mccullah's review against another edition
2.25
meh, very much meh. madeline is incredibly self centered, to the point where her problems with jasper and the bookstore come before anybody else’s problem, including benny’s issues with dalia and zelda’s issues with her mother. i feel like a lot of details were just glossed over because madeline is the narrator and her problems are more important, even if the details could have added more to the story.
Minor: Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Mental illness, Fatphobia, and Car accident
relin's review
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I don't tend to read contemporary romances especially featuring teenage romance. It well captured the high all-or-nothing emotional rollercoaster of the teenage experience. There is a lot of interesting family relationship navigation that really made the book more powerful.
Graphic: Abandonment, Grief, Sexual content, Alcohol, and Car accident
Moderate: Cursing, Medical content, and Fatphobia
Minor: Blood
bujo_bellel's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- 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
4.75
I really enjoyed reading this book, I liked that once they're together then something happens to weaken/destroy the relationship until the very end, and I think I say a few song references(maybe) in the book and I really liked the concept of the book and learning about how much effort is put into managing a bookstore.
Graphic: Car accident, Abandonment, and Fatphobia
Moderate: Sexual content, Cursing, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Violence and Alcohol
sam_h's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
Witty banter in an enemies-to-lovers trope.
Graphic: Abandonment and Car accident
Moderate: Fatphobia and Sexual content
legalplanner's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- 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
4.0
This book was a great one because it had realistic teenagers. You have two undecided teens facing college down and are unsure of what to do next. Rather than looking around at everything around them they unfortunately can only look at what’s right in front of them even if that means hurting each other. This is every book nerds dream of working in a book store, and being a part of a fandom.
Graphic: Body shaming and Fatphobia
oliviaangelixx's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
This book reads like a 15 year old’s first Wattpad book. The writing style is mediocre at best, and it feels almost as though the author was trying too hard to be funny. There weren’t many parts of this book that I found amusing, even though it’s supposed to be a rom-com. The humor mostly came off as cringy to the point where I even had to set the book down at certain points. Not to mention, it feels like the author tried to make it seem more diversified by specifying at every given moment that the love interest and his family are Japanese. We got it the first time, no need to keep repeating yourself.
And then there’s the main character, Madeline. She is one of the most frustrating protagonists I’ve ever had to read about. She is annoying majority of the time, and most of the pranks she pulls on Jasper go way too far. I would never be able to like her or even forgive her after some of the things she pulled.
Last but not least, there’s a light dose of fatphobia in this book. Madeline criticizes herself so much for her weight for absolutely no reason. She brings it up multiple times throughout the book but nobody else does. It adds nothing to the plot. Sure she can have insecurities, but absolutely nothing is coming from these insecurities. She uses them to try to convince herself not to fall for Jasper. Not very cute if you ask me.
Overall, I didn’t enjoy this book. The only reason I read it all the way through is because I’m in a book club that chose this as the book. Otherwise, I would’ve dropped it very quickly.
Graphic: Car accident and Fatphobia
More...