Very Unbecoming

by Kate Hopkins, Emily Kron

When two childhood best friends blow up their respective romantic relationships, they make a time-sensitive pact: serial-cheater Chuck cannot sleep with anyone as she attends a three-month-long recovery group for cheaters, while sex-deprived Sofia vows to hook up with as many people as possible before recommitting to monogamy and tying the knot with her long-time fiancé.

To keep things interesting, Chuck and Sofia decide to revive a past tradition from their summer camp days—also known as the dawning of sluthood. Just as when they were tweens, they must report back to each other with every juicy detail of their vivid and salacious exploits.

As the pact brings their friendship closer than ever, their intimacy with one another becomes both uplifting and debilitating. As wounds, misbehaviors, and co-dependencies surface, Chuck and Sofia must navigate blurred boundaries in order to help each other rediscover themselves at a pivotal moment.

Genres: Audiobook

Audible Audio

Published November 21, 2024

Reviews

[Olivia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don’t think this art was for me to appreciate.

Why I didn’t like it: Although I did resonate with some of the things within this tale. As many women can and probably have, I found the narration and performance of the audiobook annoying. The long whimsical music between chapters and then ASMR things made my ears itch. The tism was tism-ing.

Some spoilers below.

Take away: the main characters are two old friends who are who meet at a camp reunion as adults… if you can really call them that because what really is being an adult? and they are repeating old patterns.
Sophia who’s engaged and seems like she’s on the “right” trajectory starts to question if she’s really allowed herself the chance to experience her life before she’s tied down with the habit of opening her mouth and telling peoples secrets.
Charlotte “Chuck” is this perfectionist boss b*tch who is a serial cheater & flirt. She sabotages most of her relationships out of fear.
During this reunion Sophia accidentally tells Chuck’s boyfriend he’s not the only boyfriend and that pushes these women into making the changes in their life that they inevitably need to make by making a pact.
Sophia speaks with her fiancé about having an engagement rumspringa to be the “slut” she’s always wanted to be & Chuck is on a path of celibacy & self respect.
They make mistakes, get hurt and hurt each other but in the end they’re empowered by this journey, their support for one another and the mistakes made.
Long story short… No one is perfect, we’re all flawed and we need the love and support from our girlfriends, no matter what.

Although I took a lot away from this audiobook, this wasn’t “my type” of audiobook that I think I enjoy. Too podcast-y/conversational for me to be a “book”. I read to escape, to learn and I felt like I was listening to a background tv show.

I really give this a 2.6 star but couldn’t bring myself to give it a 3 because it just wasn’t there for me.

If you’re looking for a quirky audiobook that feels more like a “show going on in the background of your life”, this is something you’ll appreciate! If you’re more the imaginative type of audiobook listener/reader, save your time!

[Voice of a Tureheart · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not sure this book was for me... I love the idea of it.. the audio concept was fun (kind of like a play with scenes), but the more I was listening to the audio the less I was into it... I found the background music between each chapter annoying. Sophia's character was very childish, immature and over all i did not like her character developement.
If you're looking for a quirky audiobook that feels more like a "a play" or “ being in the background of someones life", this is something maybe you'll appreciate!
This book will unfortunatly be a 2,5/5
for me

[Pak Fatemi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This audiobook kept me hooked from start to finish. The story is rich with wit and depth, offering many moments that made me chuckle. It explores themes of identity and self-discovery. The narration is absolutely amazing—perfectly paced, emotionally engaging, and full of character. A thoroughly enjoyable and relatable listen!

[Zayne · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

Entertaining, and well written enough that I got annoyed by the annoying characters. I might have been out of the target audience.

[Becky Vance · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF this was definitely not for me.

[Ivy Ross · Rating 1 out of 5]

The premise of this book was great. The execution was not.

[Alanna · Rating 1 out of 5]

Calling this a book is a stretch, the reason I finished listening to it was so I could give an honest review and confirm if it gets any better. I can now confirm, that I did not like this audiobook. It is a raunchy comedy meets, asmr podcast, meets romance novel.

[DwnMichle · Rating 1 out of 5]

Well I finished it.
That’s all.

[Paula · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.5⭐️ purely for the odd amusement comment and quick listen as if listening to 2 teenagers on a bus ride!

This was a really quick listen. Hence, I persevered whilst just doing other things but not really my typical style or usual genre, but I gave it a try, just not for me. The odd amusing moment but overall not much substance at all.

And I cannot stand to hear someone eating loudly which was something throughout this book so if this is a pet hate don't even bother with this one or if your not a fan of ASMR stay away...!! I've. Endured so you don't have to!!!

Currently included in audiable till 31/12/24 🎧 plays out like a movie type scene which some of these audiobook styles can be ok this one just wasn't for me really didn't appeal to me, maybe a younger generation would enjoy 🙃

[Rachel Nicole Wagner · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars ✨
I loved the narration & audio descriptive style of this audiobook very much. It kept me entertained and engaged and I listened to the whole thing in one setting while I was making Oreo Truffles and Bon Bon Coconut Balls 🥥 honestly, so enjoyable and I’m glad this is the first book of the year for me to complete 🙂
Definitely recommend if you’re looking for a fun light-hearted-ish story about friendship, love, attraction, and listening to your heart ♥️

~xo,
Rach

[Sami Danley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok premise and entertaining at times, but I don't want to listen to a movie. If I wanted to listen to an asmr podcast where someone talks with their mouth full and crunches on chips, I'd subscribe to that. Those scenes almost made this a dnf.
Had to finish what I started, and I'm glad I did. I want to give the story a higher rating, but the asmr and the performance piece instead of just reading a book were too much for me.

[Hilary · Rating 2 out of 5]

This wasn’t for me. I was walking a lot in cold weather and my hands were cold or I probably would have turned it off for something else. The music between chapters was irritating, the asmr subplot was not good (and I like asmr and listen to it nightly!), and both lead characters were unlikable. I only listened because Amy Sedaris was in the narration, but this book just wasn’t it.

[Casey LaRue · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked this a a radio drama, this is not an audio book. The music got a little repetitive and the ASMR was hard on the drums but I liked the story of two friends finding what they want out of life, it felt true to experience. The humor was a little hit and miss for me but overall I found the characters charming and I cared what happened to them.

[Lindsay Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a fun story with incredibly clever writing. I laughed out loud several times while listening and found myself completely invested in the two main characters. What a great view on female friendships and how they carry us through everything else in our lives. Loved this! It's a quick listen!

[Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was very millennial coded. The audio was really fun and immersive with a full cast and sound effects. I was laughing and gasping along the way because of how funny but also shocking parts of the story were. The ending definitely had my jaw on the floor. A fresh and fun story.

[Nadia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was pretty good. Production was great and the story was cute and felt real. I liked the main characters' voices, but at time they sounded a little too similar to other characters. Other than that I liked the actors, dialogue and story.

[Karessa Proctor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liked: the full cast, how silly it was at times

Related to: chuck’s deep seated issues with perfectionism.

Didn’t like: Sofia’s entire child like personality at the big age of 32. I found her… unbecoming… if you will.

[Storyweaving_Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story was decent. The MC was able to explore herself and learn more about who she is during the four months before she is supposed to get married. I guess, if you have only been with the same one person, some people worry that they didn’t do enough.

[Callie Kakascik · Rating 2 out of 5]

I got this one simply to fill a spot on my audiobook challenge I'm doing with a FB group, and if it weren't for that, I wouldn't have bothered after the first 15 minutes. It was pretty dismal—too many sound effects, pathetic characters, and just overall not great.

2.25

[LadyBug 0444 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not horrible, but not totally my kind of thing. Maybe for the younger generation.

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

ok this was so cute, immediately searched for more by this author.

[Samantha Chernosky · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cackled multiple times during this book, this is a book that everyone should read!

[Cindy's Booked · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was not at all what I expected. I am glad that I finished it despite not liking most of the story. The ending absolutely pulled everything together, though.

[Ashlee · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun listen/ format. Had fun listening to the escapades of these flawed characters and there were some funny moments for sure. Sophia is insufferable to me though.

[Vona Stewart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining.

[Javierthearcnovice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! There’s a lot going on with these girls. Great banter with some good laughs….

The only thing I didn’t enjoy was the annoying chapter beginning and ending music. 😅

[Carrie B · Rating 1 out of 5]

The audiobook had too much background music and noise. Wasn’t my cup of tea

[Kendrie Withers · Rating 2 out of 5]

really not for me, but at a 4 hour audiobook I figured I'd finish it

[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny, fun and witty! Also, the audiobook has a lot of actors so it makes it very fun!

[Sarah Todd · Rating 2 out of 5]

Circular story, fairly uninspired. The Radio style play was interesting at first but didn't help the story as we went round and around on the same story plane.