Reviews tagging 'Miscarriage'

The Stand-In by Lily Chu

35 reviews

brittanylee0302's review against another edition

emotional funny fast-paced

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

5.0

When I picked up this book I was looking for a cute rom com palate cleanser & this was not it. Despite that, it was still very good! There are a lot of heavy topics in this book & it has a very sorrowful background story to it. I found this book to be incredibly predictable the whole way through but I still found it very enjoyable! I also listened to the audio & loved the narrator Phillipa Soo.

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finnickdeservedbetter's review

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adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted 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

4.0

For readers who like:

• celebrity romance
• fake identity
• dislike to lovers
• biracial (asian/white) MC
• first gen Canadian MC

The book was like a breathe of fresh air. I was kinda putting it off in favour of other books but I wish I hadn't. The characters are ao well-rounded and dimensional. They had flaws of course but I could relate to each one and honestly, see myself being friends with any of them.

This touched on a few big topics (like identity- being biracial and the child of an immigrant, mental health, and sexual harrassment to name a few) but all in a very accessible and approachable way.

The only reason I didn't give it 5☆ is the unnecessary (isn't it always?)

third act breakup paired with miscommunication 🤢

.

Other than that tho, I really enjoyed this book and got through it all in one sitting. This is my first book by Lily Chu but it definitely won't be my last.

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emfass's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted 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

4.5

Philippa Soo is DELIGHTFUL as the narrator. Lily Chu's writing is so entertaining, fresh, invigorating, and just so so good. The dialogue sparkles.

This was a closed-door romance which I usually do not go in for (personal preference only, happy for those that like it/don't mind it!), but the writing was so freaking great.

I had some issues with parts of the plot

(how one-dimensional the sexually harassing boss was, the mother leaving her daughter in another country and never ever being in touch, I mean UGH)

, but overall really enjoyed this book.

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tea_rea's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny inspiring lighthearted reflective 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

4.75

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airs21's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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lara_r's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted 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? It's complicated

4.5

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shaykay's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted 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

4.5

I got the Stand-In as one of my birthday presents last summer, and I finally got to pick it up. It was a fun book where these two women switch places. One gets to live a famous life while the other takes a break. However, it took some serious undertones pretty early on in the book. We see them struggle with dementia, depression, and workplace harassment. I want to read more books by Chu, and this book and her newest one are both in the plan that's included with Audible membership.

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syazahaniss's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective 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

2.0

Kinda boring in that I barely felt any emotions while reading it. Besides a sense of solidarity when it came to Fangli’s mental health issues and the minor shock I felt for that one plot twist near the end, I read the rest of the story with a rather straight face. There was no chemistry between Gracie and Sam, and the “friendship” between her and Anjali also felt kind of off since the author kept mentioning that don’t do a lot of things supposed best friends do. I even merely skimmed through the backstory about Fangli and Gracie even though I was very curious.

Maybe this negative review was on me since I picked this book up, knowing full well I don’t like reading unrealistic stories between real people and celebrities.

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sdupont's review against another edition

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emotional 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

3.75

This was a solid book. I feel like the romance took the back burner for most of the story. This slow burn didn’t really take flight until maybe 2/3 of the way in.The pacing for this book was quite slow, it would have benefitted from a faster pace and slightly shorter length. Often I found myself thinking I’ve read so much of this book but not much has happened. I liked Gracie, Sam, and Fangli. They were all characters you could relate to in some way. This book focuses a lot on Gracie’s internal thoughts and growth which leads to less of a romance feel and more of a contemporary fiction feel. I would still recommend this book though.

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readsbyti's review against another edition

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lighthearted fast-paced

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

3.0

Second audiobook of the year, narrated by the fabulous Philippa Soo great voice acting, great development between Gracie and Sam. The butterflies I got from his flirting? wow. Girly could've avoid a lot by simply talking to people instead of trying to fix things alone or running away. The plot twist of Wei Fangli being Gracies older half sister = mind blown. I would've gladly accepted doppleganers then I thought oh maybe separated twins. I liked the moments we saw Gracie and Fangli interacting outside of speaking about the deal they were so cute bonding .

That being said whilst Gracie was funny there was something that fell flat with her for me, she seemed extremely isolated (despite her speaking with Anjali) and didn't seem to take much initiative in her own life, sort of brushed things aside in fear of failure.

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