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jaxx88'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
4.25
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Misogyny, Medical content, and Gaslighting
Minor: Alcoholism, Bullying, Terminal illness, and Pregnancy
edietz22'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
Graphic: Cancer, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Classism
Minor: Cancer, Chronic illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Classism
katharina90's review against another edition
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
1.5
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Ableism, Alcoholism, and Death of parent
cdoubet'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
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Sexual content, Grief, Death of parent, and Classism
Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Cancer, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Body horror, Drug use, Sexual assault, Blood, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment
amanda_reads13's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexual content, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Minor: Medical trauma and Pregnancy
hiraeth_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
I actually liked the grumpy x sunshine dynamic in the end even though it's obv very cliché. The characters grew on me even though Rowan is a possessive alphahole (to quote SJM) and Zhara felt a little too not-like-other-girls from time to time. I enjoyed their story even though it was very predictable and some of the struggles seemed unreasonable (the 2nd conflict was so unnecessary). You see? It was a nice, quick read which had me cringing more often than i hoped (some really strong wattpad vibes) but was also able to force a little silly smile out of me. If i had been able to fully immerse into the story the backstories might have made me more emotional, but half of the time i couldn't take Rowan and his daddy issues seriously (even though they are obv understandable, but it just felt very stereotypical).
I really like romance novels but i catch myself being hyper aware of red flags every time i pick a book like that up which leads to me not being able to fully enjoy it. I am a huge advocate for the whole "it's not the same! no, but it's not the same!" when it comes to enjoying (romance) books which display things that are questionable. But i need the story to be written very thoughtfully so i'm emotionally invested before cringe or my red-flags-alarm kick in. Often times I wished the author would've chosen to "show, don't tell".
So: A nice read for everyone who can shut their brain up when sth along the lines "i want to own you" or "you don't have a say in this" comes up. Or who can enjoy reading a billionaire romance without rolling their eyes at the amount of unchecked privilege and classism it displays/reproduces.
Otherwise this book got everything you want from christian-grey-like-flexing-with-wealth (v over the top dates which one can only dream of), a little bit of kind-of-forbidden romance over girl turns icy guy into a simp to tragic backstories.
Minor: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Cancer, Cursing, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Grief, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism