Scan barcode
A review by mangosugar
King of Sloth by Ana Huang
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
pros:
• the second best male lead written by ana huang! xavier castillo, alongside kai, is a refreshingly normal man compared to the absolute freaks miss huang loves to write about. he’s respectful, funny, charismatic, smart, and most importantly not a mob boss, criminal, stalker or a fucking murderer. compared to the likes of christian harper or that italian sociopath, xavier is an angel sent for me specifically.
cons:
• very underwhelming female lead. there’s nothing glaringly terrible about sloane kensington, there were several moments i empathized with her and was rooting for her, but she’s just… dull. she’s another instance of ana huang thinking interesting character and backstory = rich people trauma. she’s identical to nearly all of huang’s other female leads because of my second con.
• boring ass story lmao. i almost stopped reading so many times because nothing remotely interesting ever happened. this book recycles all the tropes ana huang has already written into the ground over her many works and which make her characters indistinguishable:
- abusive estranged socialite family
- cartoonishly evil fathers
- billionaire at risk of losing his fortune
- minor appearance of fmc’s toxic ex for the mmc to punch
- 827362 hotel surprises (surprise: denial of sexual tension in a foreign country)
- everyone talks exactly the same way
- 827362 character cameos from the ana huang cinematic universe that bog down the story
• this book is unique in that the story is all over the place and there are way, wayyyy too many characters as i just said, yet most of these events are truly boring. there’s no excitement, no energy—that’s my biggest gripe against this book. the writing is stale, every single character besides xavier and occasionally sloane is dead on arrival. personally, i couldn’t for the life of me be engaged in the events of this story, partly because the stakes were meaningless and huang’s books are extremely formulaic in an oversaturated genre which already requires originality to stand apart.
• i don’t know if ana huang has a business or finance degree or smth but it felt like she just received it and wanted to brag about her knowledge but her publisher insisted the book needs to be a romance. no more board meetings and investment deals i BEG you miss huang
• the second best male lead written by ana huang! xavier castillo, alongside kai, is a refreshingly normal man compared to the absolute freaks miss huang loves to write about. he’s respectful, funny, charismatic, smart, and most importantly not a mob boss, criminal, stalker or a fucking murderer. compared to the likes of christian harper or that italian sociopath, xavier is an angel sent for me specifically.
cons:
• very underwhelming female lead. there’s nothing glaringly terrible about sloane kensington, there were several moments i empathized with her and was rooting for her, but she’s just… dull. she’s another instance of ana huang thinking interesting character and backstory = rich people trauma. she’s identical to nearly all of huang’s other female leads because of my second con.
• boring ass story lmao. i almost stopped reading so many times because nothing remotely interesting ever happened. this book recycles all the tropes ana huang has already written into the ground over her many works and which make her characters indistinguishable:
- abusive estranged socialite family
- cartoonishly evil fathers
- billionaire at risk of losing his fortune
- minor appearance of fmc’s toxic ex for the mmc to punch
- 827362 hotel surprises (surprise: denial of sexual tension in a foreign country)
- everyone talks exactly the same way
- 827362 character cameos from the ana huang cinematic universe that bog down the story
• this book is unique in that the story is all over the place and there are way, wayyyy too many characters as i just said, yet most of these events are truly boring. there’s no excitement, no energy—that’s my biggest gripe against this book. the writing is stale, every single character besides xavier and occasionally sloane is dead on arrival. personally, i couldn’t for the life of me be engaged in the events of this story, partly because the stakes were meaningless and huang’s books are extremely formulaic in an oversaturated genre which already requires originality to stand apart.
• i don’t know if ana huang has a business or finance degree or smth but it felt like she just received it and wanted to brag about her knowledge but her publisher insisted the book needs to be a romance. no more board meetings and investment deals i BEG you miss huang