camilla_reads

camilla_reads t1_j6i5ji7 wrote

This is the issue here, exactly. Not that she writes about these toxic relationships but that they're normalised and even romanticised. Imagine reading her books as an impressionable young teenager and thinking that's how relationships work, that it's oh-so-dreamy when a guy loves you SO much he flies into a jealous rage of another man so much as glances at you.

There are absolutely real life consequences to this kind of book being popularised and hyped as much as CoHo's are.

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camilla_reads t1_j6i4mrm wrote

Noooooooooo. Although saying that, she DOES have some YA books apparently. I've only ever read her adult ones though so I couldn't comment on what kind of relationships they portray but I think I'll go with: probably also toxic and problematic 🙃

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camilla_reads t1_j6hxy2b wrote

I own a copy of ISWU (a moment of madness on my part) but haven't read it yet. I just asked my friends who have read it straight up: is it worth it? Apparently there are never any real repercussions for Ryle and yeahhhh... all the justification for the underage sex stuff too. Eeesh. Every book she has which is billed as romance seems to actually just have a bunch of problematic and toxic relationships in it, from emotionally manipulative men to full on stalkers who are made out to seem "sweet" and "misunderstood". And female characters who are just walked all over. It really bothers me that this is an author whose works are pushed all over at a very young demographic

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camilla_reads t1_j6hrvlq wrote

I've read I think four of her books... It Ends With Us, Ugly Love, Verity and Layla. They were all very easy to read as her writing style is accessible and not complex at all. I found I preferred her thrillers (Verity/Layla) over the others which had been hyped up as romance. I have a problem with any of her books being advertised as romance because I feel they normalise really toxic behaviour from men and romanticise abusive relationships - and I don't just mean Ryle and Lily in IEWU. She is VERY good at writing incredibly unlikeable characters, which is why her thrillers appealed to me more. I think she's overhyped in all honesty and that her fanbase can be a bit intense sometimes.

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camilla_reads t1_j6hrhx6 wrote

Yes! This was my major issue with IEWU too, I wanted actual repercussions for Ryle's behaviour. But instead it's some schmaltzy ending? Miss me with that. CoHo had a chance to tell a story about a woman finding the strength to report her abusive husband to the cops and prosecute him and instead she somehow romanticised it all to the point that people on TikTok are talking about how hot Ryle is and how he should be forgiven.

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