yurika0_0's review
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.75
4.75/5 ⭐
[NO SPOILERS]
this is a brilliant book! i love the storyline and all the characters! i would highly recommend for 18 year olds and above. just one thing, one thing that kinda made the book slightly less enjoyable is that its in third person. it would have been a perfect 5/5 if it was in first person. but i still surprisingly really enjoyed it nonetheless. i don't even have any interest in science, but this is still managed to be fantastic for me, from the start and all the way to the ending!
just a warning though, they have some age gap. the female main character is 26 and her male love interest is 34. not that much tbh but i know that there are people that wouldn't be okay with this so i'm typing this here anyway.
[NO SPOILERS]
this is a brilliant book! i love the storyline and all the characters! i would highly recommend for 18 year olds and above. just one thing, one thing that kinda made the book slightly less enjoyable is that its in third person. it would have been a perfect 5/5 if it was in first person. but i still surprisingly really enjoyed it nonetheless. i don't even have any interest in science, but this is still managed to be fantastic for me, from the start and all the way to the ending!
just a warning though, they have some age gap. the female main character is 26 and her male love interest is 34. not that much tbh but i know that there are people that wouldn't be okay with this so i'm typing this here anyway.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Sexual harassment
Minor: Cursing, Deadnaming, and Violence
margarethansen's review
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing and Sexual content
ashe01's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
fast-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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer
Minor: Death of parent, Deportation, Sexual harassment, Cursing, Sexual content, and Terminal illness
avag246's review
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Sexual harassment, Cursing, and Death of parent
wackzo's review
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Cultural appropriation, Emotional abuse, Bullying, Sexual content, Vomit, Death of parent, Death, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Cursing, Sexual harassment, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual assault
hopelessroma_inlettucce's review
emotional
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
tense
fast-paced
- 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? It's complicated
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing and Sexual content
a_d_maillet's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment
serendipity421's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
slow-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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Cancer, Sexual content, and Death of parent
Moderate: Grief, Cursing, and Sexism
Minor: Alcohol
babsi_222's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
First, I have to say that I didn’t wanna read this book and fired for myself, but when my mum found it for free, I was like okay, let’s go
I was very cheesy and cringy.
The Romans writing was very Wattpad, which if you like it then fine, but I just don’t want to read a normal book written like a Wattpad story. It has a very explicit smut scene That’s also quite Wattpad written if I have to say.
I guess I enjoyed a bit more than I thought I would because I thought I would not enjoy it at all. I don’t think I wanna read it again, but it was cool that they had lots of chemistry right from the beginning and you figure out a lot of different things in the course of the book.
I’m not sure if it bothers me, but I really couldn’t ignore the age gap and that she is a student and he is a professor. It’s just a bit weird
I was very cheesy and cringy.
The Romans writing was very Wattpad, which if you like it then fine, but I just don’t want to read a normal book written like a Wattpad story. It has a very explicit smut scene That’s also quite Wattpad written if I have to say.
I guess I enjoyed a bit more than I thought I would because I thought I would not enjoy it at all. I don’t think I wanna read it again, but it was cool that they had lots of chemistry right from the beginning and you figure out a lot of different things in the course of the book.
I’m not sure if it bothers me, but I really couldn’t ignore the age gap and that she is a student and he is a professor. It’s just a bit weird
Content Warnings
Minor: Cursing, Death of parent, Grief, Misogyny, Cancer, Sexism, and Sexual harassment
charlie6's review
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
My opinions:
- Adam and Olive are white. As the romantic leads, they are naturally the focus of this book. But they were also the only characters to be developed.
- The diverse characters (BIPOC and LGBTQI+) were side characters and were developed as needed by the plot.
- There was a strange amount of emphasis on Adam wearing a Henley. I feel like he’s got a cartoon character closet of endless Henley shirts.
- I found it a bit weird that a comment from a stranger shaped a major life decision but I guess that happens.
- I dislike the names Holden, Malcolm, and Jeremy. It felt like names were picked from a baby name shortlist rather than chosen to fit the character.
- I’m very opinionated but I really enjoyed this book. It was fun and I loved the story. As unrealistic as it all was, I loved the reasons the characters stared fake-dating. It felt unique for the trope.
- I love their relationship, I love how they cheered each other up.
- I love how Olive described Adam’s presence. It was so comforting to read and it was sweet how that developed.
- The dialogue is so good!! This book made me laugh so many times. Olive is really funny.
Spoiler
Speaking of natural dialogue, Tom’s rant was not it. It felt like an amalgamation of one-liners. And it didn’t make sense for his smart and cunning character to give up so much of himself in that moment.- Also the “3 points” Holden reveals in answer to Olive’s question felt a bit forced. It was the longest conversation they’d had and it was just the perfect amount of information to further the plot.</ spoiler>
- I liked how the absurdity of situations were balanced by discussing the tropes as they were portrayed. It showed that this story did not need to be taken seriously.
- But I loved how the book did take itself seriously at important moments such as the consequences to harassment.
- I loved the environment. It was really fun to read about a romance in academia and I felt like a learned a lot about that world.
- I loved how Adam was consistently kind to Olive. It made me realise that I prefer the friends to lovers trope rather than enemies to lovers.
- I loved how Adam always checked in with Olive. But I feel like it was a bit one sided as she rarely asked if he was okay. I did appreciate how they both valued consent.
Spoiler
I liked how they consistently communicated throughout sex. It was really nice to read about them checking in with each other and emphasising that it is okay to change your mind. In saying that, I hated how Adam brought Olive’s hand to his crotch to feel his erection. I felt like that was kind of gross. And it was weird how he kept rubbing himself while asking for consent… like I get the author is trying to point out consent isn’t “unsexy” and doesnt “kill the mood” but there’s gotta be a better way to handle that. It honestly read as if he was getting off on her uncertainty.</ spoiler>
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Cancer
Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, Death of parent, and Sexism
Minor: Toxic friendship