Toxic: Women, Fame, and the Tabloid 2000s by Sarah Ditum

 

The intersection of feminism and pop-culture is one of my favorite topics because so often, when we see popular opinion pieces about pop-culture, the story is told from and about the cisgendered (and mostly white) male perspective. TOXIC was of particular interest to me because I came of age in the late 90s/early 00s, and that shit was toxic as fuck. I am still to this day unpacking some of the harmful messages that I ended up internalizing during that time period. And I don't think anything shows those unattainable and shameful standards for women quite as well as how the media talked about certain celebrities, who either couldn't or didn't want to follow the "rules."

I have mixed feelings about TOXIC because while the subject matter was interesting, the way the author talked about some of these women left a bad taste in my mouth. Take the Britney chapter, which dates itself because it came out pre-Britney memoir: the tone of the essay, while sympathetic, feels patronizing; and in retrospect, some of her remarks about Britney feel quite callous and at times even cruel, such as her analysis of the music video "Everytime." Ditum seems to take it as a mournful song about a breakup, but now we know that it's a heart rending ballad about the abortion Justin made her get that she wasn't allowed to talk about.

The section about Paris reads more positively, but suffers the same limitations because it also came out pre-memoir (her most recent one, I mean; she has two). I liked this chapter a lot because I really like Paris Hilton and I think the author, to her credit, really manages to capture how clever and self-effacing Paris is. However, the essay about Aaliyah was painful to read. Mostly because the focus of the essay is not so much about Aaliyah herself but how she was a victim of grooming. R. Kelly is more prominently discussed in this essay than she is, and the way Ditum talks about her, like a helpless martyred waif who was frozen in time like a bug trapped in amber, made me so upset. 

I don't feel like the Amy Winehouse and Kim Kardashian chapters were very well done at all. Neither of those essays really capture how dynamic and conflicting those women are. Kim Kardashian seems to be a celebrity that people really struggle to write about because I've noticed this is a theme in other celebrity-focused books I've read. I think it's really difficult to juggle the fact that while she portrays herself as a selfish and vapid celebutante, she is an expert deflector, and she and her mom have turned their name into both a brand and empire. She also is the recipient of a metric ton of shit talk. The way people talk about her and her body (particularly during pregnancy) can be so traumatic that I am honestly in awe that she can leave her house without crying (because that is what I would be doing if it were me). Amy Winehouse was a similar recipient of that level of hate, especially in the late aughts and early 2010s. And, like, I really don't think this essay captures how she was basically destroyed by her fame; addiction almost felt like her way of self-medicating from the stress she received from being in the public eye and that is devastating. It feels very Valley of the Dolls, which basically had the message that the standards are women are such that to make do, you have to be drugged up... or perish trying.

I didn't really care about the two essays on Jennifer Anniston and Chyna, so I skimmed those.

TOXIC said some interesting things and reminded me of some very disturbing aughts trends that I'd half-forgotten (like Tila Tequila), but I'm not sure I'd recommend it unless you are just really interested in 2000s celebrity culture and want to read about it in a book that almost seems to emulate the same gossipy tabloid formula that it sets out to criticize.

3 out of 5 stars

Summerstorm by Anastasia Cleaver

 

Easily one of the best gothic romance novels I've ever read. What made this even more of a fun read was that I got to buddy read it with Sarah. Seriously, what didn't I love about this? It's got a dynamic heroine who is slowly corrupted by the band of libertines she's married into. When her bond with one of them goes awry and she's left for dead, she decides to seek her revenge (and this isn't a spoiler, it's literally the blurb on the cover). The Apollonians are cold and cruel, like a troupe of theater kids from hell, and honestly-- this scratched THE SECRET HISTORY itch I've been longing to scratch for years.

I'm simply devastated that this isn't in print. It deserves a reissue because I think everyone should reread it. People who like sympathetic heroines, secret societies, dark academia, and the idea of tortured artists throwing themselves on the pyre of their art will eat this up.

I could say so much more but I don't want to spoil anything for potential readers. But what a keeper. Anastasia Cleaver/Natasha Peters never disappoints.

5 out of 5 stars

Vivia by Tanith Lee

 

The first half of this book was very good, a solid medieval-inspired gothic fantasy with insane kings, mysterious plagues, religious corruption, and sexy basements. I also liked the selfish and vain heroine, the eponymous Vivia. She reminded me a lot of some of the early 1970s bodice-ripper epics I've read, that follow the heroine's journey from childhood to adulthood, as she grows into a flawed and real person.

VIVIA is an interesting story because it tries to do so many things. I feel like that also becomes its weakness towards the end, but I did enjoy most of it. Vivia ends up becoming a vampire, as her kingdom falls into a slow ruin, and her hero's journey occurs after she is transformed. She marries a really weird and creepy dude who performs Island of Doctor Moreau experiments on his people, and falls under suspicion from superstitious peasants who exercise their own sort of witch hunt when girls go missing.

This is a dark and ugly story, about dark and ugly souls. The writing is beautiful and the world-building is so creative, but like I said before, the first half and the last half end up feeling very disparate, almost like separate books. I wouldn't read this again but I did like it.

Thank you to my friend Caro for buddy-reading this with me!

3 out of 5 stars

Dark Surrender by Laurel Collins

 

I was SO psyched to get my hands on a copy of DARK SURRENDER by Laurel Collins because I love gothic novels, especially the smutty ones, and this clinch cover promised shenanigans of the naughty variety, maybe even outside, in the waning light of the moon-dark moors. BUT NO.

First of all, thank you to usedbookin for buddy reading this book with me on Instagram. No shade to her because I had so much fun comparing notes and dothing the goth with her over DM. But DARK SURRENDER actually kind of ended up being a watery, middling read for me. I think it's comparable to some of Victoria Holt's less memorable work, and I would suspect that Holt was probably an inspiration for this author.

The vibes were on point and there were a couple genuinely creepy scenes, like the weird dead mom and the mysterious carousel music box, but apart from that, I wasn't actually all that into this book. That was surprising to me because BMI (which I believe is an imprint of Dorchester) is usually a bit more salacious and fun. 

Would recommend only to die-hard Victoria Holt fans. Or to people who just want it for the cover (i.e. me).

2 to 2.5 out of 5 stars

Crave by Sierra Cartwright

 

This is a second chance BDSM romance. The plot is fairly unique, I thought. Sarah and Reece were engaged, but then she found more than a ring in his bedroom drawer: she found a collar. That scared her enough that she ran away and cut all contact, but after years of missing him and not finding anyone to fill the void, she wants to meet up again, explain herself, and maybe win him back-- or at least get closure.

A mutual friend arranges their meeting and Reece is still angry. But even though he hates her a little, he's attracted to her, too, and is more than willing to use her body and whatever else she offers to get off during the weekend they're spending on a tropical getaway for a friend's birthday.

There's not a lot to say about this one. The plot is literally the smut. But it's pretty good smut and unlike some dark romances, this one is fully consensual and all about being safe and sane. I do think she went a little too hard on the banter and sometimes it felt a little forced, but I thought the story was great. Sarah was a great heroine too. People were being hard on her in the reviews but I have a soft spot for flighty heroines and thought her fears in this case were totally valid.

3.5 out of 5 stars

Nicky the Driver by Cate C. Wells

 

I'm honestly shocked this has such middling ratings because I thought it was FANTASTIC. I actually liked it even more than RUN POSY RUN. Nicky Biancolli might be one of my favorite obsessive romance heroes of all time, and I really loved Zita, too.

Zita's dad is in the mob, but when he pisses off the wrong people, he gets killed in the family kitchen. Lucca Corso is more than willing to kill the rest of her family, one right after the other, including her brothers, unless she agrees to marry Nicky, his driver.

It's kind of like an arranged marriage romance, but with a blackmail element. Despite that, Nicky is a total consent king. What makes this more like a traditional dark romance is that Nicky has been stalking Zita since they were children. She actually had one of her brother's friends beat him up for being a creep. But that didn't stop him. My man is OBSESSED with a capital O, and Zita isn't sure how to deal with that kind of force in her life.

Zita is also a really great heroine. She kind of reminded me of Keeley from Ted Lasso, or Gianna from THE MADDEST OBSESSION. I love a damaged girly-girl. She has an eating disorder, which I know might be triggering for some to read about because it's portrayed in pretty explicit detail, but it's not done for show. The way it ties into her trauma and emotions is so well done. So is the lasting damage she's got from her mother's sexism and her father's abuse. Zita also has a trans sister that she would do anything for, and her coming out was done in a really beautiful and loving way. This is the first mafia romance I've ever read with trans rep and that was awesome.

This was almost a perfect read for me. It was SO CLOSE to being five stars. There were just a couple things I didn't like. Like, the drama in the last act felt a little out of character, and I don't like how Nicky's character kind of changed abruptly at the end, before the resolution. I also agree with other reviewers that the climax and the ending felt kind of rushed. Also, and this is just a nitpicky thing, but I hate the word "cream" in sex scenes. Like, it's gag reflex-worthy. I literally cannot stand it. Apart from that, the sex scenes were SO well done and the tension was off the charts, but I had to glaze my own eyes over and skim every time I saw that word. Big nope.

Apart from that, though, NICKY THE DRIVER was fabulous. I've read three Cate C. Wells's books and I've loved them all. She's such a talented author and I love the detail that goes into her characters and their worlds. Some books have side characters that feel like afterthoughts but that definitely wasn't the case with any of hers. She even made me love some tropes that I HATE, like marriage in crisis and secret baby. If you're a fan of stalker romances but don't want a hero who brutalizes the heroine, this is totally your jam. Nicky is the perfect blend of fucked up and sweet and I stan.

4 to 4.5 out of 5 stars

Return to Monte Carlo by Cate C. Wells

 

Loved how this managed to capture the vibe of an old skool HP in the vein of Charlotte Lamb, but with a modern feminist twist and way more smut. RETURN TO MONTE CARLO also made me enjoy several tropes I hate, including secret baby and marriage in crisis. PLEASE let this be a series she's planning, I beg of you. I love the retro vibe without the stranglehold of dated sexism.

I'm honestly surprised at how many people were hating on Diane as the heroine (JK, no I'm not). People were saying she was immature but she was young. She's twenty. I was a hot mess when I was twenty. She's married and mostly has her shit together. She's basically a beautiful rube who got lucky and married way above her head to an older man with weird kinks she doesn't quite understand but (mostly) get her off. So in this case, the marriage in crisis element works because they literally come from two very different worlds.

Marco, her husband, is an Italian business tycoon. Lately, he's been neglecting her and Diane is afraid he's cheating. He's a hard man to read, the pinnacle of the strong and silent type with BDE Daddy energy. When their anniversary dinner goes to shit and results in a broken heirloom and a telenovela-style slap, Diane is disgraced and ends up leaving Marco and his family to return back to her hometown in Oklahoma.

I don't want to spoil too much but I thought the misunderstandings between them were really well done. I loved the dual POV, loved both narrators, and thought it was great to see Marco fall in love with his wife all over again: this time, not as a pretty doll he placed on a pedestal, but as the real flesh and blood article behind the painted face. We also STAN a grovel that has the man on his knees in front of his entire family begging her not to leave (YAS). Speaking of the family, they were interesting too. Even the villains of this story had interesting little twists to their characters, and I loved Rosanella.

Cate C. Wells was a new to me author who made me love mafia (another genre I usually don't like). At this point, I think I'm probably going to read everything she writes, regardless of whether it's a trope I enjoy or not. She is so fucking talented and I just love her characters and her worlds.

4.5 out of 5 stars