The Ugly Side of Me

The Ugly Side of Me by Nikita Lynnette Nichols
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Emotionally exhausting tale of anger? misery? I'm just not sure

This is my third book by this author, so I am aware of her talent and was ready to enjoy this book. I listened to this book on audio. I’m going to preface my review with the fact that maybe if I had read the book, the way the characters came across might have been different. I was exhausted after listening to this book. I know I am in the minority with how I felt after listening to this book, but again maybe this went over my head.

The heroine was so despicable throughout most of the story that I struggled to complete it. I am not sure what the author’s intent was with this story. What did she hope her audience would gain, learn, experience from this tale? Maybe, the book went over my head. I felt disgust, disbelief back to disgust. I read the summary and I knew based on that there would be drama. I thought the storyline had potential.

This felt like a teenage “love gone wrong” story. The over the top, erratic emotions, volatile actions, tantrums, and juvenile conversations reinforced my belief that this was a young adult tale of what happens when you obsess and fabricate relationships that do not exist. I was even more certain that her mental instability went beyond the TS after the #2 incident at the doctor’s office, the vacation conversation with her boss, the airport incident and that was just a few examples.

Questions or comments that popped up throughout my listen.
1. How does a volatile, angry, mentally stunted & downright nasty person maintain a relationship of any kind whether it be personal or professional?
2. What type of mental illness did the heroine suffer from that caused such negative reactions from her. This is not all from the TS.
3. With the biting, sarcastic & overly dramatic attitude/responses is Rhapsody even capable of having an adult conversation?”
4. She’s 34, but with the mental capacity of a teenager? Her interactions with everyone supports this assumption. Is this what readers are supposed to get from her?
5. What happened in her history to get her to this level of nastiness, insecurity & desperation?
6. Even with Malcolm’s “youthful” idiotic decisions that were led by his “little head”, he still came across more mature than Rhapsody.
7. Drama started from the on-set, danger signs and all Malcom stayed. Materialism is a powerful beast.

Pros
Storyline had potential
Malcom’s character rang true to the age that was set
Rhapsody’s insecurity & desperation will be relateable for some

Cons
Heroine was utterly ridiculous most of the time
Wordy, unnecessary details
Rough narration delivery
Certain scenes were disgusting & held no value to the scene or story

My audible comments
1. What would have made The Ugly Side of Me better?
The backstory on why the heroine was who she was and why she treated people so horribly

2. What was most disappointing about Nikita Lynnette Nichols’s story?
As a reader, I was not sure what the author wanted her audience to gain/experience from this story.

3. What didn’t you like about Lynnette Freeman’s performance?
The delivery was extremely rough. The transition to the male character came across as if she was out of breath. I normally like her performances. She was just the wrong choice for this particular story.

4. What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?
I only felt two things - disgust & disbelief

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