Pictures of You

I cannot possibly imagine what the usually smart, reliable, snarky AV Club pop culture site was thinking when they included this novel in their November listing of “10 books you should read.” I mistakenly took them up on their suggestion, but was dismayed to find a [a:Colleen Hoover 5430144 Colleen Hoover https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1464032240p2/5430144.jpg]-like, predictable melodrama with a Mary Sue FMC who is Not Like All the Other Girls (studious, outspoken, doesn't know she's beautiful, etc.). Evie is torn between broody, intense, love-bomber Oliver and quirky, supportive friend-zoned Drew. You do the math. I've read rave GR reviews claiming that it's best to go into the book without knowing much about the plot because it has so many twists, but IMO almost all of them were telegraphed in the first flashback chapter. I can't say this isn't a page turner; the short chapters and alternating POVs make the book go down easily, but it's all empty calories. I'm glad that AV Club listed a romantic suspense novel in addition to their usual trendy lit-fic, but there are so many other, better books they could have chosen.