chazaiya's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
It's a fun, simple romcom that's cute, well-written (enough), surprisingly mature and witty without having to try too hard. I went into this thinking that it would be amusing in a laugh at way given the premise of it being a Reylo fanfiction that got publicised (which, come on that's ridiculous) but I ended up burning through this way quicker than I anticipated.
I already like romcom movies (I mean Punch Drunk Love and Night is Short, Walk on Girl are two of my all time favorites) so in hindsight of course I'd still have fun when making the jump from the camera to the pen. Maybe I didn't actually think I'd dislike it and was actually eager to read this, but had to hide it under the veil of irony. Who knows.
And the whole Reylo aspect didn't even take away from the whole experience, in fact I actually found the constant reminders of "By the way, this dude is based off Kylo Ren, down to his name" fucking hilarious. That's gold right there.
It's not without flaws but all-in-all it's quite good for what it is.
Graphic: Death of parent, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexism, and Misogyny
Moderate: Terminal illness
cams'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? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Cancer, Sexism, and Death of parent
livvmarks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Moderate: Grief, Sexual harassment, Toxic friendship, Cancer, Cursing, Death of parent, Death, Gaslighting, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Alcohol
tym_flies'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? Yes
4.75
Also, also, women in STEM. What a novel concept (not really, but its nice to see it in the romance genre, or ANY genre, but I digress).
Graphic: Grief, Cancer, Mental illness, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Misogyny, Sexism, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual assault, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Toxic friendship and Bullying
coolaboutit's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death of parent, Cancer, Sexual harassment, Misogyny, and Sexism
Minor: Animal death
ksmith_23'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? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Cancer
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, and Death of parent
Minor: Alcohol and Toxic friendship
adelekittey's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Moderate: Sexual harassment and Sexism
Minor: Cancer
lizdon's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Sexism, and Sexual content
Moderate: Cancer and Death of parent
sliwkaontop77'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? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexism
m_esme_rized_by_books's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Spoiler
The only reason I haven't quite given it 5 stars is purely just because of a small detail -which I am aware is personal to me for why it bugged me - and that is Olive's best friend Anh not having a reaction to finding out at the end of the book that Olive had been lying to her for months, I just found that a bit too unrealistic and I feel it would've added more depth to Anhs character if she had been given a scene to have a small conflict with Olive about this. But I am aware that I am more likely to be somewhat miffed by this small detail because of the nature of best friend that I am - if I were in Anhs shoes I would very much be upset 🥲. So I understand that the author may just have not pictured Anh as this type of friend in her mind, which is valid. Moving on to my favourite scenes of the book - which literally had me giggling and kicking my feet like a teenager again - the scenes in the first half of the book where Olive and Adam had to partake in some classic fake-dating trope activities, but the specific scenes where Olive had to sit on Adam's lap in the auditorium, and then go kiss him after he'd moved a truck, were SO GOOD and I am already looking forward to one day re-reading this book and getting to read those scenes again hahaha 😂 also the fact that Olive only realised how attractive Adam was after seeing him in a well-fitted basic black t-shirt is so real and I completely relate lmao 😂This was the perfect book for me to read at this point in my current life - brilliant escapism and well-written enough to feel realistic in my head, and have me really rooting for the characters throughout the book 🥰 Also big shoutout to one of my best besties for recommending this book and for providing me with her copy to borrow 😊
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Sexism, Sexual harassment, Death of parent, Misogyny, and Grief