dianaschmidty's review
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Abandonment, Outing, and Homophobia
Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Death of parent, and Drug abuse
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
imstephtacular's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
Also I loved this book. There were so many tropes (although there were also several cliches that usually make me mad, but I liked this book so I much I mostly overlooked them)
This is a great example of a romance that does MORE. It handles some pretty heavy, real stuff, but does it well. I liked Asa and Lauren and was rooting for them all along the way
Moderate: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Addiction, Alcohol, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Homophobia, and Sexual content
Minor: Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual harassment, Drug use, Outing, Sexism, Grief, Misogyny, Mental illness, Abandonment, Biphobia, Drug abuse, and Vomit
bookedandbusy's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Abandonment
Moderate: Outing, Homophobia, Sexual harassment, and Addiction
katelynnelawson's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
While on a the surface level With Love, from Cold World seems like a playful romantic comedy, it goes deeper, discussing some tough topics. Lauren and Asa are both standout characters. While their personalities clash due to being so different, they both come from the same place, a fear of rejection due to troubled pasts. This is a memorable read that takes a surprisingly steamy turn.
Moderate: Homophobia, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Addiction, Outing, and Death of parent
felishacb's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Death of parent, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Homophobia, Outing, Abandonment, Addiction, and Drug abuse
Minor: Outing
greatestheights's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Biphobia, Outing, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Abandonment, Addiction, and Sexual harassment
Important to note foster care plays a huge role in this book. CW for foster care and the family court system.literaryintersections's review
- 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: Abandonment
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Child abuse and Addiction
grimmbleton's review
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Sexual content, Abandonment, Biphobia, and Homophobia
Moderate: Sexual harassment and Outing
Minor: Addiction and Death of parent
mishale1's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I was in the middle of writing a long, thoughtful review of this book when my phone crashed and I lost everything :(
This review will be more concise, for better or worse.
This is a love story about two people who have very painful pasts. Life hasn’t been easy for them. I’d love to talk about their pasts because it’s a big part of the story, but it isn’t on the book flap so I don’t want to risk a spoiler.
Lauren and Asa both work at Cold World.
Asa has been there for ten years, since highschool ended.
Lauren had an awkward conversation with Asa a couple of years early when she first started. And she’s thought he disliked her ever since.
At first, I thought Asa was kind of mean to Lauren. But an interesting thought is presented in this book…because Asa doesn’t know Lauren well he doesn’t actually know her sore spots. Everyone has them. But we don’t actually know what hits hard unless we know another person atleast a little bit. And these two barely know each other at the start of this book.
Asa has a whole family of friends at Cold World and Lauren has none.
There are forced to spend time together due yo a new incentive at work about coming up with new display ideas for Cold World. This forces them to actually get to know each other.
Falling in love and trusting another person is especially scary to Lauren who has abandonment issues.
I just thought this was a beautiful love story with two characters that felt very real, very human. They have obstacles, but the obstacles are more about their pasts and how that affects them in the present. I also loved the setting of Cold World, a cool indoor winter theme part in Florida. I’m excited to see what this author writes next.
Minor: Abandonment, Death of parent, Addiction, and Biphobia
savvyrosereads'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
5.0
Rating: 5/5 stars
Lauren and Asa are coworkers who have never gotten along—but when they’re thrown together for a work project to save their employer Cold World, things might just begin to heat up.
Alicia Thompson has written a masterpiece with this one! I intended to read this ARC months ago when I was first approved, but life happened and it got delayed, and honestly—I’m glad it did. Not only does this have the perfect Christmas-in-July vibes for this exact time of year, reading it now also means I don’t have to wait too long before everyone else can go snag a copy! And believe me, you should snag a copy.
The setting of this one—a snow-themed amusement attraction in Orlando, Florida—is absolutely wonderful, and I found myself instantly getting pulled into the story as a result. But it is the characters that really make this one special—I found myself absolutely enamored of Asa and relating too hard to Lauren, and I just want to give them both a hug. Alicia also handles deep topics (including foster care, parental abandonment, and more) with such care, and the realistic portrayals of these issues and how they influenced and affected the characters made the story feel all the more meaningful.
Recommended to anyone, but especially if you like: somewhat character-driven romance; Christmas in July; boys with blue hair and tattoos (yes this is very specific)
CW: Biphobia/homophobia/bigotry (incl. from loved ones); foster care; loss of parent/abandonment by parents; mentions of drug addiction; brief scene of verbal sexual harassment
Graphic: Abandonment, Homophobia, Child abuse, and Biphobia
Moderate: Addiction