twistykris's review against another edition
- 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
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.
Graphic: Sexual content, Drug use, and Alcohol
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Grief, and Death of parent
quasinaut's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Alcohol
Minor: Grief and Death of parent
lyndzyrenee's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
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.
Graphic: Sexual content
Minor: Grief
kirareadssometimes's review against another edition
- 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
This books was still quite engaging with great banter and a fun friendship aspect. Mostly feel like the recs I saw were misleading.
Graphic: Grief, Infidelity, Gaslighting, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship
samchase112's review against another edition
- 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
Oh, and Ari seriously needs to find a personality or hobby or whatever beyond simply sex.
Graphic: Sexual content and Alcohol
Moderate: Mental illness, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, and Grief
Minor: Abandonment
mari1532's review against another edition
- 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
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.
Graphic: Gaslighting, Classism, Death of parent, Grief, Infidelity, Misogyny, and Sexual content
immovabletype'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: Alcohol, Cursing, and Sexual content
Moderate: Death of parent, Grief, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Drug use
nerdylari'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? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Death of parent
aqtbenz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Grief, Drug use, Sexual content, and Infidelity
hazelgirl21'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
4.0
Moderate: Death of parent, Sexual content, and Grief