Reviews with content warning for Grief - You, Again

Reviews tagging 'Grief'

You, Again by Kate Goldbeck

17 reviews

twistykris's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-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

4.75

This was a super sweet, funny When Harry Met Sally retelling. I liked all of the characters, even at their lowest points. I felt like the development of Ari and Josh was particularly interesting, especially as we get both of their perspectives (3rd person) and I can truly appreciate how both Ari and Josh are both flawed characters and deal with their own interpersonal struggles. The hate-at-first-sight to kinda-friends to oh-wait-are-we-lovers banter was fantastic!

I find the miscommunication trope frustrating, BUT given it's at a time when Ari is incredibly vulnerable, I do feel like it served its purpose here. And at a certain point it felt like Ari's character redemption arc dragged on just a liiittle bit too long for my taste.

Content Warnings

quasinaut's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This book had its moments but overall I found the characters (particularly Josh and his sister, Briar) to be unlikable. It was actually really lovely to see Josh and Ari become friends while they were at their worst, when they needed someone they could be sad with. Other than that, a lot of their dynamic was frustrating and weirdly antagonistic, especially when that antagonism came from brief interactions with large time jumps in between.

Content Warnings

lyndzyrenee's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional medium-paced

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

2.75

Regarding the book - It was a enemies to friends to lovers plot. It did what it was planning to do. I did love the time jumps and path crossing aspects of the plot, so once the main couple was friends and actually hanging out together, the story slowed for me. I really lose interest when the third act conflict hit,

it deals with one of the leads having commitment issues

.

MY BONE TO PICK is with anyone that claimed this book was like Gilmore Girls! As someone who is currently rewatching the show, this book DOESN'T have GG vibes. Honestly, it doesn't have much atmosphere and the side characters are left out quite a bit. Which for me is the main reason I'd pick up a book that is described as Gilmore Girl like.

Overall, it was a romance novel. Nothing wowing or bad. I do need to stop picking up long romance novels. I wanna be able to read my romances in one day. I would read from her again.

Content Warnings

kirareadssometimes's review against another edition

Go to review page

funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

When I heard that this would be a great book for fans on when harry met sally I was anticipating that the book would have the same vibe as the movie and similar main characters. This book is actually a story where about 1/2 of it seems to come directly from the movie. There was clearly an attempt at making the original movie characters more diverse, which in this case meant the FMC was bisexual and open to both monogamy and polyamory. A great choice but the way it was written in felt very pointed. It felt like it came up more than it needed to; that’s just her life, doesn’t need a constant spotlight. The secondary characters were the only other diverse characters. The MMC made emotional progress but felt like we didn’t get to see him overcome his work issues in a meaningful way. I also don’t feel like we saw the FMC make any emotional progress. She was lonely, came home and realized she was in love.
This books was still quite engaging with great banter and a fun friendship aspect. Mostly feel like the recs I saw were misleading.

Content Warnings

samchase112's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional lighthearted fast-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? Yes

3.5

These people are kinda (well, not kinda) the worst, but… I still liked watching them find each other? Sort of? They have some serious issues, and we see them (sort of) work it all out throughout the book, leaning on each other as they've never leaned on others for one reason or another. But the problem remains: They're pretty deplorable. Glad they got their happy ending, and it's not Josh and Ari's fault they're terrible people, but… oh wait. It is. Books about awful people aren't necessarily doomed to failure, but it does highlight the worst parts of them, and in this case, just made me want to rewatch When Harry Met Sally :) Not a complete disappointment of a romance! Which is pretty good given the expectations I had via other reviews.

Oh, and Ari seriously needs to find a personality or hobby or whatever beyond simply sex.

Content Warnings

mari1532's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective relaxing sad tense fast-paced

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

3.75

I decided to read this book because it has been marketed as a modern take on When Harry Met Sally a movie that I have loved since I was a child. So, I checked this audiobook out of my library.

Summary: Ari is a commitment phobe with aspirations of making it as a stand-up comedian. Josh is a hopeless romantic trying to make a name for himself as a world-renowned chief. They meet because Josh is hoping to make Ari's roommate-with-benefits his girlfriend. After their meet-not-so-cute, they try and navigate being polar opposites the world seems determined to stick together.

Thoughts: Usually, I like to give ratings that are either a full point or half a point because that makes more sense in my brain, but I found this book hard to rate. I really enjoy the nods to the source material and the writing was captivating enough that I devoured this audiobook in a single sitting. However, when the book was over I did not leave with that warm feeling I usually get at the end of a romance novel. I think this is because I did not leave the book believing that the two characters would live happily ever after. The most annoying thing is that I cannot pinpoint exactly why I feel that way.

I really enjoyed the ways that Goldbeck modernized the story and made the repeated meetings a bit more outlandish. There were several times throughout the book I laughed really hard. However, I really found Ari hard to understand as a character. Her character arc was beautiful throughout the story and I would argue does include some growth on her part, but her relationship history was a bit difficult to understand in some ways. At the beginning of the book she is 100% against relationships, but throughout the book her opinions on this change, but it doesn't feel like these changes were because she grew as a person. I find it very hard to articulate, but it felt a bit like halfway through the book Ari had a factory reset on her relationship settings. That being said, Goldbeck's writing made it easy to empathize with Ari in certain moments and there is one particular moment when even though there were barely any words on the page I knew exactly how she was feeling.

I liked Josh less, in fact, he may have been my least favourite character in the whole book. Again, Goldbeck had a way of really making me understand him as a character on the page in some moments, but if he were a real person I don't think we would be friends.

This is not a bad book. I did not put it down. There were instances that I even enjoyed. However, I am very ambivalent about the characters and the story in this book. It is a good weekend read if you are looking for something entertaining but not requiring heavy investment.

Content Warnings