Book Review:: Double Exposure | Elissa R. Sloan

Double Exposure is a mostly melancholy story about two L.A. hopefuls-turned-celebrities who have a deep connection, but never quite get the timing right.

Double Exposure Elissa R. Sloan Book Cover

Adrian came to Hollywood from Florida to be a movie star. Maiko is a struggling model. They meet on page one in an abortion clinic. This sets a very specific and accurate tone for the novel. Later, they are cast in small roles together, and eventually they go out on a date. They hit it off and fall in love as both of them rise in the business, earning themselves the celebrity couple moniker of Maidrian. But they’re young, and stardom and the power that comes with it is not easy to navigate. They end up breaking up not long after. Still, the novel follows them for years afterward as the Hollywood machine continues paring the two of them up.

I found myself craving more out of this story. I suppose it is about how timing isn’t always right, with a side of redemption thrown in? But to me it was mostly just sad. There are layers of grief the characters have to wade through, but through most of the book it seemed to me that neither one of them liked themselves enough to make decisions that were actually good for them. The tone was really bleak and I didn’t feel like it dug itself completely out of that hole.

There’s a lot of tough stuff going on in this one. There are themes of addiction, infertility, loss of a parent, exploring one’s sexuality, the morality of abortion, equality of pay, marital abuse…it’s pretty rough.

For me, the narrative read fairly detached from the characters. I felt a certain level of separation from what was actually happening in a way that made me not care incredibly deeply about it. In some ways I’m actually glad for that, considering the paragraph above. In some ways it compares to Sally Rooney’s Normal People, but it was missing the depth of emotion and true connection I felt in that book. Normal People wrecked me. This one just leaves me with a lingering feeling of depression. ha.

In the end, both main characters seemed to achieve some level of growth, which was good to see. I’m glad of the very last scene – for me, that alone earned it an extra star. Obviously I don’t want to spoil anything, so I will leave it at that!

If you are someone who enjoys a darker tone in their stories, this one might be a hit for you. I tend to enjoy uplifting books that feel good at least 90% of the time spent reading it. This one is more like 20% good feelings, 80% hopelessness. That sounds harsh when I write it out, but it’s how it made me feel.

This is a netgalley arc review, and my honest opinions.

Details

Title:: Double Exposure
Author:: Elissa R. Sloan
Genre:: Romance
Publisher:: William Morrow
Length:: 368 pages
Audio Length:: 7h 58m
Audiobook Narrator:: Natalie Naudus
Audiobook Publisher:: Harper Audio
Published:: September 10th, 2024
The Litertarian Rating:: 3-Stars
Spice Rating:: 3 (infrequent, but explicit)