wilybooklover's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
1.5
This book started out so well and was on the way to being a four-star read, but alas, did not work for me in the end. I enjoyed the autistic representation (written by an autistic author), Michael’s family and the portrayal of Vietnamese culture, and Stella. I loved her — she’s such a complex and unique character and had a great character arc. Hated the rest, lol. The story was way too formulaic and this is coming from someone who loves the predictable nature of romance novels and finds it comforting. Stella and Michael’s attraction seemed almost purely physical; I wanted to see a stronger emotional connection, more substance. I was uncomfortable with the way that sex work and sex workers were portrayed at several points. I don’t think the topic of sexual assault was handled very well or really unpacked properly by Stella. Michael says his mother dying would ‘free’ him, framing sick/disabled people as burdens on their family (granted I have no experience with the American healthcare system but surely that’s the real issue here).
Mostly, though, it was Michael who ruined the book for me. He’s pushy, domineering, overly possessive, and can’t take no for an answer. He literally stalks Stella and follows her home, repeatedly goes after her and presses his romantic attentions on her after she turns him down and tells him to leave her alone MULTIPLE TIMES. That’s not sexy; it’s creepy and scary. Yet when another man won’t take no for an answer, he’s angry even though it’s a very similar kind of behaviour as his own. One is portrayed as wrong and the other OK purely based on who is perpetrating the behaviour. Make it make sense. Not only that but after being sexually assaulted which is obviously very upsetting for Stella, does he offer her support or comfort? No, he feels the need to ‘mark her as his’ as if she’s his property. She initially tells him no to kissing after such a traumatic event and is clearly uncomfortable with it but does he respect that? Of course not, he forces her into it anyway and then fucks her because HE needs it! Fuck Stella’s needs, I guess.
Of course, he knew she didn’t really want him to leave her alone because he knows better. Same with the sex scenes: he overrides her own wishes (that she states to him clearly) and pushes her into doing things she dislikes and feels uncomfortable with because he apparently knows better than her about her own body. He tells her to dress and do her hair how he likes it rather than how she prefers. She can’t even eat what she wants without him trying to control it. He knows she has a hard time in loud/social situations and she tells him she’d rather go home because she’s tired, but he forces her to go to his large, boisterous family’s house anyway. He’s just forever violating her boundaries even (and especially) when she says she’s uncomfortable with doing something. Yeah, he says all the right things about respecting her consent, but his actions and thoughts don’t line up so it just feels manipulative and patronising. He may be teaching her how to be in a relationship but it’s certainly not a healthy one. The controlling behaviour, questionable consent, and complete disregard for Stella’s agency really put me off and made me feel uneasy.
There were also a few things that bothered me in terms of writing. Michael is described as looking like a specific celebrity, which is not only a lazy way to describe someone but just something I despise, especially in romance. Much of Michael’s inner monologue comes off as immature with dude-bro style casual misogyny (e.g. ‘the only reason a woman should wear a pencil skirt is to show off her ass’). The book is laden with gender essentialism and bizarre lines such as ‘a natural talent for fucking’ (LMAO) and ‘she had the kind of nipples men and babies dreamed about’ (what??). The dirty talk was... not good.
I can’t believe this book got recommended to me as having a kind, gentle hero and good consent. I am genuinely baffled. If that is what you want then this book is not it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Stalking, Ableism, Classism, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual content
Moderate: Misogyny, Abandonment, Cancer, Medical content, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, and Terminal illness
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Infidelity
shannnne's review
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Ableism and Classism
Minor: Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Cancer, and Sexual harassment
racheyreads's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
For a romance, this book was beautiful, steamy and spicy!
The relationship between Michael and Stella was adorable and his affection for her had me falling in love with them as a couple. This would also be my first read featuring a person who is, in story, diagnosed with autism and I have found myself learning a lot from Stella as a character.
Though this book was spicy, I loved the dynamic they shared as a couple. Most romance novels really make you feel like a fly on the wall, witnessing verbal drawl of intimacy. However, Helen really brought these characters to life with her writing and I felt invested in their relationship. When they were happy, sad, awkward or troubled I felt it with them and the experience of the book was so much more than what I expected.
Definitely will be looking into the other books Helen has written, and if she has made the others just like this one I'm in for a treat!
The relationship between Michael and Stella was adorable and his affection for her had me falling in love with them as a couple. This would also be my first read featuring a person who is, in story, diagnosed with autism and I have found myself learning a lot from Stella as a character.
Though this book was spicy, I loved the dynamic they shared as a couple. Most romance novels really make you feel like a fly on the wall, witnessing verbal drawl of intimacy. However, Helen really brought these characters to life with her writing and I felt invested in their relationship. When they were happy, sad, awkward or troubled I felt it with them and the experience of the book was so much more than what I expected.
Definitely will be looking into the other books Helen has written, and if she has made the others just like this one I'm in for a treat!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Minor: Cancer, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, and Medical content
jazzseeks's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
I am not a fan of contemporary romance usually but this is certainly the best one I've ever read. What I really loved was how relatable the Main Character was as a woman with Autism and how much <Michael loved her for the ways she was unique and not inspite of who she is>. I found the romance believable, funny, and deeply enjoyable. <Michaels family is lovely.> The only things I didn't like were how horrible a lot of the tertiary characters were such as the parents, the coworkers, the ex clients. Those parts were painful to get through and didn't always feel vital to the story or characters development. Also Helen Hoang is really pro-capitalist and I'm never into that though I enjoyed flipping the trope so that the Woman had the money.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Ableism, and Sexism
Moderate: Sexual assault, Classism, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Abandonment, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Cancer, Violence, Vomit, Infidelity, Chronic illness, and Stalking
Pressure to have children, pressure to marry, comment about character looking "barely legal" , comment about "having nipples men and babies dream of"bexi's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Abandonment, Cursing, Cancer, Classism, Toxic relationship, and Infidelity
Minor: Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Stalking, and Violence
auudrey's review
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, and Abandonment
Minor: Infidelity
lousnewchapter's review
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer, Infidelity, Sexual content, and Terminal illness
the_harlequin's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders and Ableism
Minor: Medical content, Terminal illness, Alcohol, and Infidelity
theworminbooks's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Okay, let’s start with the characters. Michael, Michael, Michael. Come home, the kids miss you. Because WOAH! a man dare I say. The treatment towards Stella and just the constant understanding and care was phenomenal. He understood Stella and her autism without reducing her to it and I just have to stan. Stella, my sweet Stella, was so wholesome and just grew so much as a person throughout this journey. I feel like she also grew to accept her autism and not see it as a hinderance in relationships, compared to the beginning. I honestly don’t care about anyone else but y’all were cute!
Plot was just there. It kept me so engaged that I finished it in a day. The premises for their circumstances were fun and didn’t feel childish and idiotic (I’m looking at the Love Hypothesis right now). I genuinely felt like the characters all grew not only with one another, but as individuals. Something I hate is when there’s no plot outside the romance so the characters feel superficial (Hating Game rise because I’m looking at you). While the main focus was the romance, I loved that they had goals and loves outside of each other.
Only reason I’m not standing by this as a five is that I feel like the ending was missing that “diaaaaaaaablo” effect. Whilst I loved everyone, I felt like the end was a little bit rushed and I wanted more details about what happens after the conflict is resolved. It was good fun but I wanted more of them at the end.
Will be reading the second book of this series because Miss Hoang and that pen! That’ll do it!
Plot was just there. It kept me so engaged that I finished it in a day. The premises for their circumstances were fun and didn’t feel childish and idiotic (I’m looking at the Love Hypothesis right now). I genuinely felt like the characters all grew not only with one another, but as individuals. Something I hate is when there’s no plot outside the romance so the characters feel superficial (Hating Game rise because I’m looking at you). While the main focus was the romance, I loved that they had goals and loves outside of each other.
Only reason I’m not standing by this as a five is that I feel like the ending was missing that “diaaaaaaaablo” effect. Whilst I loved everyone, I felt like the end was a little bit rushed and I wanted more details about what happens after the conflict is resolved. It was good fun but I wanted more of them at the end.
Will be reading the second book of this series because Miss Hoang and that pen! That’ll do it!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Cancer and Sexual assault
Minor: Infidelity
missgray's review
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Cursing, Cancer, and Mental illness
Moderate: Infidelity and Ableism