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marygg3'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
I liked it, I totally flew through it and I'm already getting everything prepared for the next one.
This one was a bit more serious though. The difficult aspects of mental health struggles, body image and a toxic relationship with food on one side; alcoholism and toxic coping mechanisms on the other... I liked how Rina Kent went about these issues, never romanticizing them, never skipping over the actual work it takes to heal and always making the character, and not their partner, responsible for their own growth. Xander said it better than me:
I'll heal, like I'm sure you will. I won't fix you and you won't fix me. We’ll just hug each other like we used to do in the past.
And Kim, oh God, my sweet girl is all grown up now. I loved her arc and how much stronger she is now. The importance of asking for help and talking through her feelings was a hard lesson for her, but she made it.
I might be broken, but I’ll pull myself together. I might have fallen, but I’ll get up. There’ll be a day where I look behind and say I survived.
And survive she did, they both did.
Now, the main issue was so convoluted I got really scared for a second there, but everything turned out well and the romance was truly romancing from the get go, so I'm not complaning. Also, it was refreshing to have two main characters that were both virgins; I was starting to get sick of the glorification of FMC virginity.
On to the next one, for I can't wait to see inside our new couple's brains.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Eating disorder, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, and Fatphobia
Minor: Animal death
jessrebound'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? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Self harm, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Body shaming, Child abuse, Blood, Vomit, and Abandonment
Minor: Animal death
chi__'s review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Alcoholism, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Child abuse, Fatphobia, Blood, Medical content, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Incest, and Infidelity
solaris_wintergale's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Eating disorder, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Violence, Vomit, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Minor: Animal death and Incest
_koreen_'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
4.5
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
allory's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, and Suicide attempt
felyn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Also, this one is seriously heavy. Heed the content and trigger warnings.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Blood, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit
Minor: Pregnancy
mrsmonty503's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Nothing will compare to Xander and Kimberly.
I found a lot of myself in Kimberly and she will always be one of my favorite FMC.
I am excited to continue with the world!
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Suicide attempt, and Alcohol
Moderate: Violence, Grief, and Stalking
annica_fourie'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
4.25
Rina Kent did a deep-dive into these characters and made me really love them.
The storyline was interesting while being heartbreaking. It was also lighter in the spice department in the sense of frequency.
Would definitely recommend, BUT CHECK TRIGGER WARNINGS!!!
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Eating disorder, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Vomit, and Abandonment
Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Fatphobia, and Violence
loganswifey's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, and Suicide attempt