Reviews with content warning for Rape - Dear Ava

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Dear Ava by Ilsa Madden-Mills

43 reviews

bribreez's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-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? Yes

5.0

*Look Up Trigger Warnings Before Reading

Ava Harris wasn’t born into a rich family, instead she had a mother who preferred doing drugs, and doing anything necessary to obtain her next fix. Years later, while Ava was attending Camden prep, she had seemingly joined the inner circle of the popular crowd. With a football player boyfriend, Chance, joining the cheer team, and going to her first ever party, it seemed like a harmless night ahead for Ava. Until, Ava woke up disoriented, groggy, bits and pieces of her memory blurred. That night changed Ava’s life forever and it left a scar on her. Fast forward ten months later, Ava was back at Camden prep for her senior year, determined to finish the school year strong and hopeful get into a prestigious university. With the majority of the students treating her horribly, it seemed like everyone was against Ava except for one, a mysterious admirer who wrote Ava letters. The mysterious person wasn’t just an ally, but according to the letter he was a fellow Shark, someone on the football.

Fair warning before reading, please check trigger warnings because this book does talk about heavy topics. From the first chapter, it absolutely broke my heart, and I couldn’t believe what Ava endured. Being back at Camden prep was a big step for Ava, but she also wanted to show everyone that nothing could tear her down, that nothing was comparable to the pain she endured that night. With most if not all the student being rich, it was a clear distinction that most of the students looked down on Ava and saw her as a snitch. The way the students were treating Ava was unfair and made me angry for her, like I was wanting to throw my fists at anyone who wanted to mess with Ava! (Sigh) that part frustrated me especially with the implication that everything that Ava reported was a lie, umm hello she wasn’t lying!! Anyways, Ava had to deal with some nasty people and to top it all off, she had to deal with Know Grayson, the quarterback and popular guy at Camden Prep.

I’m so glad the story was told through both Knox’s and Ava’s perspectives. Having Ava’s perspective on everything was vital since it was centered on her and what she had gone through, but with Knox’s perspective, it gave more depth to some lingering questions I had while reading. For instance, in Knox’s chapters, it highlighted how much Knox secretly wanted Ava, and despite his hot and cold behavior towards her, little things he said or did for Ava revealed he wasn’t a bad guy like Ava had originally thought. Plus with the flashbacks between Ava and Knox, it further revealed that there had always been something brewing between the two of them *ahem the bathroom scene for starters (IYKYK!). Knox was the type of guy who stood up for Ava regardless of who he was with or where he was such as, when he punched Liam in the face during practice and THREATENED HIM IF HE BROUGHT UP OR MESSED WITH AVA! CAN WE SAY…PROTECTIVE MUCH?! Umm yessss we can! THAT’S RIGHT KNOX! PROTECT AVA AT ALL COSTS!

Speaking of romance, I couldn’t help, but love the way Ava and Knox were together! Ava and Knox had something brewing, and the more they spent time whether it was for their homework assignment or happening to be in the same place, the chemistry and connection was there! Again, I LOVED reading Knox’s P.O.V. Because it was clear just how much he wanted/liked Ava so much. Knox was so protective over Ava that it was heartwarming to see especially after what she went through previously. Knox was a tough cookie to crack, but underneath all that tough exterior, he was simply in love with Ava and went above and beyond to not only make her happy, but to help her in anyway possible. Plus, with all the gestures that Knox did for Ava, I mean come on, it was both romantic and heartfelt that spoke volumes about how much Ava meant to him.

THIS WAS SUCH AN AMAZING STORY! Despite the heavy topics surrounding the plot and were discussed, it was still a heartfelt and loving story. Ava was faced with such a horrible experience and the pain from it never left her, but she was able to move forward day by day, taking in the positives of her life. Knox also had his share of grief and sadness he dealt with throughout the story, but the good thing that both Knox and Ava had were the support and love from their friends and family. The meaning behind the title was such a significant and loving moment, totally had me feeling sentimental. I absolutely was caught off guard towards the end, and once I started connecting the dots, I was floored, gasped at the realization which was so freaking amazing! That being said, the ending, and the two epilogues filled my heart with tons of love, smiles, surprised (in a good way), and some pretty significant details that came full circle for Ava and Knox. Through all the pain and grief, Ava and Knox got their happily ever after, and I’m so overjoyed to see that the love between them was even stronger than in the beginning. Highly recommend this book! LOVED IT!

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baileyt2424's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad fast-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? It's complicated

3.5

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tayangelina's review against another edition

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3.5

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ellielot's review against another edition

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dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

3.25

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romancejunkie's review against another edition

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mysterious sad slow-paced

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

1.0

Welp, I’m mad I finished this book. Especially when I didn’t click with Mills’ storytelling (emphasis on the telling) style. “He said this and then I said that and then he said this and I replied with this other thing and then we walked over here and he opened the door and then we sat down and then he asked me about something dumb and I replied with something even dumber and then we ate our food and then…”

LEGITIMATELY that is how a solid 30% of this book went. Grates on my damn nerves.

Also grating on my nerves is the bait and switch of an “enemies to lovers” where they’re actually not enemies at all. I missed the banter and the fun back and forth. And MY GOD, the amount of ridiculous mean girl shit in this was, well, ridiculous. The pacing was off—the secrets coming out too early and too late. And then the random shit thrown in for no other reason than drama??

Specifically, his dad buying her off to leave and her mom showing up for money. SERIOUSLY. What was the point of her mom???? Absofuckinglutely nothing. And Knox keeping shit from her just to kick off that uncertainty?

Manufactured drama.

And THEN, let’s move forward two years and suddenly both of them are unrecognizable?! HE HAS A SCAR ON HIS FACE and suddenly you don’t know who he is?

This wasn’t a romance. This focused way too fucking much on her assault and finding the attacker, and if as much emphasis had been placed on the actual love story between Ava and Knox, this may have been redeemable. And though I initially rated this two stars, I got more irritated as I wrote this review, so down you go.

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sophiejo_'s review against another edition

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challenging emotional fast-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

5.0

[ spoilers at the bottom ] y’all THIS BOOK omg i was in a slump and i think this put me back in one 😭😭

i’ve never read romance this well WRITTENNNN i mean maybe i have but it was overwhelmingly good. like knox was making me SWOON and i loved all the characters w my whole heart (esp. tyler and dane and wyatt they deserve hugs omg but esp. dane bc i love him. can i have a sequel about dane pls? pls?)

anyways i’ve realized recently that i can only ADORE a romance when i like both the main characters which makes sense but so frequently a character annoys me. like a bouncy happy girl i want to punch or a guy that’s a dick that i also want to punch. but ava was such a badass omg and knox’s vulnerable side (the best side of any guy character btw) made me want to scream and cry and throw up. soooooo

the very minuscule bad:
• a little too many all caps
• a little too many epilogues (but i can overlook it bc they were soo heartwarming which is surprising bc babies showed up which i usually hâte but i couldnt this time)
• the “plot reveal” was LAME

✨ best non romance quote ✨ “Ignore them. Testosterone-addled morons,” Wyatt murmurs next to me and tosses an arm over my shoulder, and I lean into him, needing reassurance. “Do you have any clue how much I adore you? If you weren’t gay, I’d kiss you.”

⚠️ spoilers ⚠️ but to elaborate, i wanted dean to be the one that did it. it would be sooo well done if he did it but liam made him and maybe drugged him..? or drank him into a stupor..? it’d be difficult to read but that’s how i would write it. by having liam do it (an obvious villain from the start) it felt a little expected and underdeveloped. but i can’t argue too much bc it was still fantastic, i just would’ve written it differently. [ spoilers over ]

tbh if they finished w that plot it would’ve been 6 stars but ig they’ll have to suffer w 5 lmaoo. i NEED to read others by this author bc she wrote the romance so well and full of good lines and angst but not too much sex or pda ugh it was so good. anyways i’ll stop ranting. read the triggers !! but if you can handle it, this book is the most underrated AGHHHJDIRJDK.

⚠️ triggers ⚠️
sexual assault and rape, sexual content, violence, drugs and alcohol abuse, abusive parents and relationships, abandonment, foul language and slurs

Content Warnings