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nadja_reads_stuff's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book, omg. I don't even know where to start.
It made me feel every emotion possible, I could not read it for a whole day because I was crying so much and just when I thought I was kind of over that the next blow came and I was crying all over again.
The love story is so beautiful and meaningful and in the end there are some lessons learned, that everybody should learn.
Life is short and something can happen everyday so make sure you live it to the fullest.
Also: Noah Riley, the man that you are...to be loved like this man loves Ari is something I would say everyone deserves.
It made me feel every emotion possible, I could not read it for a whole day because I was crying so much and just when I thought I was kind of over that the next blow came and I was crying all over again.
The love story is so beautiful and meaningful and in the end there are some lessons learned, that everybody should learn.
Life is short and something can happen everyday so make sure you live it to the fullest.
Also: Noah Riley, the man that you are...to be loved like this man loves Ari is something I would say everyone deserves.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage, Car accident, and Death of parent
ginnypie's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Okay I have had a bit of time to digest this novel and I have many many thoughts I was given very high expectations due to review which this book fell short of, but there was a LOT going on. This was one of the most emotionally devesatating but also extremely melodramatic and soap opera-y books I've ever read.
Characters:
Noah Riley, the man that you are! I have never felt the innate desire to protect a male main character like this before. HE was a little too perfect, I do wish he had any support system at all that would've made him more than just Ari's boyfriend.
Ari, overall a very sad and sweet character seeing her heal with Noah after her heartbreak was very lovely. However, I wish she was written with a lick of common sense and that her development wasn't linked so closely with Noah.
Also I won't lie the running away from conflict was 1.) relatable 2.) so frustrating to read about, this character is supposed to be working on herself but wasn't written to show that she was growing. She kept doing the same selfish behaviors over and over and it became hard to root for her at a point. Especially when she caused harm to Noah and Chase and wasn't really punished by the narrative
Chase: overall a decent character, but his actions in the third act are deplorable and manipulative and I don't think it was called out by the narrative.
I am not getting into any of the numerous side characters because there are too damn many!! Which was a negative because the first third was hella confusing and took a 2 month break because of it.
Plot: This all takes place from like June - January of the Ari's freshman year of college. And centers around a tightknit group of lifelong friends journey in adulthood. But it is mostly about the 6 worst months of this girls life. She is heartbroken and then mends her heart and then a lot of shit happens to her and noah consecutively. There is a lot of trauma that happens to her in a short time period in the last 200 pages, and it honestly felt like 2 different books.
also if even one single main character had a fully developed frontal love this book would be so much shorter.
We are told and not shown a lot of the bonds between these lifelong friends
Tone: This book was so gloomy except for the parts with Noah and the last 200 pages, If that was intentional that is so smart, if not it was definitely a bummer to read.
Overall: I will never read a man like Noah Riley again, I deeply love that character, even though he is not without fault. Ari was also great but I wish her character growth was more cohesive. The number of side characters was aggravating and detracted from the story. Also this felt like two different stories. And this book did not need to be as long as it was. 3.5/5
also fucking in the gym is diabolical????? yall are going to get RINGWORM
Characters:
Noah Riley, the man that you are! I have never felt the innate desire to protect a male main character like this before. HE was a little too perfect, I do wish he had any support system at all that would've made him more than just Ari's boyfriend.
Ari, overall a very sad and sweet character seeing her heal with Noah after her heartbreak was very lovely. However, I wish she was written with a lick of common sense and that her development wasn't linked so closely with Noah.
Chase: overall a decent character, but his actions in the third act are deplorable and manipulative and I don't think it was called out by the narrative.
I am not getting into any of the numerous side characters because there are too damn many!! Which was a negative because the first third was hella confusing and took a 2 month break because of it.
Plot: This all takes place from like June - January of the Ari's freshman year of college. And centers around a tightknit group of lifelong friends journey in adulthood. But it is mostly about the 6 worst months of this girls life. She is heartbroken and then mends her heart and then a lot of shit happens to her and noah consecutively. There is a lot of trauma that happens to her in a short time period in the last 200 pages, and it honestly felt like 2 different books.
also if even one single main character had a fully developed frontal love this book would be so much shorter.
We are told and not shown a lot of the bonds between these lifelong friends
Tone: This book was so gloomy except for the parts with Noah and the last 200 pages, If that was intentional that is so smart, if not it was definitely a bummer to read.
Overall: I will never read a man like Noah Riley again, I deeply love that character, even though he is not without fault. Ari was also great but I wish her character growth was more cohesive. The number of side characters was aggravating and detracted from the story. Also this felt like two different stories. And this book did not need to be as long as it was. 3.5/5
also fucking in the gym is diabolical????? yall are going to get RINGWORM
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident and Death of parent
Moderate: Death
Minor: Miscarriage
beckyyreadss's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I wanted to read this book because I have seen it all over booktok and the book community. The last time it was in The Works, this was part of the 3 for £6 deal and I jumped at the chance.
This book is a college romance based on Arianna Johnson and for years, she has dreamt of what college life could bring and while some things changed, there was always one constant. It didn’t matter how wild she allowed her imagination to run, it always led her to the same place in the end. It led her to Noah Riley. Her future was clear, and he was it. Until suddenly . . . he wasn’t. Now she is a shell of who she was, on a path too blurry to follow, and she sees no way out. No way up. They say that first loves last forever. That's exactly what she’s afraid of.
I enjoyed the college romance aspect and how the girls were trying to live their lives and the found family and their actual families. I loved the friendship group (besides Chase, he is a complete asshole and can go and fuck himself) and how they were all so protective, but they all love each other and would fight for each other. I love that each of these boys have their own personality and I hope that each of them (again besides Chase) gets their own story and Cam and Trey get their own story. I love Cam and Brady and I hope we see more of them. I really do love how they are so fun and flirty but would also kick ass if needed.
Arianna took a bit of time to warm up to me, mainly because of the innocent girl, I can’t make decision bullshit. I also deeply, and I mean deeply, HATEEEEE love triangles. They are the worst thing in the world and sometimes ruin a story more than miscommunication and this book had love triangles and miscommunication due to her memory loss. I also didn’t really love the memory loss and was seriously thinking that Arianna was going to end up with Chase, who didn’t get the kick in the balls that he deserved.
This book didn’t need to be so long, it could have been cut maybe like 100 pages, but I loved Noah and Arianna together and hopefully they will appear in the second book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Car accident, and Death of parent
Moderate: Miscarriage, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Medical trauma, and Alcohol
tingelinda91's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Sexual content, Grief, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Medical content, Car accident, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
dmchesher's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Toxic relationship, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Miscarriage, Sexual content, and Pregnancy
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
hjb_128's review against another edition
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, and Death of parent
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Pregnancy
kerry_read_it's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Say you Swear. By Meagan Brandy
Genre/Type: MMF Romance
Included in Kindle Unlimited: Yes/No
Rating: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Spice: 🌶 .5
Series or standalone: Stand alone
Themes: Love triangle, Brothers, Best friends, Recovery, Virginity, College football, Pregnancy loss, Death of a parent, Memory Loss
Triggers ⚠️ Yes
The Story of Ariana quite literally putting her big girl pants on when she starts college and trading in the douche bag of a guy she thought she loved, for a guy who quite literally would give her the world but not without a few plot twists and traumatic events thrown in as obstacles along the way. This book is an emotional roller coaster of events that will tug at your heart strings and be quite a long read but you have to stick with it just to cheer on the MMC. There isn’t a lot of spice to rave home about in this book it is very tame.
What did I like
My my my Noah Riley you stole my heart. Noah was truly the star of this book for me. He was the reason I wanted to carry on reading. The relationship with his mother melted my heart.
What did I dislike
A little too long
Not enough spice
Chase your a jerk man too little too late
Read if your into
💎 Love triangle
💎 Emotional read
💎 Amazing MMC
💎 College football romance
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage, Medical content, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
tannerlauren's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
tense
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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage, Sexual content, Car accident, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
alexis_michelle's review against another edition
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Definitely one of the best books I’ve read this year. My heart truly broke for Noah. I was heartbroken for Arianna too, but Noah had to deal with everything all on his own, that really struck a chord with me. He is truly the greenest of green flags, and the way in which he loved Ari was so pure. I wasn’t entirely sold on her feelings for him at first, I definitely felt like he loved her way more than she did him. However, the end where she recreated all the special moments they missed was actually so heartwarming. I do wish we would’ve had more time with them at the end, reconnecting as a couple and healing together from everything they went through.
Content Warnings
Minor: Death, Miscarriage, Car accident, and Death of parent
lindsey_adams_'s review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This book was a gift from the BookTok Universe. After reading the first 6 chapters, I was ready to DNF, but I stuck through and I’m so glad I did. This book made me laugh, cry, broke my heart, and then put it back together. This story of love had me in awe. An amazing, fast-paced read. I loved it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Miscarriage and Death of parent