Reviews tagging 'Infertility'

In Five Years by Rebecca Serle

30 reviews

thelovelystars's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer and Terminal illness

Moderate: Toxic friendship, Death, Infertility, Grief, and Toxic relationship

expecto_padronum's review against another edition

emotional fast-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

3.75

This was not at all what I was expecting, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I was shook that the protagonist was so toxic -  Rory Gilmore level of terrible friend and girlfriend - and the constant cringiness of her choices knocked the rating down a little for me. I wonder if the author intended for readers to dislike Danielle as much as I did. That being said, I was hooked and I devoured this book in 2 days so points for that + the unique premise. I’ll go on a rant with spoilers but at the end of the day, this book is a reminder that characters don’t need to be likeable for a story to be interesting and thought provoking. 

Spoiler

your best friend is literally DYING and she gifts you a whole apartment, personally decorated, and you repay her by…. Kissing her fiancé?!?!? Wtf!!! And when her best friend was diagnosed with cancer she called her weak and said she couldn’t handle it!! I repeat: wtf!!!! I was cheering for David when he finally broke up with her AND kicked her out of the apartment. Should’ve done it 3 years earlier but better late than never Dave. Her re-proposing to you and then only wanting you to finish her off instead of having a mutual intimate moment was a big fat red flag (waving proudly among many other giant red flags from this woman). And I know Rebecca Serle didn’t invent the concept of the  best friend + boyfriend hooking up after the funeral, but good lord I hate that trope. So uncomfy.  Lastly, I found some of the details in the premonition scene to be a bit of a stretch to make us think she and Aaron were together. I personally probably wouldn’t wear my best friend’s engagement ring after she died. I also find it hard to believe that Aaron left sweatpants at her apartment from when he was working on it… in a drawer… after she’s been living there for weeks…. Oh well.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer and Death

Minor: Infertility and Infidelity

ylba's review

dark reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

0.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Medical content, Grief, Infertility, Medical trauma, Terminal illness, Miscarriage, and Pregnancy

heather_sassenach's review

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer

Moderate: Death and Grief

Minor: Infertility

xxjenadanxx's review

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Grief, Medical content, Pregnancy, Terminal illness, Infertility, and Cancer

lqvekanej's review

emotional sad fast-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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Abandonment, and Cancer

Moderate: Alcohol, Death, and Infertility

theonlybaillie's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.25

The friendship in this book made me cry. It's just so strong and fierce. I don't know how I feel about certain plot points, but overall I enjoyed this one!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Cancer, Death, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Medical content, Sexual content, and Pregnancy

Minor: Toxic relationship, Miscarriage, Alcohol, Abandonment, Infertility, and Vomit

carys_roberson's review

emotional reflective sad fast-paced

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

3.0

I honestly don't know how to feel about this book. It was a quick read; I ended up finishing it in a day. I was not super invested in the story to begin with, but I found myself wanting to keep reading for some reason. Dannie and David were just not compelling characters, and it felt like we were going in circles with their relationship for the entire novel with hardly anything of interest happening to them; I'm aware that this was the point, but it just became tedious to read after a while. I feel like even more could have been done to build up the tension and unspoken understanding between the two. For me, Dannie was wanting as a protagonist. She was really just a workaholic who had trouble being honest with herself and David. However, I really loved Bella. I felt that Serle portrayed friends who are soulmates very well, and it was refreshing to read a love story about a loving platonic relationship. I honestly could have done with even more scenes early on in the book with Bella and Dannie and less with David.

Spoiler

I am not usually one to cry at books or movies, but Bella's death had me quite emotional.

Aaron was okay, but the way he was written did not strike me as really suiting the role that he was supposed to play in Dannie's life. The very end of the book is what really brought the rating down for me. I liked reading the five years scene with context, but other than that, the last few pages were rushed and not a satisfying end to the story. All in all, this book was a good, quick read for a rainy day at home.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Cancer, Terminal illness, Infertility, and Medical content

Moderate: Sexual content, Cursing, and Car accident

ashlikes's review

emotional reflective 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? No

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Cancer, Chronic illness, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Grief, Medical content, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Pregnancy, Infertility, Infidelity, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Vomit

Minor: Car accident, Antisemitism, Classism, Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, and Abortion

redhothabanero's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cancer, Death, Grief, Infertility, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, and Terminal illness