"In a world without discernment, in the attempt to give everything a chance, you could die without tasting chocolate. I was not sorry."

GENRE: Lit Fic/Romance
RATING:5/5
FORMAT:eBook Arc

Overall Impression:WHAT A BOOK!!! This is the type of book that will linger long after I've finished it, as it breaks down in my head in the best of ways.

Review:
WHAT A BOOK!!!! Okay, I repeat, what a book.

Bad Words is a tale in which we have two different people who come together with all the intentions of hating one another and we watch it blossom into a love story. It's a story in which we meet Parker, the chronic people pleaser as he argues with Selina, our critic who wants to preserve art, criticism and staying honest to oneself.

This book delivers a commentary on two different parts of the Book world: an author and a critic while being witty, funny and just bluntly honest about the reasons humans do the things we do. It shows how criticism is important, and yet with the world we live in today, everyone can comment on anything that's been said and done.

At the same time, Bad Words dives into what it means to be a human and to want to be loved. It delves into the fact that Parker, a people pleaser and a peace chaser, has never felt seen before Selina. He goes through life with a way of fitting in between people, wanting to be loved AND yet, when all is said and done, he cant help but feel that he did a disservice to himself. This results in him realising that people never understood his work and the themes he wanted to deliver with his book.

Selina defies this by sticking to her principles, by being that one corner in the literature world that is honest. There was a beauty in her perspective, the way she loved what she did and was honest to it. The way that she wouldn't sacrifice this just to appeal to people or more accurately, to please them.

We also dive into the affect of social media and how, at all times, if something goes wrong or viral, everyone is going to have an input and without barriers in place, you can get stuck in there and never come out of it. None of us can ever truly know the people we interact with on social media and more importantly, we get to see that anyone who writes (Authors, critics...etc.) put their soul into their work but the interpretation of it is left upon us readers to look into.

I dont know if this review can do justice to how much I enjoyed this book, how I flew through it and how funny yet powerful & emotional it was. Its a beautiful blend of Literary fiction with Romance together in a way that shows us all we really want is someone to rise up to who we are and to see us truly rather than someone who wishes to change us.

Thank you to the author, publisher and netgalley for the Arc copy in the exchange for my honest opinion.