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A review by icedviennalatte
Medicine Man by Saffron A. Kent
1.0
I feel guilty writing a negative review, especially for a book with mental illness representation but.....WHAT ON EARTH DID I JUST READ. This was not a good experience. Other readers have criticized this book because of the taboo relationship, which I understand (idk why you would read it though, knowing what you're getting yourself into lol). I picked it up because I love reading about a (fictional) forbidden romance, so that wasn't the issue for me. I'm here to criticize the...interesting...writing style, the insufferable main character, the weirdo love interest, and the ridiculous plot.
The writing feels incredibly juvenile...So. Many. Fragmented. Sentences. Trying to make. The writing seem. Quirky. And Deep. Constant repetition, and confusing sentence structure. If you enjoy making your brain hurt from trying to wrap your head around what is going on, you'll love this!
Let's talk about Willow. Willow is a pretty name, but her mom calls her LoLo which sounds so dumb. What is she, Lo Loestrin Fe birth control? Willow is an 18 year old girl who suffers from major depressive disorder and is currently hospitalized. I was so excited to read about a relatable character with mental illness, but her representation of depression is just...bad? There were some lines that I read and thought, "I really feel this", but it wasn't shown that Willow suffers from depression. This girl isn't exactly depressed, but she is absolutely unhinged. As soon as she meets Simon, she is OBSESSED with him, and she is incredibly desperate, whiny, and annoying about it. Despite being 18 years old, Willow acts and speaks like a child, which makes the age gap incredibly creepy. She is obsessed with Harry Potter and mentions it every few pages...according to my Kindle, the words "Harry Potter" are mentioned 45 times! Willow's only personality traits are loving Harry Potter, liking the rain, liking lime jello (but only at the hospital), being obsessed with Simon, and having light hair. This girl is so dumb and mentions that she has always struggled in school. How the hell did she get a full-ride scholarship to Columbia University??????
Here's my favorite quote from Willow:
"That's not me. I don't explode. I'm a peacekeeper. I'm sweet and quiet. I keep my head down and don't make any ripples. I am calm. I am cool. I am a cucumber."
You're a cucumber? OKAY
In almost 600 pages, we hardly learn anything about Simon other than he's hot, his mom was mentally ill, he hates his dad, and he's boring. His problems and personality aren't explored with any depth whatsoever. Willow is obsessed with him based on knowing nothing about him, and he barely shows any affection. Not knowing WHY Simon likes Willow so much makes his relationship with her extremely creepy. Willow and Simon have no chemistry and it doesn't feel like they have this "deep connection" that we are supposed to believe in. His actions after the third act breakup are absolutely ridiculous too.
ALSO, how the heck did none of the hospital staff notice that he was staying at the hospital past midnight and going into the same patient's room every night? No one noticed that he was having long weekly appointments with Willow?? This man would have gotten his medical license revoked in 2 seconds in real life.
Above all else, the worst part of this book is the sex. Never in my life have I experienced such intense secondhand embarrassment. The writing is beyond cringy and the language used during intimate scenes is vile. VILE. I never want to encounter the words "cream", "ooze", "juicy", EVER AGAIN. I will not be providing more examples. I read a lot of spicy books, and I love them, but this was like torture!!! I showed some scenes to my boyfriend and even he couldn't believe his eyes!!!
The writing feels incredibly juvenile...So. Many. Fragmented. Sentences. Trying to make. The writing seem. Quirky. And Deep. Constant repetition, and confusing sentence structure. If you enjoy making your brain hurt from trying to wrap your head around what is going on, you'll love this!
Let's talk about Willow. Willow is a pretty name, but her mom calls her LoLo which sounds so dumb. What is she, Lo Loestrin Fe birth control? Willow is an 18 year old girl who suffers from major depressive disorder and is currently hospitalized. I was so excited to read about a relatable character with mental illness, but her representation of depression is just...bad? There were some lines that I read and thought, "I really feel this", but it wasn't shown that Willow suffers from depression. This girl isn't exactly depressed, but she is absolutely unhinged. As soon as she meets Simon, she is OBSESSED with him, and she is incredibly desperate, whiny, and annoying about it. Despite being 18 years old, Willow acts and speaks like a child, which makes the age gap incredibly creepy. She is obsessed with Harry Potter and mentions it every few pages...according to my Kindle, the words "Harry Potter" are mentioned 45 times! Willow's only personality traits are loving Harry Potter, liking the rain, liking lime jello (but only at the hospital), being obsessed with Simon, and having light hair. This girl is so dumb and mentions that she has always struggled in school. How the hell did she get a full-ride scholarship to Columbia University??????
Here's my favorite quote from Willow:
"That's not me. I don't explode. I'm a peacekeeper. I'm sweet and quiet. I keep my head down and don't make any ripples. I am calm. I am cool. I am a cucumber."
You're a cucumber? OKAY
In almost 600 pages, we hardly learn anything about Simon other than he's hot, his mom was mentally ill, he hates his dad, and he's boring. His problems and personality aren't explored with any depth whatsoever. Willow is obsessed with him based on knowing nothing about him, and he barely shows any affection. Not knowing WHY Simon likes Willow so much makes his relationship with her extremely creepy. Willow and Simon have no chemistry and it doesn't feel like they have this "deep connection" that we are supposed to believe in. His actions after the third act breakup are absolutely ridiculous too.
ALSO, how the heck did none of the hospital staff notice that he was staying at the hospital past midnight and going into the same patient's room every night? No one noticed that he was having long weekly appointments with Willow?? This man would have gotten his medical license revoked in 2 seconds in real life.
Above all else, the worst part of this book is the sex. Never in my life have I experienced such intense secondhand embarrassment. The writing is beyond cringy and the language used during intimate scenes is vile. VILE. I never want to encounter the words "cream", "ooze", "juicy", EVER AGAIN. I will not be providing more examples. I read a lot of spicy books, and I love them, but this was like torture!!! I showed some scenes to my boyfriend and even he couldn't believe his eyes!!!