Reviews tagging 'Vomit'

Better Than Fiction: The perfect bookish, opposites-attract rom-com to curl up with! by Alexa Martin, Alexa Martin

12 reviews

bzliz's review against another edition

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emotional 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? No

3.0

I was really enjoying the subversion of a non-bookish bookstore owner up until the third act. It definitely had some standard problems before then- like having to make excuses or shove in side characters with explanations of how Drew can just leave her store at random without consequences- but the third act sucked out some of my joy.
We had a third act breakup- which I already dislike- during which Drew goes from 0 to 100 in .2 seconds. I was hopeful that the final conflict was going to be resolving Drew’s terrible father’s greedy attempt to usurp her with Jasper at her side. But no, that was left semi-resolved after Drew overreacted to some pretty inconsequential admissions from Jasper.


The grand gesture also didn’t feel very grand, in my opinion so it soured my feelings about the whole book or I likely would’ve bumped this up half a star or so. 
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book_gremlin42's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful 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

3.5

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ohno_joreads's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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notsobinaryart's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

Very cute easy read! Love the concept and how relaxing and chill the book was. I wouldn’t come into it looking for super deep plot, or big character and internal questioning or changes. I’m a sucker for a lighthearted romance, but the book being a bit more surface level made this a less memorable option for me. 

Better Than Fiction had a big pet peeve of mine in the first chapter or two, which was using slang abbreviations in the internal monologue. I can forgive that in dialogue, but it feels forced to say super informal abbreviations like “obvi” while reading the text.

An additional issue I experienced is we don’t learn much about the love interest as a person, other than the fact he’s an author, hot, and obsessed with the main character immediately. No friends, family,  hobbies, or flaws to be seen other than the third act breakup, which is less of a character flaw and more of a one time thing.

If you want a light, easy read with low amounts of thinking, this is a good book for you! Love the side characters, love how even with stressful topics like grief and family trouble that it never feels too heavy.
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laurensalisbury's review against another edition

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DNF @60% 
Both/all the characters were about as interesting as soggy toast. There was no conflict and the dialogue inner monologue was cringey. 
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beepbeep101's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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bookishjae's review against another edition

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funny hopeful lighthearted medium-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

4.0

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simone_elizabeth's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted fast-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

I had mixed feelings about this book. I really liked the main character and I thought her struggles with her grandmother’s death were compelling and realistic. However, the romance plot didn’t feel as fully realized in my opinion and compared to the grief plot it fell a little flat. Also, the writing style was not something I am used to, and cringed a couple of times remembering my teenage writing style from 2010. Loved the outdoorsy theme though
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kfmcf's review against another edition

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slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

First off - this cover is gorgeous. I know that isn't super important but it's a big reason I picked it up.

I want to like this one more than I did. I think the FL was relatable and her struggles with her grief and understanding of her grandmother post-passing are the most interesting part of the boom.

I think the biggest failing of this book is the development of its other relationships, namely with the ML. Jasper has no, and I mean 0, personality. He is just big and hot and he is immediately smitten with Drew to the point where it's confusing and unbelievable. Also they're supposed to have this bucket list deal but we never really get to see Drew falling in love with reading or even responding to that half of the deal. A lost opportunity imo. Also the third act break up and reunion were forced af, oy.

Also, the relationship with her half sister also felt like a wash. Daisy was really interesting but had the depth of a wading pool. I think having both Elsie and Daisy together just got too busy. I think having Dani be the friend and cutting Elsie would have tightened it up (even though I did *like* Elsie).

The Dirty Birds were alright but I got them all mixed up.

All and all I didn't mind the book as a light lit read but as a romance it was lacking.
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toffishay's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

A really cute read. The characters are fun, but a little flat. That holds true for the side characters and our main duo of Drew and Jasper. I would have liked a dual POV because Jasper ends up being really perfect and so the drama at the end feels more contrived because he wasn't presented with really any flaws or perspective before the third act breakup. And then the reason for the breakup was weak, which some readers might enjoy because it made it really easy for them to get back together at the end. The sex scenes were really good though :) And there are some beautiful descriptions of nature for the outdoorsy types.
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