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lmjohnson6's review against another edition
5.0
Beautiful and sad and heartwarming all at once. Can’t recommend it enough!
tecantwell's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
amartell's review against another edition
4.0
This was my first Lacour book for me, and I gotta say she has absolutely captured me with her writing. Everything flows beautifully and I loved her characters as if they were my own friends. It was a bit hard to get into at first; I want prepared for the jumping of povs and we were introduced to a lot of characters at once. But despite that, I’m so happy I stuck with it.
I’ve seen a few criticizing the fact that it was very “insta-love”, and I would agree. But I would also say there was so much plot and story that I honestly think if you’re reading this strictly as a romance, you are doing this book a disservice. Personally, as someone who reads lots from the romance genre, it’s important to differentiate between romance books versus books that have romance in them. In romance books, it’s the love and relationship that drives the plot. But there’s so much plot here outside of the two characters, and if you’re only focusing only on their journey as a couple, you’re missing so much more of their journey as individuals.
I’ve seen a few criticizing the fact that it was very “insta-love”, and I would agree. But I would also say there was so much plot and story that I honestly think if you’re reading this strictly as a romance, you are doing this book a disservice. Personally, as someone who reads lots from the romance genre, it’s important to differentiate between romance books versus books that have romance in them. In romance books, it’s the love and relationship that drives the plot. But there’s so much plot here outside of the two characters, and if you’re only focusing only on their journey as a couple, you’re missing so much more of their journey as individuals.
heavenbythesea's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
sad
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.75
I loved both main characters and really cared about their relationships with their friends and families. unfortunately I didn’t care so much about their relationship with each other. the instant magical connection + sara being like “having sex with you is great because it reminds me of my dead girlfriend”?? I get that it’s supposed to be about broken people making it work but I just couldn’t. really loved all the rich descriptions of food and drinks and flowers and beautiful renovated houses by the beach though. a great book to read in the frozen depths of january.
jackiebee's review against another edition
5.0
I was slowly trying to savor this but it was hard to put down.
Now, I live in LA and still appreciated this magical other world of LA she created. Like, it's the same but not the same? It's hard to explain, maybe it's her writing that makes the book LA see a bit more beautiful.
And honestly, feels like not much has changed from her YA to her adult book other than the characters are now adults. But, she was one of those writers before handling heavy issues in YA, so guess that shouldn't be a surprise. So yeah, it can be a dark book. But the writing is gorgeous as always, that now I want to discover a hip restaurant in LA called Yerba Buena with a killer cocktail list as if I don't already have 3 of those in my rotation already.
Now, I live in LA and still appreciated this magical other world of LA she created. Like, it's the same but not the same? It's hard to explain, maybe it's her writing that makes the book LA see a bit more beautiful.
And honestly, feels like not much has changed from her YA to her adult book other than the characters are now adults. But, she was one of those writers before handling heavy issues in YA, so guess that shouldn't be a surprise. So yeah, it can be a dark book. But the writing is gorgeous as always, that now I want to discover a hip restaurant in LA called Yerba Buena with a killer cocktail list as if I don't already have 3 of those in my rotation already.
tmattimore's review against another edition
3.0
It took me a while to get into this one and for the story to build momentum. I liked it but I didn’t love it. The author does a really good job building layers in her descriptions especially with food/drinks which drew me in.
tanializz_p's review against another edition
4.0
Great read! Overall it had more suspense then I was expecting! However, I do wish it would have opened up the story line overall since it was years accumulated in a short reading.
kyrahgt's review against another edition
3.0
Eh. I’m not the biggest fan of alternating story lines. There were a lot of plot lines and moving parts and I didn’t feel satisfied by how they were all wrapped up. Also I thought this would be more romance and it’s not really. Which is fine, just not what I was anticipating.
Also, I just need to comment on the fact that sooo many of the gay lit fic books I’ve been reading have had main characters that are the affair partners of married people. Like what is up with that?
Also, I just need to comment on the fact that sooo many of the gay lit fic books I’ve been reading have had main characters that are the affair partners of married people. Like what is up with that?
eaholla's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0