Reviews tagging 'Grief'

My Oxford Year by Julia Whelan

18 reviews

mels_reading_log's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful sad fast-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

This book surprised me by switching halfway through from a comedy about an American’s adventures in Oxford to a romantic tragedy. I loved it, I loved the couple and the friends, I burst out laughing and their very literary conversations and cried through the confessions. I highly recommend this book.

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sofia_marie's review against another edition

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1.0


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amiefw's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful sad medium-paced
  • 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

4.5


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megbooks02's review against another edition

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emotional sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

3.5

“Maybe, once you come to realize that there are no answers, you learn to live with the questions.” 

I have conflicting feelings about My Oxford Year. I didn’t hate it, but I didn’t necessary appreciate the twist that occurred halfway through the story. I think the writing was great, but I struggled with the storyline in the second half of the book.

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kb33's review against another edition

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emotional sad medium-paced
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

4.5

That. Hurt. 

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theespressoedition's review against another edition

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

2.5

I’m so, so sad to say that this book bummed me out!

After reading (and adoring) Thank You for Listening, I picked this up with excitement, wanting to delve into the author's work even more. However, where TYFL brought immense amounts of joy and hope, My Oxford Year was really quite sad and frustrating.

The beginning was really enjoyable! I loved Ella's somewhat chaotic introduction to Oxford and the lifestyle there. Her rag-tag group of friends was fantastic and even the start of her "relationship" with Jamie was filled with humor, awkward moments, and sweetness. Around the halfway point, however, everything took a depressing nosedive.

Jamie’s illness was so miserable, but also felt forced, uncomfortable, and handled somewhat terribly. While I would've anticipated for Ella to be angry about him not telling her sooner, the initial reaction was awful and from there on out, I felt a heaviness to the entire story. There were all of the issues with his father, the really icky feeling of never knowing if he would live or not, and then finally, a very open ending. I’m sure this was meant to provide hope for the reader so they can make the assumption that there was a HEA, but I would’ve just preferred an on-paper HEA rather than one I had to make up for myself.


It all left a bit of a bad taste in my mouth. What could have been a really creative and cute romcom turned into something melancholy and heavy. I walked away from it feeling drained rather than refreshed, which is not what I prefer after reading this kind of book. Definitely not my ideal style, unfortunately.

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rosierosereads's review against another edition

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emotional 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

5.0


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lightn's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful medium-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? No

3.0


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