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deidra_shadetreereads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
OK so there are a few CWs that I should mention right off the top: on page domestic violence, drunk driving, outdated language/dialogue that's super cringy, death of parent, abortion. The dialogue part I've been mentioning on my updates and some of it did take me out of the story...I can't even lie. Overall though, I enjoyed reading this again! Dickey's writing still hits different and I look forward to continuing working my way through his catalog again.
About this book, Friends and Lovers though! It follows 4 people, Shelby, Debra, Leonard and Tyrel and takes us through their journey of meeting and falling in love. I can see where there is some debate as to whether or not EJD's books are actually romance. But I feel confident in saying that this particular one is definitely a romance...Black love at that. The main characters definitely have lives and other stuff going on. For example, Leonard is a comedian and we get to see some of the behind the scenes elements of the making of his career. Yet that's secondary to the overall theme of the book. It's mostly set in Los Angeles in the time of pagers, pay phones and Oprah. And though I've never been to LA, I feel like I knew exactly where everything was going on...you know? I also felt like I knew these characters! They felt real whether I liked them or not...lol looking at you Shelby. I didn't dislike her per se. I just didn't understand some of her choices.
Anyway, I don't wanna give y'all much more for fear of spoilers. I'm pretty sure teenage Deidra gave this 5 stars. Older me had to take off a star for the language I've already talked about. The audiobook from Recorded Books that I borrowed from hoopla was good! 3 narrators really brought this novel to life!
About this book, Friends and Lovers though! It follows 4 people, Shelby, Debra, Leonard and Tyrel and takes us through their journey of meeting and falling in love. I can see where there is some debate as to whether or not EJD's books are actually romance. But I feel confident in saying that this particular one is definitely a romance...Black love at that. The main characters definitely have lives and other stuff going on. For example, Leonard is a comedian and we get to see some of the behind the scenes elements of the making of his career. Yet that's secondary to the overall theme of the book. It's mostly set in Los Angeles in the time of pagers, pay phones and Oprah. And though I've never been to LA, I feel like I knew exactly where everything was going on...you know? I also felt like I knew these characters! They felt real whether I liked them or not...lol looking at you Shelby. I didn't dislike her per se. I just didn't understand some of her choices.
Anyway, I don't wanna give y'all much more for fear of spoilers. I'm pretty sure teenage Deidra gave this 5 stars. Older me had to take off a star for the language I've already talked about. The audiobook from Recorded Books that I borrowed from hoopla was good! 3 narrators really brought this novel to life!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Death, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Racism and Abortion