Reviews with content warning for Sexual content - You, With a View

Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

You, With a View by Jessica Joyce

58 reviews

spectacles_and_books's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful reflective medium-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

4.5

I really enjoyed Jessica Joyce's writing. This is probably the most character driven Romance I've read. Whilst the plot is simple, a lot of care was taken to unpack Noelle's emotional journey. I also usually prefer a dual narration, but Theo was so well-written that it was easy to understand and relate to his character arc as well. I'm definitely looking forward to reading more from this author.

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bookish_leslie's review against another edition

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4.5

What To Expect:

M/F
MC's in their late 20s
Enemies to lovers
Old high school rivals
Road trip
Forced proximity
One bed
Single POV
Social media references (TikTok)

Themes: secrets, relationships with grandparents, grief, healing, trust, enoughness, self-discovery and self-belief, the impermanence of good/bad and making the most of the here and now

Spice: 3/5 🌶️🌶️🌶️(several open door scenes with detailed descriptions and explicit language)

Overall, I had a good time with this book and would be interested in reading more from this author. The premise was interesting, if a little weird. I’m not entirely sure why you’d want to go on a road trip inspired by your grandma’s broken engagement with a man 50-60 years ago, least of all with a perfect stranger and your old high school nemesis, especially when the grandmother had clearly and happily moved on from that relationship. But also, road trip! Plus it got the main characters together, and they did have great chemistry.

I’m feeling a little salty about the use of setting though. These characters were traveling to some iconic Western US spots, like Yosemite, Death Valley, Vegas, Zion NP, and the Grand Canyon. I so badly wanted an armchair travel experience alongside this romance, but for the most part, these settings were barely mentioned for the most part, let alone featured, and that not only felt like a big letdown, but also a missed opportunity.

That aside, I have to say that I really enjoyed the characters. Paul, Theo’s granddad, was such a sweetheart and probably my fav, but I also loved Noelle’s relationship with her brother and his girlfriend, and I could really feel the weight of her love, loss, and grief regarding her Gram.

“It’s so silent. It infuriates me that she can just be gone. That she left me like this, floundering for answers, talking to the sky.”

Noelle lying to everyone was off-putting, but I enjoyed the chemistry she shared with Theo, as I’ve already mentioned, and I liked that their connection wasn’t only physical, but sometimes had moments of emotional vulnerability sprinkled in, too.

“What’s that game called?’ he murmurs. ‘From last night?’

‘Tell Me a Secret,’ I manage, my heart in my throat.

His jaw ticks. ‘So, tell me one.’

I don’t want to admit it, but it’s the elephant in the room. His thumbs are inches from the spot throbbing worse than my knee.

‘I wouldn’t stop you if you kissed me right now.’ I say it quietly in case he changes his mind, but his eyes darken, pupils dilating. He doesn’t move, though his mouth parts like he can already taste it. ‘Now you.’

His breath dances over my lips. ‘If I kissed you right now, I wouldn’t stop.”

I thought the writing was solid; the dialogue/banter was especially well done. And I appreciated that there was depth in this otherwise light-hearted story, in the way Noelle grieved for her Gram. I really wish we’d had Theo’s POV alongside Noelle’s, though.

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hjb_128's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful 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

3.5

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marisabenn's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted medium-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

4.75

Blame the pregnancy exhaustion for how long it took to read this 😅

What a great debut! A little annoyed with the lack of full communication, but not enough to really call it a miscommunication trope. It made me miss my grandparents in a good way.

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hannah109's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful 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? No

5.0

2023: One of my favourites this year!
2024 re-read: Still great! ♡

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steen19's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny lighthearted slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No

3.25

This didn’t really work for me….

After her grandmother dies, Noelle find a box of photos and love letter. She uses TikTok to track down the lost love, who happens to be the grandfather of her high school rival.

From there, check your reasoning at the door for this one. Noelle decides to go on the road trip her grandmother dreamed of doing as a honeymoon with this lost love. Cool, right? The old man wants to join. What? And so the grandson has to as well. Sure?

The “why” just wasn’t there for me. Can it technically be answered? Yes, but the reasons aren’t logical for me. Without that, it was hard to be invested.

They’re 28, but it reads more like a college romance. There’s just something about it that feels a little immature.

The first 30% reads like it’s written by someone with a LOT of internalized misogyny. If not just straight up misogyny. I held out to see if he was redeemed, and I’m not 100% sure.

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