Reviews with content warning for Car accident - My Oxford Year

It’s beautiful — the writing and characters are lovely, and the English academic setting is vivid painted and lovingly rendered. It is definitely not my favorite type of romance novel: so unbelievably dark with the terminal diagnosis thread running throughout, HEA notwithstanding; so I am definitely NOT likely to try the comps of Jojo Moyes and Nicholas Sparks that the blurb mentions. But if a more heart-wrenchy romance is for you it’s a good one! For me when I read romance I just truly want something that feels more constant in the hopefulness and okayness (even though I love contemporary romance that has complicated MCs, realistic backstories, et al!). Definitely glad I read this and will read other Julia Whelan — Thanks For Listening was one of my faves when I first was getting into the genre so I will totally look forward to her lighter stuff (and like, that one even has some major trauma in the female MC’s backstory, but it wasn’t so deep in the weeds depressing for as big a chunk as this one). Obviously the audio narration for both novels (by Whelan) is totally gorgeous and perfect!

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marfer20's review

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Despite the fact that I haven’t mainlined a book in ages like I did this, it doesn’t quite make it to 5 full stars for me. Maybe it’s the grown up Fault in Our Stars of it all. Maybe it all felt too rushed (although maybe that was the point!). Still, beautifully written and overall a great read.

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ellenwm's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Julia Whelan is so dang talented!!! Her writing alternates between hilariously relatable to lyrical, profound philosophies on life. A beautiful story of love, grief and found family. Oxford is a beautifully rendered setting and sort of becomes its own character, or at least a muse. I also loved how each chapter started with a snippet of verse or prose from an author that relates to the contents and the characters’ academic pursuits. Best usage I’ve seen for that technique. Be on notice, this one isn’t really a rom com, it’s a story that brings in much more of life’s ups and downs. The result is dimensional characters whose lives are much more than window dressing for their romantic pursuits. Listening to the audiobook narrated by the author was a treat! (Just like with her excellent second novel “Thank you for listening.”)

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evawhite's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

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

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clareasday's review against another edition

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3.0

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alysereadsbooks's review

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emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Love Julia Wehlan’s narration, and the overall academic experience and setting, plus the exploration of father/daughter relationships. Last third of the book felt completely different from the beginning and surprised me.

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sadiejericho's review against another edition

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emotional funny sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

I love Julia’s narration and really enjoyed Thank You for Listening. This book was well done. I’m personally not into major medical problems as the focus of romance books (I’d say this barely qualifies as romance if you’re looking for the standard beats, banters, and tropes). Not necessarily a bad thing, just a flag if you’re looking to escape into something light and swoony this isn’t it.

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kimveach's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful informative reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I loved this book. Julia Whelan is one of my favorite narrators, and I also like her writing. The beginning of the book seemed like a typical romance, but it had so much more than that. It was a delightful "listen."

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