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noellegrace8's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
This is my 3rd Ali Hazelwood, and I loved the characters in this one. I felt like I could relate to them more than any of the ones I read previously, and they were more fleshed out. They were all kind of odd and interesting. I absolutely loved the humor Rocio added. And Levi was so much more real than Adam in Love Hypothesis, and they had better everyday chemistry. I appreciated that there was not another issue of inscrutability regarding the female lead trying to read the male lead. In fact, a lot of this book differed from how her others are, which was refreshing. But yeah, I was frustrated at times by Bee's lack of ability to see that this guy doesn't hate her. It became unbelievable at some point.
The premise is interesting and chapter headings are as clever as ever. I didn't like the way Bee treated Levi toward the end, but I was glad it got resolved quickly enough. Speaking of resolution, it gets almost cheesy at some point, especially with the protective cat, and the severe tension of the ending is uncomfortabbly unexpected. Plus the twitter subplot is built up so much with very little reward. But the epilogue was actually useful! Normally, I don't really see the point of prologues & epilogues, but this one was worth the pages.
I give Brooke Bloomingdale 5/5⭐️. She does the perfect narration.
The premise is interesting and chapter headings are as clever as ever. I didn't like the way Bee treated Levi toward the end, but I was glad it got resolved quickly enough. Speaking of resolution, it gets almost cheesy at some point, especially with the protective cat, and the severe tension of the ending is uncomfortabbly unexpected. Plus the twitter subplot is built up so much with very little reward. But the epilogue was actually useful! Normally, I don't really see the point of prologues & epilogues, but this one was worth the pages.
I give Brooke Bloomingdale 5/5⭐️. She does the perfect narration.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing and Sexual content
Moderate: Animal death, Gun violence, Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Minor: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Chronic illness, Confinement, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Excrement, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, and Classism
idk_indigo's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This was not as good as the other two books I've read of hers (Bride and The Love Hypothesis), but I still enjoyed it. I just really lowkey hated Bee, I thought she was just like the FMC from TLH but with even less of a personality.
I feel like Ali Hazelwood knows how to write exactly 3 characters. The first is a quirky, weird side character and there's always something about her to add a little diversity.
The second is a tall, smart, handsome white guy love interest with blue/green eyes and muscles for days.
The third is (I'm fully assuming this because I actually don't know her in real life) herself.
I appreciate it though, however, I do think the reason why I didn't love this as much as TLH is because this is the same book just slightly to the left and I read that one first so it's automatically better. I think reading a third one would be overkill and I will just flat out not like it. Like hearing the same joke 3x.
Also I hated the main villain,the switch over was just too much and too sudden
I feel like Ali Hazelwood knows how to write exactly 3 characters. The first is a quirky, weird side character and there's always something about her to add a little diversity.
The second is a tall, smart, handsome white guy love interest with blue/green eyes and muscles for days.
The third is (I'm fully assuming this because I actually don't know her in real life) herself.
I appreciate it though, however, I do think the reason why I didn't love this as much as TLH is because this is the same book just slightly to the left and I read that one first so it's automatically better. I think reading a third one would be overkill and I will just flat out not like it. Like hearing the same joke 3x.
Also I hated the main villain,
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny and Sexual content
Moderate: Chronic illness, Gun violence, and Infidelity
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, and Toxic friendship
icarusandthesun's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
30% cute, 70% questionable.
the cute: romance, science, social commentary!
i liked nearly everything about levi, from his calm demeanor, to his rationality, attitude and (soft) personality. bee and levi shared some cute moments, and their relationship seemed genuine and built on common interests and values (veganism, science, cats, hummingbirds, movies and music), which i enjoyed. i liked the banter, and both characters as a couple were likable enough. i enjoyed the science talk, and the feminist and social commentary, and the facts about Marie Curie!
the questionable: everything else.
the characters, especially rocío and kaylee, seemed like cheap clichés. the 'villain' was disney-esque (seriously, there is an "i'm telling you all about my evil plans and schemes" scene, which could've been copy-pasted into a mystery book for children and no one would've batted an eye).
bee started to seriously get on my nerves circa 60% into the book. she makes my sense of delusion seem like a daydream in comparison: "he hates me", "this is not a date", "we're just friends-with-benefits", la di da – girl, he literally asked you to move in with him, be for fucking real.
the miscommunication was hard to read sometimes, and so was her crying over every single roadkill (she's an empath and i'm a cold bastard, apparently).
the plotline with her ex-fiancé tim and ex-best friend annie was anticlimactic, utterly pointless and boring – first and foremost because tim has no redeeming qualities, is a completely unambiguous, black-and-white character that served only as a tragic background for bee and to explain her immense fear of social commitment. he's shoved into the readers' faces ("he's bad!") and it stays that way from start to finish. (nearly the same thing applies to annie.)
the ending (and big reveal) was goofy at best, and a shitshow at worst. it completely took me out of the illusion of the book.astronaut with gun pressuring scientist to suicide. Félicette, a CAT, jumping the villain so that bee could escape. need i say more? seriously, whom was this written for? 6-year-olds? (i briefly considered throwing my copy against the nearest wall.)
levi and bee got some closure and a nice ending, which is cool. the romance was the only thing carrying this book at this point, so an epilogue that was not completely disappointing seems like a big-enough win to happily accept and glutton over.
fun! wouldn't read again.
the cute: romance, science, social commentary!
i liked nearly everything about levi, from his calm demeanor, to his rationality, attitude and (soft) personality. bee and levi shared some cute moments, and their relationship seemed genuine and built on common interests and values (veganism, science, cats, hummingbirds, movies and music), which i enjoyed. i liked the banter, and both characters as a couple were likable enough. i enjoyed the science talk, and the feminist and social commentary, and the facts about Marie Curie!
the questionable: everything else.
the characters, especially rocío and kaylee, seemed like cheap clichés. the 'villain' was disney-esque (seriously, there is an "i'm telling you all about my evil plans and schemes" scene, which could've been copy-pasted into a mystery book for children and no one would've batted an eye).
bee started to seriously get on my nerves circa 60% into the book. she makes my sense of delusion seem like a daydream in comparison: "he hates me", "this is not a date", "we're just friends-with-benefits", la di da – girl, he literally asked you to move in with him, be for fucking real.
the miscommunication was hard to read sometimes, and so was her crying over every single roadkill (she's an empath and i'm a cold bastard, apparently).
the plotline with her ex-fiancé tim and ex-best friend annie was anticlimactic, utterly pointless and boring – first and foremost because tim has no redeeming qualities, is a completely unambiguous, black-and-white character that served only as a tragic background for bee and to explain her immense fear of social commitment. he's shoved into the readers' faces ("he's bad!") and it stays that way from start to finish. (nearly the same thing applies to annie.)
the ending (and big reveal) was goofy at best, and a shitshow at worst. it completely took me out of the illusion of the book.
levi and bee got some closure and a nice ending, which is cool. the romance was the only thing carrying this book at this point, so an epilogue that was not completely disappointing seems like a big-enough win to happily accept and glutton over.
fun! wouldn't read again.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Infidelity, Sexual content, and Death of parent
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders
overbookedmama's review against another edition
challenging
funny
inspiring
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? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Toxic relationship, and Death of parent
Minor: Abandonment
nelumie's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
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? It's complicated
4.5
I enjoyed the pace of this book. The characters were sweet, and consistent. The sex scenes were vanilla but steamy enough for my usual preference.
Maybe because I read the previous book in the series, but this all felt super familiar.
I guessed who “Shmac” was immediately. I had picked the person who was spoiling the project too. Romcoms aren’t known for being thrilling mysteries that keep you guessing to the last second. But as the reader, I did find myself annoyed at the MC for not seeing it all from the get go – though it’s explained why she doesn’t.
I’m considering buying this book after having borrowed it from my local library, and have put a lot more Ali Hazelwood books on hold.
Maybe because I read the previous book in the series, but this all felt super familiar.
I guessed who “Shmac” was immediately. I had picked the person who was spoiling the project too. Romcoms aren’t known for being thrilling mysteries that keep you guessing to the last second. But as the reader, I did find myself annoyed at the MC for not seeing it all from the get go – though it’s explained why she doesn’t.
I’m considering buying this book after having borrowed it from my local library, and have put a lot more Ali Hazelwood books on hold.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence and Sexual content
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Violence, Sexual harassment, and Classism
isfantasi's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, and Sexual content
Moderate: Death, Gun violence, Infidelity, and Death of parent
Minor: Chronic illness, Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Grief, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
bakergirlsbooks1999's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Death of parent
niamhstorme's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
medium-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
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Medical content, Grief, and Death of parent
jadeandherbunny's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders and Violence
audc's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
4.5 star quality writing
2.5 star plot
Read as a gift to a friend
100 pgs longer than needed (it actually felt like the last 100pgs were an addition separate from the book)
I don’t normally read romance but how obvious it was from the beginning; the plot…. I don’t want to read romance.
At least it’s self-aware in the amount of coincidences…
We see it from her point of view. Everytime she’ll say his face flushed and he quickly turned away; he’s angry. *facepalm*
The language used in describing his actions and the conclusions she drew from it are so different.
Appreciated the technical POV we were given.
Made me like science even more.
HOWEVER, not everything about her has to be tied to a romantic aspect.
I’m glad the miscommunication trope wasn’t ridiculous.
[Edit:] 3.25 to 3.75
I can’t stop thinking about the characters ( they’re really well fleshed out ) and their romance.
2.5 star plot
Read as a gift to a friend
100 pgs longer than needed (it actually felt like the last 100pgs were an addition separate from the book)
I don’t normally read romance but how obvious it was from the beginning; the plot…. I don’t want to read romance.
At least it’s self-aware in the amount of coincidences…
We see it from her point of view. Everytime she’ll say his face flushed and he quickly turned away; he’s angry. *facepalm*
The language used in describing his actions and the conclusions she drew from it are so different.
Appreciated the technical POV we were given.
Made me like science even more.
HOWEVER, not everything about her has to be tied to a romantic aspect.
I’m glad the miscommunication trope wasn’t ridiculous.
[Edit:] 3.25 to 3.75
I can’t stop thinking about the characters ( they’re really well fleshed out ) and their romance.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Abandonment
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, Murder, and Gaslighting
Minor: Alcoholism, Animal death, Car accident, and Alcohol