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jaimc's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
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? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content, Grief, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
sxndaze'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? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Maybe it's possible to belong in a hundred different ways to a hundred different people and places.
my second emily henry book, and i sadly didn’t vibe with it as much. nora is so concerned with not being the girl that men want in the end because she’s too cold, too much and too high maintenance, but she’s just got some trauma. it’s not a crime to care about your career and to love the city.
i don’t like libby. i understand and get the point of her, but i find her selfish and unlikable even with her motives. also baby as a middle name??? calling nora sissy??? unacceptable. speaking of terrible names, shepherd???
charlie though. i do adore charlie and the banter between nora and charlie is this book’s strongest aspect. they are lovely, but the foundation of their relationship is quite weak for a rivals (barely even. more like hardly tolerate) to insta lovers. he’s sweet to her and understands nora fundamentally, but i can’t help but wonder how.
overall it’s fine! i got through it quickly and felt compelled to keep going. i can’t say it was my favourite though, and i am sorry about that.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
Minor: Vomit and Medical content
heather_freshparchment's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
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
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
Minor: Vomit
cielosiluminado'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? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The last-page ache. The deep breath in after you’ve set the book aside.
NORA AND CHARLIE WERE SO CUTE!!!! their banter was so much fun and i have no complaints on the romance parts of the book as their relationship progressed naturally. it read like a hallmark movie and i was vibing.
ramblings about what bothered me—tldr: let my girls remain city, career-minded girls! stop taking them to small towns to “change them”. and unfortunately the sisters’ miscommunication was atrocious and overshadowed a lot of the romance parts which explains my star-rating.
some things that irked me so bad was (1) how the family angst and resolution played out and (2) how nora was considered “cold” to the very end. if she were a man, she’d be called ruthlessly ambitions and no one would say anything about her being career-focused, not wanting children, not wanting to move outside the city, etc. but because she’s a (tall) woman, she faced so much criticism, professionally and personally. i don’t understand how nora’s relationship with her sister libby is so revered when libby was one of those judgmental people that saw nora as cold and unfeeling. and how they made up so quickly which pissed me off so bad.
i understand why people love emily henry’s books and after reading this one, i can say it’s my favorite one to date.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders and Pregnancy
Minor: Vomit, Medical content, and Alcohol
claire_riach's review against another edition
emotional
funny
fast-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
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent and Pregnancy
afternoonlight's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
wonderful. loved the banter.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Grief
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders and Pregnancy
aaallliiiccceee's review against another edition
emotional
funny
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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Grief, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Death of parent, and Alcohol
Minor: Ableism, Cursing, and Medical content
not_another_ana's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
She wonders whether what comes next could ever live up to the expectations. She doesn’t know. You never can. She turns the page anyway.
Nora is the anti romcom protagonist. She's a cutthroat literary agent, dedicated to her career, loves wearing high heels, and would never ever leave New York City for the quiet of the countryside. But when her beloved, and very pregnant, little sister Libby invites her to a sibling getaway in the charming little town of Sunshine Falls, she can't say no, after all she would do anything for Libby even if her ideas of a good time include following a checklist of Hallmark movie clichés and trying to hook Nora up with local salt of the earth men. Not only is Nora not interested in any of this, she also keeps running into the familiar face of Charlie Lastra, book editor and someone she had a previous negative experience with back in NYC. But fate keeps bringing them together and maybe there's something there blooming between two unlikely romance protagonists.
I feel slightly bamboozled by this book, I started reading it thinking this was going to be more romance than anything else and was, thus, disappointed to find out that the core of the book is actually about family and trauma. Libby, the sister, seemed way more present than Charlie, the actual love interest, which I wouldn't mind if the book's summary and tags didn't make it seem like the plot was all about the romance. People keep saying how much they like Charlie, but I don't have a clear impression of him, not with everything else that was going on. It doesn't help that I don't particularly enjoy contemporary romance and had to hype myself up to read it only to find something entirely different than my expectations. Oh and in no way or shape was this an "enemies to lovers" which was also a let down. I expected more reasons for them to dislike each other (turns out it was one, ONE, slightly awkward meeting) and more development of their relationship. Instead, they immediately clicked and wanted to fuck.
I did like the writing, it was funny and had that freshness and lightness without being too much or crossing the line int cringe territory. There were some funny moments that had me laughing out loud. The chemistry between Charlie and Nora was electric, palpable, even if I didn't like the sex scenes. For a book called Book Lovers, it lacked books, would have been cool to see more of their work in that area, perhaps more of their lives in NYC as a contrast with the small town way of living to really show how unsuited they were to that environment.
The pacing could have used a little work, the ending stretched for too long. Some of the emotional bits didn't affect me, but the third act conflict made sense, wasn't a last minute thing, and didn't rely on some lame miscommunication between the leads which pleasantly surprised me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy
Moderate: Grief
linora's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-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
4.25
A contemporary romance that was so satisfyingly playful with tropes. It's like a hallmark Christmas movie where all the things you say out loud when the protagonist is being stupid are the things that the protagonist actually does
Content Warnings
Moderate: Medical content and Pregnancy
_b0ok_l0v3r's review against another edition
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy
Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, Sexual content, and Alcohol