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ourhandsfull's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Graphic: Body shaming, Child abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Vomit, Lesbophobia, Outing, Toxic friendship, and Sexual harassment
shaesensual's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
This quote really describes my change of heart about the final 15% of this book because this felt like something the main character had already discovered before reaching this point in the story.
Light spoilers ahead, but I've got a lot to rant about. So much time is spent building a foundation of trust, support, and honesty between these characters only for that to be thrown away in an instant. Not only do things blow up again, Taylor then takes the unnecessary step of insulting all of Conor's deepest insecurities. Taylor struggles with her self image due to her weight, which I wish took up less of this book because she's a more dynamic character than that, but when Conor has his own turmoil, he doesn't start calling her fat and saying nobody could possibly want to be with her. Taylor, on the other hand, says things to Conor that I might consider unforgivable even taking into consideration the circumstances. Her actions were just to harm him and it felt like taking 1,000 steps backwards in their growth as a couple. And he somehow manages to immediately forgive her and even says she was right. Additionally, there is a lot of gratitude for Conor's reaction in this final section of the book as if its so remarkable, but I can't honestly imagine an adult who would have reacted any differently. This book would have received a 4.25/4.5 rating from me without this major shift towards the end or bad just ended after the gala conflict.
Really wish this had a stronger ending overall as this was the weakest book in the series.
The positives: the fake relationship into real was really great. I loved all the "boyfriend" and "girlfriend" comments when they were still both unsure. I thought their flirting dynamic and conversations together were fun and cute. Overall a really fun couple to read about.
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Fatphobia, and Sexual content
Moderate: Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Cursing, Drug use, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Misogyny, Excrement, Vomit, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, Outing, and Dysphoria
britwalsh16's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Fatphobia, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Grief, Lesbophobia, Outing, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Vomit, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Classism
Minor: Drug use, Eating disorder, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment
abidavisf's review against another edition
- 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
As always, the spice and the banter was on point, and Elle navigated really tricky topics with grace. The shining star, however, is definitely Taylor’s insecurities and the way we get to see how the rest of the world truly sees her. I wish I could read the minds of the people around me like we got to read Conor’s.
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, and Fatphobia
Moderate: Drug use, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Lesbophobia, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Classism
Minor: Vomit, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Outing
itsamylynne's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Bullying
Moderate: Body shaming, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, and Fatphobia
Minor: Hate crime, Homophobia, Religious bigotry, and Outing
haley49's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Fatphobia, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Sexism, Lesbophobia, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment
Minor: Drug use and Outing
xlaurareads'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
3.5
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, and Sexual content
Moderate: Outing
mardorko'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
3.75
Graphic: Body shaming, Eating disorder, Sexual content, Religious bigotry, Outing, and Sexual harassment
perrystranger's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Bullying, Sexual content, Outing, and Toxic friendship
Triggerwarning and spoiler revengeporn and blackmailsierrachenee's review against another edition
3.5
Taylor was great. I liked her a lot. I just did not appreciate how she was written. Taylor is a curvy girl and every chapter it is brought up how insecure she is about it. Conor is constantly reassuring her and it just becomes grating. At some point you have to find that confidence within yourself and not rely on a guy for it. A persons weight should not be written as their personality trait. Having some mentions does make sense but the sheer amount was absolutely appalling. Even my precious boy Conor made a comment putting down skinny bodies in the book. Like why
I’m also not a big fan of how one of the only gay characters in the whole series just had to go through a traumatic moment near the end that really didn’t need to happen at all.
On top of that I just hate miscommunication so having it happen twice in a short span was aggravating. Taylor and Conor could have been great and they really did have a lot in common and worked on the same wave length so there was no reason for it.
The lows in this book were so low but the highs were also really high too.
Conor already started off great. He is a big sweetheart, respectful, funny, laidback, and just an all around decent person. He manages to grow so much in the book and it made me so happy to see. He deserves the best.
I also loved seeing Coach finally get some romance in his life. It was long over due and hilarious.
Conor also has some of the better interactions with all of the guys in the Briar U series and seems to be friends with them where as previous books it could be more disjointed. It didn’t have as much hockey sadly but it was nice to see otherwise.
Graphic: Fatphobia, Homophobia, Sexual content, and Outing