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kshaw's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Child death, Death, Gun violence, and Medical trauma
discoveringdee's review
emotional
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
Content Warnings for: loss of loved ones, gun violence, short mention of cheating towards the end (not involving either of the pain characters).
I don’t know what to rate this book; overall I really liked the vibe of the story, small cozy town, wanting to escape & find yourself while also finding community- all that I enjoyed.
The romance, if that - not so much. Kyle & Ben have this witty banter about themselves that is cute/nice but it gives me more friend vibes than lovers. Which makes sense bc we didn’t spend much time with their romantic relationship as they had their own traumas/past pains to deal with, so the story was more so centered around that than their romance (if that).
But overall I enjoyed the story, but is it something that I would want to re-read? Probably not.
I don’t know what to rate this book; overall I really liked the vibe of the story, small cozy town, wanting to escape & find yourself while also finding community- all that I enjoyed.
The romance, if that - not so much. Kyle & Ben have this witty banter about themselves that is cute/nice but it gives me more friend vibes than lovers. Which makes sense bc we didn’t spend much time with their romantic relationship as they had their own traumas/past pains to deal with, so the story was more so centered around that than their romance (if that).
But overall I enjoyed the story, but is it something that I would want to re-read? Probably not.
Content Warnings
Minor: Death and Grief
readingwithtrey's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
I never would have known or heard about this book if it weren’t for booksta. And y’all, I would have been missing out! I didn’t know what to expect going in since there wasn’t much of a description for it. But it was such a heartbreaking and beautiful story. I will say, Ben started out as a real piece of work😅. I can’t wait to check out the next book in this series!
Here are a few things to note:
- MCs: Ben & Kyle
- Second chance love
- Double POVs (my favorite)
- Sunny vs Grumpy (VERY heavy on the grumpy)
- Enemies to lovers
- Small town romance
- SPICY spicy
- PLEASE check content warnings for this one. There was one thing that I didn’t see coming and wished I had known beforehand to mentally prepare.
{ favorite quotes }
This moment right here, was everything the last several months had been leading up to you. Hurting, but still able to laugh through it. Exhausted, but ready to see what was next. Grieving… But finally able to see the possibility of something else on the horizon.
“It wasn’t stupid. It was… grief. It’s a complex thing.”
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Toxic relationship, Cursing, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, and Grief
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
risseandshine's review against another edition
fast-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
4.0
CCJ is becoming my go-to author when I have no idea what to read next. And sure enough, this book did not disappoint.
This was an emotional story between two people battling grief thus deciding to put romance on the back burner. They agree to keep it casual only to find that they were actually finding comfort in each other and falling in love in the process.
I don't usually gravitate towards books with the "let's keep it casual/physical" trope but somehow, that worked for this particular story. I think it's because it was palpable that the hero and heroine had a connection that went beyond the physical even before they realized that themselves. I loved reading the banter from the enemies-to-lovers aspect of this book. I also loved that this book showed them having slip ups in the relationship and them learning how to admit their mistake and apologizing.
And of course, the steam. Top tier quality right here. I need not say more.
I'm definitely moving on to the next book in the series and most definitely looking at more of CCJ's backlist!
This was an emotional story between two people battling grief thus deciding to put romance on the back burner. They agree to keep it casual only to find that they were actually finding comfort in each other and falling in love in the process.
I don't usually gravitate towards books with the "let's keep it casual/physical" trope but somehow, that worked for this particular story. I think it's because it was palpable that the hero and heroine had a connection that went beyond the physical even before they realized that themselves. I loved reading the banter from the enemies-to-lovers aspect of this book. I also loved that this book showed them having slip ups in the relationship and them learning how to admit their mistake and apologizing.
And of course, the steam. Top tier quality right here. I need not say more.
I'm definitely moving on to the next book in the series and most definitely looking at more of CCJ's backlist!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Death, Hate crime, Gun violence, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
nicolewhopickedthisbook's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
TW/CW: Loss of a loved one, child death, Gun violence, school shootings
I loved the tension and chemistry between our two main characters. They were scorching hot! I also didn’t expect to feel so many emotions! Definitely a tear jerker.
#nekkidreadathon prompt: Black Romance with your favorite trope
I loved the tension and chemistry between our two main characters. They were scorching hot! I also didn’t expect to feel so many emotions! Definitely a tear jerker.
#nekkidreadathon prompt: Black Romance with your favorite trope
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Child death, Grief, and Death
malka's review
emotional
hopeful
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Sexual content, Medical content, Death of parent, and Death
Moderate: Mass/school shootings and Gun violence
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