Reviews tagging 'Chronic illness'

Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood

97 reviews

lmy612's review against another edition

lighthearted medium-paced

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

3.0

Not my favourite by Ali Hazelwood and that’s a shame because I was so excited to read this!

MFC, Elsie, is the dumbest smart person out of all of Ali’s novels. She doesn’t speak up for herself. Ever. With anyone. She moulds herself into whoever she thinks the person she’s speaking with wants her to be—dates, her mother, best friend, mentor, coworkers, her students, random people she’s meeting for the first time. This is her personality and I guess her idea of survival mode in academia? But it is cringy to read. 

Elsie and MMC, Jack, have a major height difference which is such a common trope I’m beyond tired of it. She needs to crane her neck to look up at him. She needs to stand on her tippy toes and pull his face towards her to kiss. His pen!s pokes her in the stomach. She’s a small-average height woman and he’s a giant. We get it. 

Elsie’s interactions with her mother felt forced. Phone calls with and memories of mommy dearest are added sporadically throughout the book. Mom calls and expects Elsie to break up fights between her two older brothers—who are  adults. We never meet the mother or the brothers so, even though their  interactions give examples of Elsie putting up with a lot of garbage from a lot of people, they felt like unnecessary characters. 

Elsie and her best friend/roommate have an odd cheese obsession. This is focused on so much it is actually a character trait. Cheese is one of the few things they have in common, but they make it work. 

Elsie does grow throughout the book with Jack’s help. She starts to tell people what she thinks and how she feels which made me proud. One of Elsie‘s dislikes is her best friend ’s taste in movies. But even though Elsie starts voicing her opinions by the end of the book, in the epilogue she’s sitting through yet another movie she doesn’t  want to be watching. Furthermore, the person she’s watching this movie with told her earlier in the book that they would never watch her favourite movies with her ever again. So Elsie is expected to compromise for their tastes, but they won’t compromise their’s for her? Eww. No thank you

The ending was meh for me. It didn’t feel as climatic as it could have been. 

Sorry. This storyline and the characters just really weren’t for me.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Chronic illness, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Misogyny, Abandonment, Acephobia/Arophobia, Death of parent, Medical content, Outing, and Sexism

chasingpages1's review against another edition

emotional funny informative lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Sexual content, Chronic illness, Gaslighting, and Medical content

Moderate: Outing, Death of parent, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Grief, Acephobia/Arophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, and Mental illness

Minor: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Ableism, Classism, Alcohol, Pregnancy, and Drug use

aainym's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Chronic illness, and Sexual content

beesin03's review against another edition

emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective tense 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Chronic illness, and Medical content

Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, Emotional abuse, Bullying, Mental illness, and Gaslighting

Minor: Acephobia/Arophobia, Death of parent, and Outing

beckyremillard'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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Sexual content, and Sexism

Moderate: Death of parent

Minor: Child abuse

notmollie's review against another edition

funny lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Cursing, and Chronic illness

Moderate: Gaslighting

Minor: Abandonment, Acephobia/Arophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Body shaming, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, and Toxic relationship

tarnaflake's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Chronic illness, and Death of parent

sinoclock's review against another edition

funny hopeful lighthearted 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? Yes

5.0

I've read a fair number of Ali Hazelwoods contemporary nerd spicy romance books and this one may be the best of them. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Sexism, Misogyny, and Sexual content

Moderate: Acephobia/Arophobia and Emotional abuse

Minor: Death of parent and Outing

marta_v's review against another edition

4.0

✨ Qué añadir que no hayan dicho el resto de personitas que han leído este libro, sobre todo con lo popular que se ha vuelto la autora jajaja pero bueno, aquí va mi granito de arena

✨ Me ha gustado la manera en la que Jack trata a Elsie, empujándola a ser sincera consigo misma y con sus amigas, familia y resto de conocidos. No creo que Jack haya sido la causa para el empoderamiento de Elsie, ya que eso de que alguien empodera a alguien no me termina de convencer, pero sí que creo que gracias a él, algo en Elsie hizo click.

✨ A pesar de que la miscommunication trope no sea exactamente lo que pasa en el libro, ya que la comunicación es un aspecto importante de la pareja, sí que hay secretos que cuando salen a la luz causan estragos.

✨ No es necesario leerse las novelas anteriores, ya que los personajes de las anteriores no forman parte de la trama de este, a pesar de que sí haya un momento en el que aparezcan (es mínimo, y el no conocerles no cambia la experiencia de la lectura).

✨ No tengo ni idea de física, así que en ese aspecto, en el momento en el que se ponían a hablar de cristales nosequé y de la disputa entre físicos teóricos y experimentales me he perdido un poquito, pero bueno, pasas que cosan.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Chronic illness

callenmecait's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Minor: Chronic illness, Sexism, Emotional abuse, Outing, and Ableism