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madinotmaddie's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Cancer, Cursing, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Grief, Car accident, and Death of parent
ambercunningham's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-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? It's complicated
5.0
This book ripped my heart out, dipped it in acid, lit it on fire, and then sewed it back together. A goddamn rollercoaster. It’s the heaviest love story I’ve read. The love that Macy and Elliot shared with each other for years and years was so tender and pure that reading about it almost felt like intruding on something very private. My heart ached for Macy so badly. The torch Elliot had been holding for her all those years made me believe in young love. This book is so much more than a fluffy little romance. It changed my relationship with books. Nothing I read the rest of the year came close to what this made me feel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, and Alcohol
shasta_queen_of_hell's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Death, Grief, Car accident, and Death of parent
Minor: Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Vomit, and Alcohol
bookswithlauren's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
jg34's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Very very cute and we stan Macy and Elliot!! Was a slow builder for sure but did set up a good emotional gut punch at the end there. A story of love and loss and how it changes you. I don’t love the trope of the “girl has a boyfriend but finds out he’s just average after finding a better guy but let’s wait to
break up until the very last possible minute.” Some of the scenes of them growing up were a bit cringe too but at the same time kind of nice to see two people learning about sex and love together which is cringey and awkward in real like.
break up until the very last possible minute.” Some of the scenes of them growing up were a bit cringe too but at the same time kind of nice to see two people learning about sex and love together which is cringey and awkward in real like.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Death of parent
Moderate: Cursing, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, and Car accident
Minor: Vomit
chelle22's review against another edition
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Drug use, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Vomit, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Alcohol
shesreadingagain_'s review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
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? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, and Death of parent
vereadsbooks's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I heard a lot of good things about this book. I wanted to read it ASAP. When I had the opportunity, I grape it with excitement.
The book is narrated from Macy's point of view in a dual time (then and now). Macy and Elliot meet when Macy's father buys a vacation home. There Macy meets her neighbor Elliot, and they begin a friendship.
Macy has an emotional dependency on Elliot. He becomes her emotional support and therapist at times. The relationship gets complicated when both fall in love. They got scared of ruining their friendship or being rejected by the other. This situation led them to misunderstandings, angst, and entanglements.
Elliot and Macy meet one day by chance after spending 11 years without speaking to each other. This encounter shakes them to their core. Macy realizes that her relationship with her fiancé Sean is not making her happy. She doesn't love him. They are together because the relationship is easy for them.
Elliot dumps his girlfriend as soon as he sees Macy. I would have liked to see Elliot's relationship with Rachel, his girlfriend. She was the person who helped him deal with the aftermath of his breakup with Macy. I dislike the way Elliot handled things with her. Rachel deserved better.
The thing about the adult Elliot is that we don't know anything about him. We know the sweet and thoughtful teenager Elliot. But Adult Elliot is a complete mystery.
The conflict drags on unnecessarily. Elliot and Macy could have worked out their problems from the start. Unfortunately, this harms the reading because once the truth comes out. What happened to them that night is intense, and we don't have enough time to process everything. As readers, we only have a little time to digest and deal with that information.
The climax of the conflict wasn't well handled. We find out that Elliot cheated on Macy with another girl. When Elliot explained the situation, it became clear that he was sexually assaulted. Elliot was so drunk that he couldn't consent to having sex. Emma preyed on him. Even more, considering how confused he was that he thought he was with Macy. Consent works both ways!
At some point, he admitted to having a breakdown while he was with a girl. That is PTSD!
It is a pity that the authors didn't treat the scene as it was. What happened to Elliot is as important and traumatic as what happened to Macy.
The book is narrated from Macy's point of view in a dual time (then and now). Macy and Elliot meet when Macy's father buys a vacation home. There Macy meets her neighbor Elliot, and they begin a friendship.
Macy has an emotional dependency on Elliot. He becomes her emotional support and therapist at times. The relationship gets complicated when both fall in love. They got scared of ruining their friendship or being rejected by the other. This situation led them to misunderstandings, angst, and entanglements.
Elliot dumps his girlfriend as soon as he sees Macy. I would have liked to see Elliot's relationship with Rachel, his girlfriend. She was the person who helped him deal with the aftermath of his breakup with Macy. I dislike the way Elliot handled things with her. Rachel deserved better.
The thing about the adult Elliot is that we don't know anything about him. We know the sweet and thoughtful teenager Elliot. But Adult Elliot is a complete mystery.
The conflict drags on unnecessarily. Elliot and Macy could have worked out their problems from the start. Unfortunately, this harms the reading because once the truth comes out. What happened to them that night is intense, and we don't have enough time to process everything. As readers, we only have a little time to digest and deal with that information.
The climax of the conflict wasn't well handled. We find out that Elliot cheated on Macy with another girl. When Elliot explained the situation, it became clear that he was sexually assaulted. Elliot was so drunk that he couldn't consent to having sex. Emma preyed on him. Even more, considering how confused he was that he thought he was with Macy. Consent works both ways!
At some point, he admitted to having a breakdown while he was with a girl. That is PTSD!
It is a pity that the authors didn't treat the scene as it was. What happened to Elliot is as important and traumatic as what happened to Macy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, and Alcohol
sophiesometimesreads's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Look, I'll be honest and say I did enjoy the first 60 to 70 percent of this book. The writing style was good and I was having a good time. But the ending really ruined this for me.
I don't particularly like the tropes used in this, but I could handle the miscommunication part until there was this really weird, unbelievable cheating trope thrown in there. If you don't mind or even enjoy these tropes though, then this book may be for you, this rating is very much a "not for me" rating and doesn't suggest that it's a bad book.
The more I read about Elliot, the less I liked him, and what's the point of a romance where I don't like the MMC? He was very immature in the present timeline and had no empathy then with a drop of a hat changed his tune and suddenly wanted to hear what Macy had to say. Also, he cheated but never took responsibility for that cheating and thought that him saying it was an accident was enough? At least grovel a bit and blame yourself, then I might be able to look past it. But it just seemed unnecessary when the actual major conflict seemed to be Macy's dad's death and the depressive episode she went into following that, not the cheating. The conflict leading up to her dad's death could've literally just been him getting annoyed she didn't say yes to his marriage proposal, refusing to speak to her at the party then asking her to leave and then the same events could have transpired, the cheating was unnecessary and it just made me not like Elliot or their relationship.
Edit to add: I have since realised how poorly written the cheating trope was, even for the cheating trope. He was drunk and thought he was with Macy but wasn't, which is borderline SA/rape but this was never confronted or talked about and just used as a device to break them up then get them back together? Maybe if the cheating had been taken out OR we had delved into this SA part of it more as reasoning for why he believed he wasn't totally in the wrong, I may have enjoyed this ending more. But, as it was, I didn't like it and it didn't make me think they should be together.
Also there was a really weird detailed, semi-explicit sex scene between teenagers in the past timeline that was completely unnecessary. Fade to black when they're minors, please, and leave the detail to the adult timeline.
Overall, I liked the writing and Macy's character, particularly her in the current timeline, but the ending and the conflict that lead to the loss of communication for 11 years just seemed unnecessary to me. If you can look past the tropes, or if you enjoy them, then this book may be for you but it wasn't for me. I've liked 50% of Christina Lauren's books though, so I'll definitely give another a shot.
I don't particularly like the tropes used in this, but I could handle the miscommunication part until there was this really weird, unbelievable cheating trope thrown in there. If you don't mind or even enjoy these tropes though, then this book may be for you, this rating is very much a "not for me" rating and doesn't suggest that it's a bad book.
Edit to add: I have since realised how poorly written the cheating trope was, even for the cheating trope. He was drunk and thought he was with Macy but wasn't, which is borderline SA/rape but this was never confronted or talked about and just used as a device to break them up then get them back together? Maybe if the cheating had been taken out OR we had delved into this SA part of it more as reasoning for why he believed he wasn't totally in the wrong, I may have enjoyed this ending more. But, as it was, I didn't like it and it didn't make me think they should be together.
Also there was a really weird detailed, semi-explicit sex scene between teenagers in the past timeline that was completely unnecessary. Fade to black when they're minors, please, and leave the detail to the adult timeline.
Overall, I liked the writing and Macy's character, particularly her in the current timeline, but the ending and the conflict that lead to the loss of communication for 11 years just seemed unnecessary to me. If you can look past the tropes, or if you enjoy them, then this book may be for you but it wasn't for me. I've liked 50% of Christina Lauren's books though, so I'll definitely give another a shot.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Death of parent
Moderate: Grief, Car accident, and Alcohol
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders
serendipity421's review against another edition
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
Graphic: Sexual content, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Car accident, and Alcohol
Minor: Drug abuse, Drug use, and Mental illness