thaliareads'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
4.0
However, I love how Ryder truly stuck by Willa no matter how many times she pushed him away. I also love how Willa never made Ryder feel like less than because he chose not to speak or not to pursue hearing aids or learning sign language. She took him at face value and loved him for who he was at his core, regardless of everything else.
Graphic: Terminal illness, Ableism, Cancer, Death, Death of parent, Grief, and Sexual content
Minor: Alcohol
thelostartofsecretkeeping'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
Graphic: Sexual content, Cancer, Death, Death of parent, Grief, and Medical content
whackettreading'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
Graphic: Grief and Cancer
Moderate: Death and Ableism
Minor: War
alexleigh20'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
4.0
Graphic: Terminal illness, Sexual content, Cancer, Death of parent, Death, and Grief
lisasbookselection'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
5.0
Minor: Cancer, Grief, Death of parent, Death, Terminal illness, and Cursing
cady_sass's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Cancer, Sexual content, Abandonment, Ableism, Chronic illness, Alcohol, Medical content, Cursing, and Grief
dianaschmidty's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Cancer, Medical content, Terminal illness, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, and Vomit
Moderate: Ableism
pandalesque's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Listening to the 2 narrators was enjoyable but sometimes it was hard for me to follow the story bcs of abrupt changes in locations, insufficient descriptions or not being sure what was said aloud. Maybe physically reading would've been helpful.
I found the writing a little clumsy at times..Some phrases were a little too cringe-y for my taste. And It's a confusing mix of almost insta-lovey but then slow burn as well. And one of the first times that I couldn't quite relate to either character in a romance novel... which isn't necessarily bad, just smth I noticed.
Question: Can people really see pupils dilate and the eye colours change when looking at somebody? Or is that only a little far fetched for me? Not that other romance novels don't describe colours of eyes or pupil dilation in excess as well...
Positive:
- I found the story-line with her sick mum and his family meaningful and gave substance to the characters.
- Also I think it's great that there is the hearing loss /HoH representation.
- I liked the integration of football (soccer) and being a female athlete.
- Mostly liked the smut: 3.5/5🔥 (y only mostly? see next points)
Things that took me aback were:
- the talk about protection... It being only about birth control and not include at least a conversation about protection from diseases (which tbh felt a bit out of character for R. at least)
- the 3rd act conflict didn't feel natural but to be fair, I rarely feel like it is in other romance novels I read.
<Spoiler> - found it a bit unnecessary that he was able to regain almost all his hearing with hearing aids. And that him returning to somewhat of hearing sounds was so dependent on him being happy and "grow as a person"... Also not really understood the no talking & no ASL.... but I'm not familiar with and not really qualified to talk about accurate representation concerning how people with hearing loss/deafness cope/act/experience life. And I'm also aware it is so rare to have HoH /deaf representation I should not expect it to encompass all experiences.
- negative talk about "wild", unruly curly/wavy hair
- weird names/having childish words for female genitalia...
- What the professor/brother-in-law did was a dick move and doesn't really make me wanna read his love story... Felt like a total abuse of power without a justified cause in my opinion.
- Referenced W. reading a lot of books but basically only mentioning "youknowwhos" by name
Probably still picking up the rest of the series.
Graphic: Death and Grief
chrisljm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Grief, Medical content, Cancer, Death of parent, and Sexual content
Moderate: Death, Chronic illness, War, Vomit, and Alcohol
Minor: Pedophilia, Sexism, Ableism, and Drug use
maddie79'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
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Cancer, Death of parent, and Grief
Moderate: Cursing, Medical content, Abandonment, and Alcohol