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ladynavalon's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
brielleborgia's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
🌶🌶🌶.5/5
Oh. My. God. Yes.
✨Enemies to lovers
✨Popular x unpopular
✨Dual POV
✨Pen Pals (through notes)
✨He’s her bully (ish)
✨Juicy secrets - perfect for fans of Gossip Girl or Dynasty
I needed this in my life. I needed Zac, Z, Xavier. **
I was a gone girl when he drove her home the very first time. They weren’t even friends at that point but he saw her walking home and… you know🥹 basically demanded she would be safer getting a ride home with him. Then they were being pulled over by the police and Aveena was having a pure anxiety attack and,✨immediately✨, he was concerned. He held her hand and said she wasn’t alone. He helped her through that entire attack way before the plot thickened. Done deal, take my money!!
I also really fell in love with Aveena. Her character was so lovable from the first chapter. Her humor was perfect and she was the right amount of sarcastic. She was … real.
Her and Xavier are an unlikely couple and we don’t really see Xavier’s side of things for a while so his character is up for assumptions until his POV. I will mention that it’s a slowish burn so you’ll see things truly speed up at the midway point. They were almost toxic in the way that they kept coming together to unfortunately fall apart. They obviously had some previous trauma and you will see how they deal with that. Run away or stay and fight?
Of course the top tier gossip girl, who is *attached AF to Xavier, has my name🤣 ‘Brielle’. I found that hilarious when I first saw it. She was really an evil, conniving, wicked girl.
The book started off pretty slow but I needed this one to work for me so I pushed through. I’m so so glad I did.
There were moments where I felt things didn’t make sense. ❗️❗️TW: SA AND SPOILER❗️❗️
There was a scene where Aveena was almost SA. She wakes up the next day in Xavier’s bed to find out she wasn’t actually SA and Xavier saved her. But in the beginning of that scene she didn’t really seem to care if she was SA??? And then something else happened to the plot in that scene and it suddenly made her forget that even happened to her just the night before. That’s just unrealistic because it was a sudden shift. And then she eventually remembered about it and cried to Xavier, but that scene didn’t sit right with me because it felt entirely overlooked by Aveena, who was the victim. I did not deduct any stars for this because the author brought it back, but I was really reading it in disbelief. I wonder if anyone feels the same.
Also, at one point, I did get annoyed at the consistent thoughts of -this will never work, I need to run- and so the on and off again got old. After the long wait to know who eachother was, it was so back and fourth. Honestly for the rest of the book. But I didn’t deduct stars for this because it made sense to their characters and why that was happening. They were not toxic people.
Please go read this🥹 one of my faves of 2023!
Moderate: Rape
lindslikesbooks's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
•plot•
Anonymous pen pals start confessing their darkest secrets by exchanging letters in a library book. But then Aceeba figures out who she’s been writing to: Xavier. Not only is he the schools star basketball player, he was her childhood bully. But feelings are coming on fast and they agreed to never find out who each other was. So what can she do?
•writing•
No complaints about the flow of the book or anything associated with the writing. I really enjoyed the audible narration. Very mature themes in this book for a YA/NA genre. Some things I did not see coming.
3 🌶
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, and Toxic relationship
idekfeebs'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
4.25
Graphic: Death, Drug use, Rape, Suicide, Death of parent, and Alcohol
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
ell_porritt'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
2.75
Graphic: Drug use, Rape, Suicide, Death of parent, and Alcohol
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Bullying, Domestic abuse, and Fatphobia
lauramparis's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Sexual content and Death of parent
Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, and Drug use
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Physical abuse, Rape, and Sexual assault
lotte5322's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Death of parent, and Abandonment
sabinehunter'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
2.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
marionrosa's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Graphic: Bullying, Sexual content, and Death of parent
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Alcohol
Minor: Blood and Abandonment
anncatherine's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.75
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual assault, and Suicide
Moderate: Drug use, Pedophilia, and Rape