Scan barcode
aexileigh's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Abandonment, Chronic illness, Homophobia, Terminal illness, Sexual content, and Cancer
Minor: Alcohol, Drug abuse, and Eating disorder
jjjreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Abandonment, Cancer, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Classism, and Eating disorder
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Homophobia, and Sexual content
taelights's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
First of all the book dragged. It was so long and for what? Plus there is apparently a sequel too? Unnecessary in my opinion and I definitely won't be reading it.
While I did find some of the jokes funny I felt most of them fell flat and the author was trying too hard to be funny. I felt like I was reading a "crack" fic that was trying too hard rather than an actua published book. Plus some of the "jokes" were a bit of problematic - including rape/sexual assult ones, biphobic ones, etc. Plus I thought the book did play into some harmful stereotypes of both lesbians and bi/pan people. And as a vegetarian I did not like the way vegetarian and vegans were portrayed in this book and it felt like the author really likes forcing vegetarians to eat meat which is gross of them.
The negatives:
1) Both of the main characters need some major therapy; both individual and couples. Yet after after a whole book dealing with their flaws and trauma and incompatibility and trust issues these things just seem to go away at the end in an unsatisfying way. I hate the whole "love will fix all your problems" thing. Like damn I hope these two characters went to therapy next book but I doubt it lol.
2) While Oliver and Luc had chemistry at the beginning of the book I thought they lost all their chemistry. I was no longer believing in their relationship and routing for them towards the end. Plus THREE breakups in one book is a bit extreme. By the third I kind of didn't even want them to get back together.
3) I thought the side lesbian relationship was problematic like they play into both the lesbian age difference trope and while I personally love age gaps in general it's annoying when it's like 90% of lesbian media. Also it played into the whole gross lesbian married to man and cheats on him with a woman trope. Also the lesbian friend felt like the angry lesbian trope.
4) I also felt that there was harmful bi/pan stereotypes in this. Like having one of Luc's ex boyfriends being a bi man who leaves a gay man for a straight woman.... It kind of plays into the harmful belief that bi people will always leave their same sex partners for a straight relationship.
5) The characters were all extremely one dimensional. The side characters especially but so were Luc and Oliver honestly.
6) As a vegetarian I was extremely disappointed in how the author handled a vegetarian character. Between making the vegetarian character eat meat not once but twice, the love interest who convinced him to eat meat basically commenting that it's sexy he's going against his morals and eating meat, characters acting like being vegetarian is so strange and different and such an inconvenience, and being like yeah he's obviously only vegetarian because he has an eating disorder. Honestly I between the jokes about vegans/vegetarians and the whole forcing one to eat meat just made me so uncomfortable and I honestly believe this author has something against people who don't eat meat which is weird of them.
7) The whole reason for the fake dating plot line didn't make sense in the first place.
8) The whole plotline with Luc's dad didn't make sense and didn't have a satisfying conclusion at all and just made the whole element of the book seem needless.
I could go on. I just really did not like this book by the end.
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Cursing, Drug abuse, Death of parent, Homophobia, Sexual content, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Biphobia, Cancer, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Lesbophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Outing, and Sexual assault
Biphobiattumbletree'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
4.25
Graphic: Alcohol, Body shaming, Cursing, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Homophobia, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Death of parent, Addiction, Drug abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Bullying, Drug use, and Body shaming
saffyre's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Cancer, Cursing, Abandonment, Terminal illness, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, and Homophobia
Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Sexual content, Body shaming, and Alcohol
Minor: Eating disorder
yvonne_cl'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
Graphic: Abandonment, Homophobia, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Cancer, Terminal illness, and Alcohol
Minor: Eating disorder, Sexual content, Drug abuse, Classism, Body shaming, and Bullying
aaminak'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
3.75
Minor: Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Alcoholism, Gaslighting, Homophobia, Addiction, Body shaming, Cancer, and Toxic relationship
saaraah's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Cancer
Moderate: Eating disorder, Homophobia, Abandonment, and Drug use
Minor: Drug abuse
claudiamacpherson'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
4.5 stars
This book was recommended to me as similar to Red, White, and Royal Blue, and it did not disappoint! It was delightfully trope-y (fake dating! one bed! showing up on a doorstep in the middle of the night!) and the banter made me genuinely laugh out loud. The only moments I didn't like were when Lucien apologized or felt guilty about saying something that was completely reasonable. I picked up this book to get out of my recent reading slump and absolutely flew trough it, but now I have a book hangover, so...if anyone has similar recommendations, please send them my way!
Happy ending meter (no specific spoilers, just my judgement of how happy the ending is because I always wish someone would tell me that before I read books):
Graphic: Cursing
Moderate: Abandonment, Cursing, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Sexual content
Minor: Emotional abuse, Eating disorder, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Cancer, Classism, Drug use, Drug abuse, and Homophobia
kaneli's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Abandonment, Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Homophobia
Minor: Ableism, Body shaming, Cancer, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Racism, and Terminal illness