kamryn_grace_'s review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
Most of the time I would find the theme of forgiveness cloying but the author's way of spinning the story made it all the more thought-provoking. This is definitely a worthwhile read.
Graphic: Medical content
Moderate: Physical abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Sexism, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Terminal illness, Rape, Addiction, and Grief
gondorgirl's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Bullying, Chronic illness, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Stalking
spellygirl's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, Cancer, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Stalking, Terminal illness, and Abandonment
Moderate: Stalking, Grief, Rape, Sexual violence, Misogyny, Medical content, Infidelity, and Sexual assault
Minor: Alcoholism, Blood, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Infertility, Medical content, and Drug abuse
abzster53'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
5.0
Graphic: Grief, Sexism, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexual content
Minor: Suicide attempt and Vomit
sydapel's review
- 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
Graphic: Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Drug abuse, Sexual harassment, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Grief, Death of parent, Addiction, Child death, and Sexism
sierraechobravo's review
- 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
3.0
Graphic: Abandonment, Cancer, Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Stalking, and Terminal illness
Minor: Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Bullying, Drug use, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Self harm, Suicide attempt, and Vomit
theespressoedition'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
3.0
I chose to read this book on a whim since it was available on my library's audiobook app. I wasn't expecting to fly through it quite so quickly. The whole thing felt a bit unexpected - not because it wasn't predictable (which it certainly was) but because of the themes and how they were approached.
Cassie chooses to give up a promotion to lieutenant at her fire station in Texas because she will not apologize for publicly defending herself against sexual assault. Immediately, I appreciated her boldness and decision to stand for what she knew was right. Shortly after, she transfers to another fire station in order to live with her "estranged" mom (who she calls by her first name: Diana) outside of Boston. This enables her to help her mom, who is blind in one eye.
Before leaving the job she knows and loves, her captain basically gives her a pep talk, telling her that the new job will be incredibly sexist and old-fashioned in more ways than one. Rather than trying to change that, she basically prods Cassie to hold back on all fronts and be as little like a woman as possible. This definitely hit me the wrong way. If Cassie was agreeing to termination in order to avoid apologizing for self-defense, it's hard for me to imagine her being alright with accepting this kind of position.
When she arrives, she's immediately lumped in with "The Rookie," and we see immediately that this will be our love interest. From there on out, things are really predictable: they're always stuck together, hazed at the same time, forced to be in uncomfortable situations, and the romance develops super quickly. Despite Cassie's severe intolerance of love and romance, she's pretty into this guy (emotionally and physically).
There's a lot that happens in this book, considering how short it is. Betrayal, bullying, a whirlwind romance, and a picture-perfect ending. It was a nice read but didn't feel like there was as much substance as I wanted, considering some of the more challenging topics it was dealing with. I really hoped that we would see some ground-breaking moments. Instead, it felt a bit lackluster and even slightly rushed. Good if you're just looking for a filler read and not something that will change your life.
Graphic: Sexism, Bullying, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Terminal illness, Sexual assault, Grief, Death of parent, and Addiction
Minor: Cancer
Spoiler
There's a moment when they find themselves in bed together and he basically tells her that they shouldn't go any further since she's experienced sexual assault in the past and doesn't want to move too fast. Instead of listening to his wisdom, she "wears him down" (literal description in the book) and they have sex. This bugged me SO MUCH. She was raped at 16 years old and yet her first time being kissed or having sex again, it felt non-consensual.Spoiler
SUCH a stereotypical epilogue, my gosh. Marriage (after one night sleeping together) and pregnancy. Wow. I'm so shocked - not. This could have been far more creative!beccaand's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Moderate: Death, Grief, and Medical content
Minor: Sexual assault and Sexual content