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twysbeek's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Rape, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Toxic relationship
Terrorism--public bombing is also present (not a spoiler as the book literally opens with this event)raisingself's review against another edition
- 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
- Parent loss
- Mental illness/Mood disorder
- S. Assault
- Child abuse
- Depictions of class and inequality
- Violence
- Infertility
All of the things are in this book but oddly it was not triggering. It was a slow burn storytelling of young people I'll equipped for life finding and loving each other. It is not a traditional romance novel, in that it feels too realistic. The main characters too flawed. The realities of life too difficult.
This a book that people will with like or hate. It slightly reminds me of a better version of Normal People by Sally Rooney, which I disliked but this for all of its intensity, sadness and slow inwinding, I did enjoy. The book ends with a dash of tender hoepfulness, which I appreciate.
Graphic: Alcoholism and Death of parent
Moderate: Addiction, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism
Minor: Drug use, Infertility, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Self harm, Toxic friendship, and Pandemic/Epidemic
missredreads20's review against another edition
5.0
Clara and Benjamin meet at university. They are very different people but see something in each other they need. The book reminded me of another of my favourite books - One Day by David Nicholls - in the way the story was told and also the behaviours of the two characters.
For me personally this book was incredibly nostalgic. I am only 5 years younger than the characters so recognised a lot of the cultural and new stories references of the time and I went to university in Sunderland so regularly travelled on the London to Newcastle train and I have very special memories of those train journeys. I'm also nostalgic for when it used to be £10 each way on the train!
The story has an enormous amount of depth. It starts with a bombing and the link back to this at the end was very clever. I thought Clara and Benjamin's ending was perfect, although I would definitely be open to a sequel!
My favourite quote:
"It has changed, but not so much that the faded memories - of being a different person, a different version of herself - don't creep behind her as she walks."
Moderate: Child abuse, Infertility, and Sexual assault
Minor: Cancer, Eating disorder, and Self harm
lightltup's review against another edition
5.0
Thank you NetGalley and Charlotte Rixon for the opportunity to read this book in exchange of an honest review!
Graphic: Mental illness
Moderate: Alcoholism and Violence
Minor: Child abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Self harm, and Abandonment
livinthebubble's review against another edition
2.0
Plot
Going into this, this is what I understood of the plot:
- a guy and a girl meet in uni, fall in love
- something happens, and they don't talk for years
- fast forward, they rekindle and happy ending for them
There are heavy topics thrown in (solely for impact imo). TW: alcoholism, assault, self-harm, terminal illness, child sexual abuse, sexual assault, death of a parent, infertility and cheating. As I said before, it sounded like a light-hearted story, but boy was I surprised when she out of nowhere describe in detail how she'd self-harm.
Characters
The story spans 20 odd years of the main characters' lives, but they meet when they are 18/19. I was that age not long ago (3/4 years ago to be exact), and I
Everything Benjamin did, she overthought to the extreme. All the problems the two had were because of her. Any one of them, you can trace back to her.
Benjamin, although sometimes badly, tried his best to communicate. He told her he was going to go home for a while, and since this is literally the year I was born, texting wasn't as popular as nowadays. Why does she assume the worst and cheat on him? No
The fact that she could be married to Thom, which in my opinion also deserved better, for a decade and yet always think of what could be with Benjamin. This woman had cheated on every man she dated during this book, whether emotionally or physically. For someone who was traumatized by her ex-Daniel cheating, she really followed in his footsteps.
Romance
For a book advertised as a romance, there was literally none to be found. The main characters had no chemistry, they kept saying they were soulmates yada yada, but they just felt like dumb naive teenagers in their first relationship (been there done that folks).
Ending
The ending is random and I hate open endings.
Overall, not for me, at all. Is there anything I liked? Well, Benjamin was wholesome but that's about it. I wouldn't recommend but if you enjoy books spanning most of the characters' lives and open endings, this might be for you.
This ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Cancer, Child abuse, Infertility, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent