Reviews with content warning for Alcoholism - Restore me

This was the first @booksandlooksbookclub BOTM that I hadn't finished in time for the meeting 😅, and I'd considered DNFing it, but doing that stresses me out so I decided to see it through.

*sigh* The writing style, the MCs, the length- all of it was a no from me. I'm not against a little cheesy romance sometimes but the cringe levels in 'Restore Me' were sky high, and it felt extremely long-winded and repetitive. Honestly, guys, I'd be reading and thinking "I MUST'VE tackled 20% by now", only to realise I'd only tackled 3 😭😂 and it felt like there was so much internal dialogue but nothing was really happening. Also, I don't want to read the words, "angel", "small of my/her back" or "liquid heat" again at this point. I'M TIRED.

I definitely preferred Sloane's chapters, and found the depiction of grief in these to be more thoughtful and emotive, but the balance between the characters' chapters was off and Sloane's character started to grind my gears after a while. I found her to be a bit too passive at times. Her relationship with Eric's family was a nice touch though and I liked that they'd created a space where it was okay for her to grieve yet live at the same time (which we can sometimes feel guilty about).

For me personally, it would've been helpful to know a bit more about Eric and to see more of Dom's experience actually grieving his best friend rather than just coveting his wife/widow. As for Dom's character as well, all I'm going to say is NO.

I've heard the other books in the series are better, which is good to hear but, for now, I won't be finding out as this is where my journey with the series ends.

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theblackstepford's review against another edition

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emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Solid story. WAY too long. I mean, I appreciate the ins and outs of this relationship, but they could have had one slightly difficult conversation and knocked 150 pages off the back and forth drama. Spice was 🌶️🌶️.5, will read the next book in the series.

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thirdeyeangel23's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense 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

5.0

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tddaffin's review against another edition

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emotional reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

18+

This book lived up to all the hype surrounding it! I had Restore Me on my TBR because of TikTok but ultimately read it because on J.L. Seegars' website she states, “All of my works center around Black women and the lovingly possessive men who are obsessed with them.” and this book definitely delivered that! Dominic is obsessed with Sloane, Sloane is obsessed with Dominic, and I am obsessed with both of them.

“An enemies to lovers romance about forbidden relationships and love after loss”; the way Dominic and Sloane's story unfolded was equal parts beautiful and heartbreaking. I will say that the ending did feel a bit rushed for the book to be so long but I enjoyed the book overall. If you're looking for a book to read where the man falls head over heels in love first, this book is for you!

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shanaetheflyest's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense 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

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ashleycmms's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful reflective tense slow-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

4.5

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takarakei's review against another edition

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emotional slow-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

3.5

This was veryyyyy long, longer than it needed to be. A lot of spice, as in frequency. It is dual pov but I felt it was a little off balance as we got mostly Sloane's POV and I would've liked to get more of Dominic. The ending was cute but just took too long to get there the middle dragged a lot.

5/5🌶️

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jerricka329's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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