Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

Always Mine by Laura Pavlov

10 reviews

mrspru's review against another edition

medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Cancer, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Grief, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

Minor: Mental illness, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, and Car accident

bookslovereaders's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted sad 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

4.0

I am on a massive small town romance binge and this one definitely is that. 

Always mine is book one in the Honey Mountain series and is about the Thomas sisters. Book one focuses on Vivian the second eldest and her relationship with Nico her best friend. 

It’s a friends to lovers book with lots of emotion thrown in. They have been best friends for year and they both love one another. Nico in particular has had a horrid childhood, suffering at the hands on his father so he struggles with relationships. 

Vivian or Vivi as she’s known to her family had recently split from her boyfriend who she found cheating on her. She wanting to go out and experience more with her life especially her love life - and that’s where Nico comes in. There relationship is a forgone conclusion but you are waiting on Nico to catch up a little more. 

This book is exactly what a small town romance is. Lots of meddling from other characters, love conquers all whilst dealing with strong topics. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I’m excited to see more from the sisters especially Dylan! 

There are some strong topics so please check all the trigger warnings before diving into this book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

cecilielaugesen's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful lighthearted sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

I had all the feels!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Grief, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

Minor: Blood

ambercunningham's review against another edition

emotional lighthearted fast-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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Cancer, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism

cassiereadsbooks_'s review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

samanderson24's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful inspiring fast-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Physical abuse, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

100_pages_hr's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Why did I put off reading this for so long? This book was amazing. The friends to lovers trope is a favorite of mine because friendship is such an important quality in a relationship. I love how well Niko and Vivi already knew each other and how seamlessly they became lovers.

This book does have some pretty tough triggers, but they were handled so well and I thought both of their pasts really shaped who they were as individuals and really strengthened their love. I love how even as kids they were always there for the important albeit difficult moments for each other.

I love reading about small towns. The love and togetherness of the people is so neat - but I'll let those stay fiction. I am a city girl through and through.

I love how Pavlov weaved in some suspense and mystery. It added to the plot perfectly. I absolutely can't wait to start book 2. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

Minor: Cancer, Grief, and Death of parent

dianaschmidty's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Drug use and Violence

tifferpok88's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

I lost interest in this book very quickly. The plot was barely there and the character development was superficial. Both of the main characters needed some serious therapy, but it got glossed over because they opened up to each other, so that counted as therapy I guess? 

Everything in this book is honey themed and it was annoying to read. Honey mountain, honey bee, honey lake, and on and on. By the end of the book I wanted to gag every time the MMC called the FMC honey bee. 

If I had a dollar for every time someone in this book barked a laugh, I’d have a lot of dollars. Around 30% of the way through I was tired of reading it but pressed on just so I could keep tally of how many times some barked a laugh, someone’s chest squeezed, or how many times they

”rode out every drop of pleasure together”

. I have never seen any of those phrases so many times in one book. I guess some people only laugh by barking it, even if it is sarcastic barking. I had downloaded the entire series to read but will not be continuing the series. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

lauriereadsrom1's review against another edition

emotional lighthearted 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

5.0

Vivian Thomas was on her way to break up with her longtime boyfriend when she found him cheating on her with a co-worker. It hurt even though she had known in advance that the relationship was over, but what's worse is that only six months later, her ex is engaged to his mistress and has invited Vivi to the wedding. She immediately declines the invitation, but it makes her start to think about everything she's missed by dating the same guy since high school. She wants more experience before she settles down, and who better than her best friend Niko West, the ultimate playboy, to help her get it? Afraid of messing up their friendship, Niko does his best to resist Vivi's advances, but it's not long before the attraction between them becomes too powerful to ignore. When they realize how good they are together, will friendship still be enough, or can Vivi convince Niko that they're meant to be more than just a temporary fling? 

I loved this story so much! Niko and Vivi were completely adorable together, and the shift in their relationship from friends to lovers was perfectly paced. Niko's fears about being in a serious relationship were completely understandable after everything he went through in his childhood, but he worked hard to overcome them so that he could give Vivi the life she wanted and deserved. Beneath his sometimes grumpy exterior, Niko had a heart of gold, and the way he interacted with his little niece, Mabel, proved that his worries about turning into his father were unfounded. 

I highly recommend "Always Mine" for all fans of contemporary/small town romance. It's a fantastic start to Pavlov's new series and I can't wait to see what's to come in future books. (Hopefully one of those books will include a happy ending for Niko's friend and fellow firefighter Jace!)

 

*Review copy provided by the author. All opinions expressed are my own. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Cancer, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, and Death of parent