Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - The List

EVERY man in this book is trash. The plot fell short, I did not feel bad for Michael at all. Oh, he wasn't an assaulter? Well he cheated on his girlfriend multiple times and downplayed it just because he didn't have sex with her during the second affair, "jUsT nUdEs". Even when he tried to kill himself, I did not feel any sympathy for him. Nor when I found out he was falsely accused. He may as well have sone it. He took advantage of women his entire life. The only good thing that happened was that Ola divorced him.

And Ola dragging her feet when she would definitely cast stones at men accused of sexual assault and the women who stand by them. Oh, now you care about "needing proof"?

The narration for this book was amazing though. 5/5.

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monmel10's review against another edition

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emotional reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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nadinesnutsandbeans's review against another edition

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3.5

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ehgibson's review against another edition

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challenging emotional fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This book was different to anything I’ve read before. It’s tackles some very current issues which makes for a through provoking read. Unfortunately, I didn’t warm to the characters very much and I felt like the plot took a while to get going. I wasn’t very gripped by the plot until about 100 pages from the end when it picked up. I enjoyed reading something different and that raised so many prominent issues, it’s just a shame it wasn’t as engaging as I’d hoped.

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bookishevy's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

💬 BOOK REVIEW 💬

Goodreads reviewers ravaged this read. Naturally, I had to see what all the hate was about.

Ola Olajide, a celebrated journalist at Womxxxn magazine, is preparing to marry the love of her life in one month. On social media, Ola and her fiancé Michael are considered Black love goals. They seem to have it all until their world comes crashing down when Michael's name appears on a list of alleged abusers.

This is interesting because Ola is a staunch feminist who rallies around the women making these claims. Usually, she'd write articles and call for these men to be fired. Now that her fiancé is named, Ola suddenly wants to hear the man's side of the story.

She's tens of thousands of pounds deep into wedding preparations. Their families are flying into London from Ghana and Nigeria. There's a lot at stake, but peace of mind is important, and Michael's past behavior has not brought Ola peace. This is more of an examination of their relationship than it is about him allegedly abusing someone. Michael messed up a few times. Ola forgave him, and he still has secrets. This relationship isn't the #couplesgoals it is portrayed as on the gram. How well does she know this man?

How Ola handles the situation doesn't only affect her relationship with Michael, who I didn't GAF about. He's trash. But Ola gets so wrapped up in the potential destruction of that relationship that she neglects how it's affecting her best friend, Celie.

This story could also be a study on people's short attention spans and how quickly we can go from wanting alleged abusers' heads on sticks to grieving their losses or celebrating their latest endeavors. It also examines the danger of not believing women because your fave or a loved one is on the list.

Despite there being inconsistencies around Ola and Michael being instafamous - Michael isn't known like that, and the proof is in how this affects his life - it's not a terrible read. But I dont think I can recommend it. I'll just say proceed with caution. Toxic masculinity ahead.

Content Warnings