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greatexpectations77's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
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
4.75
Omg. I loved this book. I'm going to be a total devotee of Ms. Whelan because she is a perfect writer of flirting. Which is very hard! It's one of those things that's hard to describe but you know it when you're participating. And she completely nailed the cool, but not too cool, kind of teasing, but not mean or negging, just blissful little conversations. Have I ever been in love with a romance counterpart like this character? I don't think so. What a GIFT. This would have gotten 5 stars, but I felt like it lost a little steam in the last about third. But I will be watching Ms. Whelan CLOSELY for the next book drop because I am HOOKED.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Dementia and Sexual content
Moderate: Body shaming, Grief, and Alcohol
Minor: Blood, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Abandonment, and Medical content
Listen to the audiobook! Ms. Whelan is superb as a narrator.hailstorm3812's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I had a lot of fun with this book. It feels very Emily Henry-esque, and while it doesn't achieve the same level of quality, it still really works. I love the pastiche on the genre and the complex relationship with her family, friend, and career. I wish there was slightly more time spend with the three identities silliness, but overall lots of fun.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Dementia
Moderate: Body shaming, Medical trauma, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Death and Grief
faduma's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
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
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Body shaming, Sexual content, Ableism, Mental illness, and Chronic illness
sunkissed_aidie's review against another edition
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
5.0
This book was honestly so fun to go through, there were moments where I wanted to cry, scream and others where it had me giggling and kicking my feet. It was a fast read but still great nonetheless, it’s a simply romance book that was given a great twist in who the characters are and what they are going through, especially learning to be and love themselves before loving someone else. I loved it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Dementia
Moderate: Alcoholism, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, Body shaming, and Medical trauma
kylasmv15's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Dementia
Moderate: Cursing, Grief, Infidelity, Emotional abuse, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Medical content, Alcohol, Mental illness, Body shaming, Sexual content, and Body horror
sarahsthoughtsonbooks's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Fine line between contemporary fiction and romance. Not well balanced between the two. It doesn't lean one way or the other, but neither is really developed enough. Great idea, but could be better executed? Not that it was flawed, but I wanted more. It just felt a bit rush. I think that's what it is, that there seemed to be a medium pace that was going well, and then part was just rushed. Which caused it to feel lacking.
Also, both protagonists seem to hate romance genre. Makes me wonder if Julia has a second, lesser known pseudonym that she recorded some romance under (like her Sophie Eastlake stuff send to be mainly two authors)
Also, both protagonists seem to hate romance genre. Makes me wonder if Julia has a second, lesser known pseudonym that she recorded some romance under (like her Sophie Eastlake stuff send to be mainly two authors)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Dementia
Moderate: Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical trauma
Minor: Eating disorder and Body shaming
nebraskanwriter's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
2.0
I had only heard great things about this book by THE amazing Julia Whelan so once I finished the book, I couldn’t help but feel disappointed.
I LOVED the banter/dialogue between Nick and Swan, the tension and their feelings for each other really leapt off the page, even from their first interaction. However, I feel like the story was really weighed down by all the other side plots. Swan’s grandma, Swan’s best friend, her mom, there were so many things and life events that kept happening to keep Swan and Nick apart it started feeling comical. Also the book felt incredibly long for a romance, there just seemed to be conflict after conflict happening.
Also, and I know Swan had to work through a lot of internalized things that she felt about herself because of the accident, but I felt like she was always picking fights with Nick. Not believing him, questioning his intentions at every turn and always arguing with him and projecting onto him. That part of the book just felt very unhealthy/gross to me. They would have this big blowup fight, right after he ran to her aid afterher grandma tried to commit suicide FYI and Swan starts yelling at him. It just didn’t make any sense to me. She was always way too hard on him and he was nothing but nice and caring to her the entire book. Just my two cents but he would literally be so nice to her and then she would suddenly turn on him and start projecting/yelling at him. Not romantic.
Side note: also I know that people have nicknames/pet names for their grandparents like Mimi, Memaw, Papa. But Blah Blah??? Every time her name was mentioned, it took me out of the story. Could never take it seriously and that stinks because what is going on with her is super serious but her name felt comical, like a joke I missed out on all while she’s battling Alzheimer’s . It just didn’t make sense.
I LOVED the banter/dialogue between Nick and Swan, the tension and their feelings for each other really leapt off the page, even from their first interaction. However, I feel like the story was really weighed down by all the other side plots. Swan’s grandma, Swan’s best friend, her mom, there were so many things and life events that kept happening to keep Swan and Nick apart it started feeling comical. Also the book felt incredibly long for a romance, there just seemed to be conflict after conflict happening.
Also, and I know Swan had to work through a lot of internalized things that she felt about herself because of the accident, but I felt like she was always picking fights with Nick. Not believing him, questioning his intentions at every turn and always arguing with him and projecting onto him. That part of the book just felt very unhealthy/gross to me. They would have this big blowup fight, right after he ran to her aid after
Side note: also I know that people have nicknames/pet names for their grandparents like Mimi, Memaw, Papa. But Blah Blah??? Every time her name was mentioned, it took me out of the story. Could never take it seriously and that stinks because what is going on with her is super serious but her name felt comical, like a joke I missed out on all while she’s battling Alzheimer’s . It just didn’t make sense.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Abandonment, Dementia, Cursing, Death, Grief, Addiction, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, and Terminal illness
pidge_reads'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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Dementia
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Grief, Cursing, Drug abuse, Body shaming, Death, Addiction, Racism, Medical trauma, Alcoholism, Infidelity, and Injury/Injury detail
livelyghost's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
With so many threads to this story I was really hoping that one or two would really grab me but unfortunately nothing really did. I think I really wanted to know more about BlahBlah’s life and her neighbors at Seasons more than I did Sewanee or Nick! I felt like I learned a little about a lot of things like the marketing dilemma of women’s fiction vs romance, the making of an audiobook, experiences of Hollywood and the publishing industry but never got really fleshed out worlds for the many parts of Sewanee’s life.
Sewanee is a fun lead - complicated but not a mess, hopeful but not all sunshine all the time, and a lovely friend and family member. Her family and friends are written with enough story to make you interested but not distracted. Every pull quote from June was gold. Nick is someone I could tell you maybe two things about and I literally just finished the book.
Overall I have mixed feelings. This was a quick read and I enjoyed some of the characters, but the writing just felt like I was getting a lot of appetizers and not a main course sprinkled with some uneven pacing.
Sewanee is a fun lead - complicated but not a mess, hopeful but not all sunshine all the time, and a lovely friend and family member. Her family and friends are written with enough story to make you interested but not distracted. Every pull quote from June was gold. Nick is someone I could tell you maybe two things about and I literally just finished the book.
Overall I have mixed feelings. This was a quick read and I enjoyed some of the characters, but the writing just felt like I was getting a lot of appetizers and not a main course sprinkled with some uneven pacing.
Ultimately, I don’t think it matters what I say, does it? Will you ever truly believe, deep down, that anything other than pity brought me over to you? Nothing I can say will ever make that disappear for you. I can tell you I don’t see it and you will always see it. I can tell you that you’re everything that keeps me up at night and everything I daydream about and how that makes you feel might last a day or a week or an hour. Feelings are temporary. They stick around as long as you believe in them and then they’re gone, waiting to be believed in again. If they were permanent, then we’d only have to say I love you once and then be done with it for the rest of our lives.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Dementia, Death of parent, and Eating disorder
Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Body shaming
stampest's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Dementia and Sexual content
Moderate: Ableism, Grief, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Confinement, and Body shaming
Minor: Alcoholism, Addiction, Xenophobia, Terminal illness, Sexism, Racism, Medical trauma, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail