Scan barcode
annahamburger's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Cursing, Homophobia, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Grief, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Moderate: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Dysphoria, and Classism
Minor: Death and Death of parent
aexileigh's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Cancer, Chronic illness, Homophobia, Sexual content, Terminal illness, and Abandonment
Minor: Drug abuse, Eating disorder, and Alcohol
jjjreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Homophobia, and Sexual content
taelights's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
First of all the book dragged. It was so long and for what? Plus there is apparently a sequel too? Unnecessary in my opinion and I definitely won't be reading it.
While I did find some of the jokes funny I felt most of them fell flat and the author was trying too hard to be funny. I felt like I was reading a "crack" fic that was trying too hard rather than an actua published book. Plus some of the "jokes" were a bit of problematic - including rape/sexual assult ones, biphobic ones, etc. Plus I thought the book did play into some harmful stereotypes of both lesbians and bi/pan people. And as a vegetarian I did not like the way vegetarian and vegans were portrayed in this book and it felt like the author really likes forcing vegetarians to eat meat which is gross of them.
The negatives:
1) Both of the main characters need some major therapy; both individual and couples. Yet after after a whole book dealing with their flaws and trauma and incompatibility and trust issues these things just seem to go away at the end in an unsatisfying way. I hate the whole "love will fix all your problems" thing. Like damn I hope these two characters went to therapy next book but I doubt it lol.
2) While Oliver and Luc had chemistry at the beginning of the book I thought they lost all their chemistry. I was no longer believing in their relationship and routing for them towards the end. Plus THREE breakups in one book is a bit extreme. By the third I kind of didn't even want them to get back together.
3) I thought the side lesbian relationship was problematic like they play into both the lesbian age difference trope and while I personally love age gaps in general it's annoying when it's like 90% of lesbian media. Also it played into the whole gross lesbian married to man and cheats on him with a woman trope. Also the lesbian friend felt like the angry lesbian trope.
4) I also felt that there was harmful bi/pan stereotypes in this. Like having one of Luc's ex boyfriends being a bi man who leaves a gay man for a straight woman.... It kind of plays into the harmful belief that bi people will always leave their same sex partners for a straight relationship.
5) The characters were all extremely one dimensional. The side characters especially but so were Luc and Oliver honestly.
6) As a vegetarian I was extremely disappointed in how the author handled a vegetarian character. Between making the vegetarian character eat meat not once but twice, the love interest who convinced him to eat meat basically commenting that it's sexy he's going against his morals and eating meat, characters acting like being vegetarian is so strange and different and such an inconvenience, and being like yeah he's obviously only vegetarian because he has an eating disorder. Honestly I between the jokes about vegans/vegetarians and the whole forcing one to eat meat just made me so uncomfortable and I honestly believe this author has something against people who don't eat meat which is weird of them.
7) The whole reason for the fake dating plot line didn't make sense in the first place.
8) The whole plotline with Luc's dad didn't make sense and didn't have a satisfying conclusion at all and just made the whole element of the book seem needless.
I could go on. I just really did not like this book by the end.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Biphobia, Cancer, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, Outing, and Alcohol
Biphobiattumbletree'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? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Body shaming, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Gaslighting, and Alcohol
Moderate: Addiction, Body shaming, Bullying, Drug abuse, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, and Death of parent
saffyre'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
Graphic: Cancer, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Terminal illness, Grief, Gaslighting, and Abandonment
Moderate: Addiction, Body shaming, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Sexual content, and Alcohol
Minor: Eating disorder
yvonne_cl'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? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Homophobia, and Abandonment
Moderate: Cancer, Terminal illness, and Alcohol
Minor: Body shaming, Bullying, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Sexual content, and Classism
aaminak'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? Yes
3.75
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Cancer, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Toxic relationship, and Gaslighting
saaraah's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Cancer
Moderate: Drug use, Eating disorder, Homophobia, and Abandonment
Minor: Drug abuse
claudiamacpherson'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? Yes
4.5
4.5 stars
This book was recommended to me as similar to Red, White, and Royal Blue, and it did not disappoint! It was delightfully trope-y (fake dating! one bed! showing up on a doorstep in the middle of the night!) and the banter made me genuinely laugh out loud. The only moments I didn't like were when Lucien apologized or felt guilty about saying something that was completely reasonable. I picked up this book to get out of my recent reading slump and absolutely flew trough it, but now I have a book hangover, so...if anyone has similar recommendations, please send them my way!
Happy ending meter (no specific spoilers, just my judgement of how happy the ending is because I always wish someone would tell me that before I read books):
Graphic: Cursing
Moderate: Cursing, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Gaslighting, and Abandonment
Minor: Addiction, Cancer, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism