kiingchika's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
After reading the first two books, I was so eager for Quan to have a story of his own. This book, though, was so much more than that. It hit me in ways I wasn’t expecting, and I just love Anna. It was a lot emotionally, but worth it, and important, I think, to acknowledge.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Terminal illness
Moderate: Ableism, Death of parent, Sexual content, and Cancer
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
mariainestb's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Mental illness, Ableism, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Cancer and Suicidal thoughts
angelfireeast24's review against another edition
I thought this was going to be a romance but it's more a heartbreaking story about Anna. There is romance but I can't deal with so much pain right now
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Classism, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Grief, Medical content, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Infidelity, Sexual content, Ableism, Misogyny, and Sexism
teatunesandtales's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-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
5.0
Part fiction, part memoir. Thank you Helen Hoang for writing my story also.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Grief, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Cancer, Classism, Toxic relationship, and Medical content
Trigger Warnings: Caretaker burnout, Autistic burnout.jillkaarlela's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
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
4.0
Taylor Swift songs: “I’m only me when I’m with you”
Age rating: 17+ (3 brief steamy scenes, 1.5/5🌶️)
This was a fairly emotional romance where the fmc has to cope with her autism spectrum diagnosis and unlearning her habits of masking. Please read with care and check the TW. This deals with pretty heavy topics. She has spent her whole life living for other people, doing only what everyone else wants, and it’s eating away at her. I love the journey of her finding the one person who never makes her feel like she has to put on a show. Quan is the one person who sees and loves Ana for her, and the only one who she doesn’t have to “mask” with. Their love is so tender and healing for both of them. I love the “failed” one night stand trope, where they plan to have a one night stand, but can’t seem to let each other go. They hold each other through truly dark times. They are just so perfect for each other!!
The way that Ana’s family treats her makes me want to scream. They always tell her what to do, and treat her with “tough love”, which is actually just bulldozing her wants and needs. It truly hearts my heart. This novel was definitely heavier than Hoang’s other novels, and it wasn’t my favorite, but it was still really great!
“When I realize I’m going south on the 101, I’m not surprised that I’m going straight to her. My compass always points to her.”
TW: emotional abuse, cancer (testicular), ableism, gaslighting, “tough love” very unsupportive family, terminal illness/end of life care, grief, death
Age rating: 17+ (3 brief steamy scenes, 1.5/5🌶️)
This was a fairly emotional romance where the fmc has to cope with her autism spectrum diagnosis and unlearning her habits of masking. Please read with care and check the TW. This deals with pretty heavy topics. She has spent her whole life living for other people, doing only what everyone else wants, and it’s eating away at her. I love the journey of her finding the one person who never makes her feel like she has to put on a show. Quan is the one person who sees and loves Ana for her, and the only one who she doesn’t have to “mask” with. Their love is so tender and healing for both of them. I love the “failed” one night stand trope, where they plan to have a one night stand, but can’t seem to let each other go. They hold each other through truly dark times. They are just so perfect for each other!!
The way that Ana’s family treats her makes me want to scream. They always tell her what to do, and treat her with “tough love”, which is actually just bulldozing her wants and needs. It truly hearts my heart. This novel was definitely heavier than Hoang’s other novels, and it wasn’t my favorite, but it was still really great!
“When I realize I’m going south on the 101, I’m not surprised that I’m going straight to her. My compass always points to her.”
TW: emotional abuse, cancer (testicular), ableism, gaslighting, “tough love” very unsupportive family, terminal illness/end of life care, grief, death
Content Warnings
Moderate: Terminal illness, Emotional abuse, Ableism, Grief, Death of parent, Cancer, and Death
1yn23's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Terminal illness, and Sexual content
marleens's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
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
3.5
This is a tough one to review, because I feel like I went in with the wrong expectations. I wasn’t expecting full-on romcom vibes, but I definitely think that the first 2 books of the series were a lot more lighthearted than this 3rd book. I did absolutely love Anna and Quan, both as separate characters as well as their relationship. Their characters and the romance could have made this a five star read. But the heavy plot was such a big part of the story that it became a very tough read. This is of course a good thing if that was the intention of the author, and I do think she did a great job writing this (and I’m glad I read the author’s note at the end). But this book just made me sad and angry so often, which is not the reading experience I’m looking for in this genre.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Death of parent, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Cancer
Minor: Infertility and Infidelity
saraavowlerr's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
inspiring
medium-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
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Cancer, Cursing, Grief, Death of parent, and Emotional abuse
alisoncummins13's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
I feel the fool because I didn't realize this book was connected to The Kiss Quotient until like halfway through (and also it seems I read this out of order oops). Nonetheless, I devoured this book! It seems I'm a Helen Hoang fan because I tend to read her books really quickly and they keep me super engaged. I loved the honesty of this book and the way Anna was so understandable despite her mistakes was really well-done writing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent