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abicaro17's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Addiction, Body shaming, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
lauraelovesbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Grief and Death of parent
Minor: Addiction, Sexual content, and Suicide
n_malin_p's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Grief, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Suicide, Vomit, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
hapalyn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Read for:
-Minor character crossovers! (Kulti, The Wall of Winnipeg and Me, and Under Locke) it was cute to see Sal/Reiner, Vanessa/Adrien, and the brief brief mention of Iris/Dex!
-Slowwww burn (of course)
-Single mom
-Mexican rep
Bonuses I loved:
-No 3rd act breakup!!!!!!! Mariana is alwaaaays amazing at having realistic conflict without a ton of miscommunication and ridiculous breakups <33!! Loved the lack of drama in this book.
The relationship between these characters was fleshed out so so well and the kids surprisingly were also super fun and enjoyable to read about (as someone who hates pregnancy tropes and stuff! there's no pregnancy trope aside from epilogue). If you can enjoy a slow 400+ pages of relationship building then this book is 100% for you! If you hate long romances, this isn't going to be for you (and I'd recommend Devney Perry's work instead). However, this book is worth the 400+ :)! So so enjoyable.
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Racism, and Death of parent
Moderate: Sexual content, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Bullying, Physical abuse, and Pregnancy
luchikreads's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Cursing, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Physical abuse, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Injury/Injury detail
🌶️🌶️🌶️emilyfrenchie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Death, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Sexual content and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
apolen's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Violence, Grief, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, and Death of parent
Minor: Drug abuse, Drug use, Physical abuse, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, and Abandonment
smuttymcbookface's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Violence, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Racism and Suicide
amanda_reads13's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Diane is a 29 year old hairstylist who is raising her two nephews (5&10). Her little family has endured so much and she is doing everything she can to give her boys the best life possible. When they move into a new house, she meets Dallas, a 41 year old retired from the navy. Not only is he her neighbor, but he also becomes her oldest nephew's baseball coach. As their friendship flourishes, so do their feelings for each other.
Diane is so incredibly strong and determined. She has taken on such a huge responsibility in raising her 2 nephews and will do anything for them. She is fierce, speaks her mind, and loves her family more than anything. Her boys are her whole world and she will fight anyone who tries to hurt them. As much as she worries and stresses about not being a good enough guardian for them, she is raising some incredibly smart and sensitive boys. Her relationship with them comes first and is more important than anything else in her life. She is very hesitant to let anyone in due to her past truama and the fear of her boys being hurt.
Dallas is grumpy and a bit closed off, but as he warms up to Diane, we see that there is so much more to him. He is generous, protective, and so caring. He takes care of his grandmother and even takes in his asshole brother. He loves Diane and her boys so fiercely and wants nothing more than to take care of them. He takes his time and truly gets to know her. He is honest and open with her. He takes a while to tell her how he feels, but he shows it in everything he does throughout their entire friendship.
I love that we get a peek into the characters from Kulti and Wall of Winnipeg. Vanessa is Diane's best friend and Sal is her cousin. I also really liked all the side characters.
Yes, it is a SLOW burn, but I love how much we get to see their relationship grows and their feelings develop. Their relationship develops slowly, but it makes sense considering their respective backgrounds. Neither would jump into something quickly, it wouldn't make sense for their characters.
That epilogue... Perfect ending.
My only issue is that I think that large age gap wasn't necessary, 12 years is a pretty big gap.
Tropes: slow burn, age gap, grumpy/sunshine, single parent
Graphic: Sexual content, Grief, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Moderate: Toxic relationship
Minor: Domestic abuse and Suicide
caitmitt's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Sexual content