathetic way
What I didn't enjoy about this book:
- Although I think the feminist tone of this book was really important, at times it felt almost pretentious and clashed with the narration of the storytelling through unbelievable dialogue, this was often jarring and took me out of the reading experience jeopardising my enjoyment of the book
- It's stated in the blurb that this book is a 'not-quite-romance of near-misses', however it eventually was just frustrating that there were so many scenes where this couple almost met but then something happened that meant they didn't, and often these scenes were never addressed and seemed somewhat pointless
- A minor point, but characters often referred to a television programme called 'The Lust Villa', which was an obvious allusion to Love Island, however this reference often felt unnecessary and more distracting than anything else
Overall, this was an enjoyable contemporary romance novel that had likeable and interesting characters, dealt with a series of topics and raised some important questions giving it a multitude of layers. Although there were some minor issues that limited my enjoyment of this novel, overall it is one I would recommend.