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princessrory's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, and Alcohol
Moderate: Cancer, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, and Death of parent
Minor: Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Toxic relationship, Outing, and Classism
thebibutterfly's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, and Outing
finnickdeservedbetter's review
- 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
Tropes & Themes:
- workplace romance
- forced proximity
- small town
- opposites attract
- overcoming perfectionism
- bi awakening/comphet deconstructing
Spice: Smedium
3-4 explicit scenes with explicit language
My thoughts:
Don't get me wrong, I still love Astrid and I loved seeing her grow and finally stand up to her mom. It was mostly Jordan who I didn't vibe with. I thought I would grow to like her but it was kind of the opposite. I liked her less and less as time went on. Which is tragic because we're both Pisceans who consult our tarot cards for everything. We should totally vibe. I don't know, I just feel like Astrid grew a lot by the end of the book, whereas I felt like Jordan reall didn't.
By the end, she barely even set up boundaries with her ex. The one who called her current partner "some blond bitch" by the way, then proceeded to sabotage her relationship with her AND the job she was very financially dependent on. But in the end it was just "I need some space". Um, hello? That is blocking everywhere, no contact, fuck you very much behaviour...but that's just my opinion I guess.
But despite all that, Jordan kept acting like she was somehow better than Astrid. There are multiple examples but the biggest one for me was when Astrid's mom came over and chewed her out and Jordan somehow flipped that around and started insulting Astrid. Literally wtf?
Besides that, I also just kind of felt a lack of chemistry. Like they were sort of just chucked together and that's that. I wanted to see them actually getting to know each other but most of that potential time was taken up by drama. I love drama as much as the next person but in the words of Tati Westbrook: "Time and place". No cardinal sins were committed or anything but her attitude was really ticking me off y'know.
All that being said, I did really like Astrid, like I said at the beginning. I'm glad she finally stood up to her mom but I'm also glad Isabel was willing to change. That was a pleasant surpise. With all the "abandoned parents" FB groups out there, it's nice to see a parent take accountability for their emotional abuse and actively work to repair their relationship with their child. Love that for Astrid.
Anyways, onto Iris Kelly. I've been really liking her so far so I'm 90% sure I'm going to love her book...hopefully. (Spoiler alert: I loved it and it ended up being my favourite in the series)
Graphic: Cursing and Sexual content
Moderate: Cancer and Toxic relationship
Minor: Homophobia, Vomit, and Outing
sinaprst's review
- 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
BUT, where is my hot soft butch carpenter girlfriend???? And where is my cute and fluffy and fucking sexy love story???? I'm jealous, to say the least
(also, I am Astrid Parker, Astrid Parker is me... which was kind of scary, tbh)
recommended reading ambience: https://youtu.be/HIfc9O8cd84?si=XsjxqsAEmgx7UrA2
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Outing, and Alcohol
Moderate: Cancer, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Grief
Minor: Infidelity, Vomit, and Death of parent
kshertz's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Minor: Bullying, Cancer, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Outing, Abandonment, and Alcohol