Reviews with content warning for Cancer - My Oxford Year

2.5 stars. The first and second halves of this book were at odds with each other- the first half described a shallow, no-strings-attached situationship between a pretentious and emotionally avoidant Oxford student and her pretentious and emotionally avoidant professor, while the second half described two committed partners facing terminal illness together. While there were some beautiful passages and messages in the second half, I had trouble believing that the characters from the beginning could possibly make the leap to become the characters in the second half, because they jumped from having barely any emotional intimacy to being willing to sacrifice everything for each other overnight. It just didn't make sense, and the characters weren't very likable.

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hellokaley's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.5

I love our queen, Julia Whelan and My Oxford Year was a solid OK. I liked the setting quite a bit and enjoyed Ella as a main character. Jamie as the love interest was a bit boring for me but as his character and story got more complex through the middle of the story, I liked him more.

Some of Ella’s back story seemed a little unrealistic which was a hurdle I just had to get over as it’s strewn across the full story.

Overall, I thought it was a nice romance, a lovely narrated audiobook (of course!), but slightly unforgettable overall. Very happy to continue reading Julia Whelan’s library though!

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jamie_rich's review against another edition

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emotional 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? It's complicated

4.25

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fabphryne's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad slow-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

4.5

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madpayne's review against another edition

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emotional reflective relaxing medium-paced

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

5.0

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swisswinnie's review against another edition

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emotional funny relaxing 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? No

3.5

Listen to audiobook!! Accents are amazing.

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aschmitttyy's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

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

3.75

I enjoy Julia Whelan as a narrator and I was hoping to love her as an author, but this book wasn't it for me. It felt like it romanticized the cancer plot line, and there wasn't much to the story outside of the romance. Another ambitious woman who falls for/gives up her dreams for a man.

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troxelm's review against another edition

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emotional funny sad medium-paced

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