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Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'
Better Than Fiction: The perfect bookish, opposites-attract rom-com to curl up with! by Alexa Martin, Alexa Martin
8 reviews
notsobinaryart's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
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 āobviā while reading the text.
An additional issue I experienced is we donāt learn much about the love interest as a person, other than the fact heās an author, hot, and obsessed with the main character immediately. No friends, family,Ā 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.
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Alcohol and Grief
Minor: Abandonment, Death, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting
beepbeep101's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Abandonment, Sexual content, and Grief
Moderate: Infidelity
Minor: Emotional abuse, Racism, Alcohol, and Vomit
bookishjae's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Grief
Minor: Death, Alcohol, and Vomit
kfmcf's review against another edition
- 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
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.
Graphic: Abandonment, Grief, Death, and Sexual content
Moderate: Toxic relationship
Minor: Alcohol and Vomit
toffishay's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Grief and Sexual content
Moderate: Abandonment and Alcohol
Minor: Classism, Vomit, and Death
rissaandherbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Cursing and Sexual content
Moderate: Grief and Death
Minor: Alcohol and Vomit
_alyssar_'s review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Death, Sexual content, and Grief
Minor: Vomit, Alcohol, and Cursing
headinthepages's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.5
I loved the legacy behind the bookshop and liked the imperfect, realistic family dynamics.
I have to say I definitely preferred the first half, it was engaging and I enjoyed the dialogue and character interactions, but in the 2nd half the relationship felt a little rushed and 2 dimensional. I didnāt love the sex scenes - they felt a bit rushed.
And the ātwistā was predictable (which is fine) but also rushed, like no built up, just sort of an information dump.
I did enjoy the book overall and would definitely read this author again, I just wish those few things were tweaked and it would have been an amazing reading experience for me.
Moderate: Alcohol, Gaslighting, Grief, Cursing, Death, Sexual content, Abandonment, and Toxic relationship