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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
jaynovara'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
3.0
Graphic: Cancer and Death of parent
Moderate: Ableism, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Sexual content, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, and Alcohol
amy_in_the_city's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
First, this was trying to be enemies to lovers, but there was no good reason to be enemies in the first place or for them to hold on to their antagonistic relationship for so long. They jumped straight to enemies just because he didn't hear her say one thing and she didn't know he was deaf. Even after she found out that he wasn't deliberately ignoring her, she still considered him a "frenemy" (this word was used way too much). The main characters frequently acted like they were 10 years old, at one point even throwing elbows and pulling ponytails in class.
I especially didn't like Willa. She completely lost me after she
I liked that there was disability rep, with a leading man who is deaf, but I kind of felt like the book treated the deafness as an obstacle to overcome before the romantic relationship really could get going. There was a lot of importance placed on him hearing her voice and on getting him to start speaking again. I do appreciate that the author took feedback from reviews after the book was originally published, made some changes, and released an edited edition to try to fix some of the representation issues, but I think some of the bones of the old issues remain. I am not part of the Deaf community, so I am not an expert on how the representation was handled, but others who are Deaf have posted their reviews, and I encourage people to read those for more insight.
This gets an extra star for Ryder. He's mostly a really great guy, and I really liked him.
I think this book also ruined the word "lumberjack" for me forever. I've reached my lifetime quota and might never want to see the word again.
Graphic: Ableism, Cancer, Death, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Medical content, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Alcohol
Minor: Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Abandonment, and War
vj_thompson's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Cancer, Chronic illness, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Medical content, Grief, and Abandonment
Moderate: Death of parent and Alcohol
Minor: Vomit
dogoodwithbooks'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
4.5
Graphic: Cancer, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Ableism
Minor: Vomit and Abandonment
soulwinds'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? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Grief, Death of parent, and Alcohol
Minor: Vomit, Medical content, and Abandonment
allonsyahhlee'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: Sexual content
Moderate: Cancer and Death of parent
Minor: Vomit, Abandonment, and War
rachelshubin's review
- 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? It's complicated
3.75
I’m interested to read the other Bergman siblings’ stories! But I don’t think I’d read this book again.
Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Graphic: Cancer and Death of parent
Moderate: Vomit and Abandonment
internationalreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Cancer, Sexual content, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Alcohol
galleytrot's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
A bit of context before I get into my review: I do not typically read hetero romances. They don’t tend to do much for me, they’re near-impossible for me to relate to, and they plain and simply tend to bore me. This series was recommended to me more than once based on the amount of representation it’s known for, and for one of the books in particular being queer. I was immediately intrigued, as I am all for people from all walks of life getting their happy-ever-afters. I am mostly interested in reading the fifth book of the series, but I figured it might be a good idea to give the rest of the series a try and expand my horizons a bit.
Graphic: Cancer, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Cursing, Vomit, Medical content, and Alcohol
Minor: Gun violence, War, and Injury/Injury detail