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proudtobeabookaholic'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
5.0
This is a frenemies-to-lovers, where both are stubborn and enjoy teasing each other; their banter is pure gold! Willa also has a short fuse, which sometimes leads to awkward moments. There's a clear s*xual attraction between them from the start, but neither are interested in a relationship. Willa's got her soccer career to think about, as well as a very sick mom. Ryder became deaf 2 years ago and hasn't spoken out loud since then; he only communicates by texts. I like how Liese depicts Ryder's hearing impairment, what obstacles he faces and how it has made him avoid interactions with most people. I haven't read that many books with a deaf main character and I appriciate to get that perspective.
Ryder's got a Swedish mom and the classic Swedish meatballs appear more than once. Since the narrators are American the few Swedish words that are tucked in sound very off (to a Swede like me), but that's really my only complaint and I can't blame the narrators for that!
Graphic: Cancer, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Grief, Medical trauma, and Death of parent
Moderate: Mental illness
levilore_'s review
- 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
In particular, the fact that Ryder had such complex feelings about being deaf and that the author explored the different ways he communicates was really cool. I was worried
I thought the author dealt with grief, trauma, and death in a beautiful way, especially the idea of gaining and losing family.
The only issues I had were that it kinda dragged on in the middle, beating you over the head with the Pride and Prejudice stuff (I say as a P + P lover) and sometimes the phrasing made me roll my eyes. Although overall, it was a really good story and I'm excited to read the rest of the story.
Graphic: Cancer, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Medical content, and Death of parent
Moderate: Cursing, Mental illness, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Pedophilia, Sexism, Violence, Vomit, and Sexual harassment
hjb_128'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
4.0
Graphic: Mental illness, Terminal illness, Medical content, and Death of parent
Moderate: Sexism
nglidk's review against another edition
3.0
Graphic: Ableism, Mental illness, Misogyny, Terminal illness, and Death of parent
cheerful_bursts's review against another edition
3.25
Moderate: Chronic illness, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Death of parent, and Abandonment
one of the main characters is newly deaf and the book includes a lot of his journey in copingsringdahl's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Moderate: Ableism, Mental illness, and Death of parent
decklededgess's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This was such a spectacular start to the series. It's one of the few genuine hate to love/enemies to lovers I've read that has actually pulled off a short "enemies" period without compromising the trope at all.
Willa and Ryder were such spectacular leads. I loved the learning curve for both of them as they start to like each other as people but are still so confused that they're on the verge of murder every time they have a conversation. It's chefs kiss.
Aiden's meddling ass got a great intro here too because I was ready to kill him. It sets him up really well for the third book because Aiden and Freya's marriage problems bleed through a bit here too.
LOVEEEEE
Moderate: Ableism, Cancer, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail