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zombiezami's review against another edition
3.5
Graphic: Bullying
Moderate: Cursing, Stalking, and Abandonment
Minor: Death, Blood, Medical content, Car accident, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
breedawnwriter's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The characters were great, it has my favorite trope of childhood-best-friends-to-lovers, and it features a hot kpop idol. Basically a book made for međź‘€
I have no complaints, and I love pretty much everything about this book.
Graphic: Bullying, Emotional abuse, and Abandonment
Moderate: Body shaming, Cursing, Medical content, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Eating disorder and Death of parent
delandjessica's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
“Another Cinderella Story” meets “Wish Dragon,” this book is basically a Korean Hallmark romance story, only instead of a prince, the male lead is in an imaginary, super famous K-pop band suspiciously similar to BTS. So if you don’t like corny Hallmark movies, then this book definitely isn’t for you. But other than me hating that the male lead Robbie is weirdly given the occasional chapter in third person perspective (most of the book is in first person through Elena’s POV) that completely ruins the biggest reveal in the book since the reader already knows the whole thing pretty early on, I quite enjoyed this book. It hits all the plot points and beats you’d expect from a light romance, and everything turns out right in the end even though I don’t personally agree that the characters would be so forgiving of certain events.
Where this book lost points with me is in Elena’s character. She’s super whiny and pessimistic all the time and causes most of her own problems by being just the worst at reading/interacting with other human beings, including her own family members. A bunch of characters do ultimately call her out on this at the end, which I appreciated, but it doesn’t make her any less annoying or pathetic throughout. I also thought it was silly that the major relationship misunderstanding that has to happen in these kinds of stories 1. the reader already knows about from the weird aforementioned Robbie chapters, and 2. would have easily been avoided if either Robbie or Elena had any people skills and thought to trust each other enough to talk about their problems/situations candidly. They do discuss why they’re like this at one point, but the explanations felt unrealistic to me, though I understand that these kinds of misunderstandings caused by lack of communication/trust are the bread and butter trope of these kinds of stories. So it’s not unexpected.
Anyway, I did enjoy reading this book, though I found it fairly predictable given its strict adherence to the standard playbook of a Hallmark-style romance story. I also enjoyed the lack of serious language and a clean romance that was based on real connections and an understanding of who the other person is rather than pure physical attraction. This author has a way of keeping you reading despite the less desirable elements in this book, and I look forward to seeing what else they have to offer in the future.
Graphic: Bullying and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Grief and Abandonment
Minor: Body shaming, Cursing, Eating disorder, Blood, Medical content, Car accident, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
emaretea's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
Graphic: Bullying and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Sexism, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Medical content
booksbyantheia's review
- 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
3.75
(Reseña en construcción)
Minor: Bullying, Eating disorder, Medical content, Car accident, Death of parent, and Toxic friendship
Descriptions of food, low self-esteem, family issues.sunsetcity's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Eating disorder, Medical content, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, and Gaslighting
sailormegan's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Moderate: Eating disorder, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, and Death of parent
Minor: Body shaming, Bullying, and Blood