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chemistryreads's review against another edition
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? It's complicated
3.75
This book is a sweet love story between Gloria and Aldo. It’s second chance romance with various spins throughout the book. Aldo is a wonderful male main character and Gloria has an excellent journey throughout this story. The book drags on a bit too long for my taste and a large portion of that is how much repeating material there is from the first book in the series. The ending and third-act breakup was such a letdown when I felt this book was much better than the first in the series. Overall, it felt a bit forced, but still managed to be a good romance. 3.75⭐️, 3🌶
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Injury/Injury detail
nickypizarro's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
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? It's complicated
3.5
The strength Gloria and Aldo possess. both as individuals and as a couple, is nothing short of admirable.
Gloria is coming out of a 10 yr abusive and toxic relationship but getting back out there so quickly wasn't exactly part of her plan. Hometown hero Aldo has other plans as he's been pining for the girl since high school but not until she's ready. The way he expressed his interest without making her feel uncomfortable was one of my favorite things. He promised a date in 6 months if she'll have him after he's back from deployment. Although an injury cuts his time short on deployment and getting back to the "old" Aldo is harder than it seems. This time it's Gloria who ends up being the hero.
While one of the main things I enjoyed about this book is how easily the plot/storyline interviewed with Pretending You're Mine, I wasn't the biggest fan of how many scenes were repeated. For a good chunk of the book, I thought I was just re-reading the previous book and I would've loved more scenes that weren't in the previous book. As well as lengthening it beyond where the first book ended to get a better look at how things ended after the first book ended. Harper felt like she was given more credit than Gloria with his health and getting him back to being Aldo but it was hard not to love and enjoy these two and their relationship.
Leaning more towards 3.5/5 stars for me
3/5 Twice Level
TWs: Mentions of domestic abuse, physical abuse, war, medical trauma, medical content, injury/injury details, blood, toxic relationship, and sexual assault/rape
While I have received an arc of this book, my thoughts are all my own.
Gloria is coming out of a 10 yr abusive and toxic relationship but getting back out there so quickly wasn't exactly part of her plan. Hometown hero Aldo has other plans as he's been pining for the girl since high school but not until she's ready. The way he expressed his interest without making her feel uncomfortable was one of my favorite things. He promised a date in 6 months if she'll have him after he's back from deployment. Although an injury cuts his time short on deployment and getting back to the "old" Aldo is harder than it seems. This time it's Gloria who ends up being the hero.
While one of the main things I enjoyed about this book is how easily the plot/storyline interviewed with Pretending You're Mine, I wasn't the biggest fan of how many scenes were repeated. For a good chunk of the book, I thought I was just re-reading the previous book and I would've loved more scenes that weren't in the previous book. As well as lengthening it beyond where the first book ended to get a better look at how things ended after the first book ended. Harper felt like she was given more credit than Gloria with his health and getting him back to being Aldo but it was hard not to love and enjoy these two and their relationship.
Leaning more towards 3.5/5 stars for me
3/5 Twice Level
TWs: Mentions of domestic abuse, physical abuse, war, medical trauma, medical content, injury/injury details, blood, toxic relationship, and sexual assault/rape
While I have received an arc of this book, my thoughts are all my own.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Medical content, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Rape, War, and Blood
hanreads__'s review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
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
5.0
Can be read as a stand-alone but is part of a series!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, War, and Gaslighting
Minor: Rape
kb33's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.5
Mostly good. This quote doesn’t represent the whole book, but it sure didn’t make it better.
“I don’t even feel bad about threatening an abuse victim with more violence. That’s how mad you’re making me.”
Additional CW/TW:
Graphic: loss of limb- not because it’s graphically described, but the IED explosion is, and the recovery and a physical therapy session are described in detail.
Moderate: grief over death of a spouse of a side character.
“I don’t even feel bad about threatening an abuse victim with more violence. That’s how mad you’re making me.”
Additional CW/TW:
Graphic: loss of limb- not because it’s graphically described, but the IED explosion is, and the recovery and a physical therapy session are described in detail.
Moderate: grief over death of a spouse of a side character.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Medical content, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: War
Minor: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Rape
caree's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, and War
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