Book Review: The Feels by Vanessa Ravel

This book has an extremely intriguing blurb and cover – both caught my attention immediately, and the opening pages reinforced those first impressions. The story begins in a richly detailed fashion, describing Ariel’s condition and history and laying out the grounds for what I expected to be a thoroughly entertaining story. The story was entertaining – but shortly after the first reveal (Aunt Jada), things felt like they hit an oil slick and skidded all the way to the end in a burst of handy revelations, madcap activity, and tidy conclusions… It felt like a different author wrote the last three-quarters of the book – or like this author was given a deadline and felt pressed to meet it.

That isn’t to say the story wasn’t fun to read – it still was, but it would have been INCREDIBLE if it had been more consistently paced and detailed. I loved the way things were laid out in the beginning. There was just the right amount of detail and subtle foreshadowing; it made the characters come alive and drew me right in. But when the secrets started popping the story felt rushed. Things were happening that weren’t being adequately explored/explained – just presented. It made the revelations about Lachlan ring oddly – his character literally imploded without much explanation why or how; it just happened. If the time and care spent laying out Ariel’s backstory had been spent with his, I think the book would be a truly incredible read. Ditto Craig – he appears, and plays a huge role in the developing story, but there’s nothing about his backstory or why he behaves as he does. It makes him feel hollow and given his role, that seemed odd. And while I loved Ariel, I found her “new” experiences a bit hastily added and inadequately explored; where did this come from and why, other than as a handy plot device? A little explanation – even if it left things open-ended – would have made this change feel a lot more organic and a lot less convenient…

I think there’s tremendous potential here. It’s a novel concept with great characters, but uneven. If more detail had been provided, I think this would be a solid 4 (or even 5) star read. Still, it was an enjoyable book and I would read Ravel again based on its strengths.

My review copy was provided via Reedsy Discovery.