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This was such a well-written, character-driven novel. It's like reading a telenovela with realistic characters and believable motivations. Some aspects of the story would make my rating closer to 4.5 stars (like how Funmi was treated), but I highly recommend this book.

I wouldn't have read this book if it wasn't our book club pick, because I'm not into romance, so I did go into this book with prejudice, knowing I probably wouldn't like it.

With that being said, I didn't expect that the prose would be that bad. I read "A lot of people really hated her," among many others, and couldn't believe how popular this book was supposed to be. If the writing was at least better, I wouldn't have minded the mundane love story as much.

This is the first book by Ocean Vuong that I've read, and he's left a positive impression on me. The theme is quite dark and I'm not a fan of flowery writing, but the author writes beautiful, honest, and cutting prose. Most of the comical elements felt forced, and it's not his strong suit. But overall, this book has made me want to check out his first novel.