bookishchaos's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I loved every second of this. 10/10 would recommend!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Domestic abuse, and Sexual content
Moderate: Violence, Death of parent, and Child abuse
Minor: Misogyny
aleclghtwood's review against another edition
funny
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? Yes
1.0
Why would an author take such heavy themes like rape and domestic abuse and simply decide not to deepen the subject or raise awareness, but to use as a tool to character development, like they need to have that experience to be who they are today? And even that is made poorly. And talking about character development: the only two characters in the book that she gave a personality are the main ones, the other ones are just shallow as this book as a whole - Justin, who is the main catalyst for everything in the beginning, is totally forgotten at some point, even with all the hints about his shady personality and potential he had for the overral plot. Hannah is the worst, she spends most of the first half of the book claiming that she's soooo not like other girls (istg she actually says the words at some point) because she's not interested in many guys and thinking that other girls are whores for it. Garret is actually a nice guy if you excuse the way he thinks how men and women relationships work in the first chapters, but Hannah and the narrative treats him like some sort of savior and I think it's disturbing when we are talking about a rape victim. She's not a strong female character when she needs to degrade other women to feel better about herself and needs the help of a man to overcome a trauma. And about the domestic violence, it was written a little better, but when Garret I understand why we would like this book when it was released in 2015, but right now? I thought we're over the pick me trope, disappointed to see we aren't. The only thing I hope could be good were the smut scenes, but not even that, they're just a few and not satisfying. I started this book with low expectations, but it was worse than I thought, hope I never read Elle Kennedy again.
Spoiler
sees that Cindy is a victim, he tells that "it's not his place to intervene"??? WHAT THE FUCK??? It felt so ooc after everything his mother and him went through.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Violence, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Rape, Misogyny, and Sexism
Moderate: Alcohol, Death of parent, Blood, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Stalking, and Terminal illness
Minor: Grief
vj_thompson's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
sad
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Sexual violence, Cursing, Misogyny, Rape, Domestic abuse, and Sexism
Moderate: Violence, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, and Sexual assault
Minor: Cancer, Terminal illness, Drug use, Bullying, Mental illness, and Blood
remykinz's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Misogyny, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Sexism
sevendoteight's review against another edition
funny
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Rape and Homophobia
wellreadandhalfdead's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
There were so many times I wanted to stop reading this book because I disliked it so much, but I continued because I was almost done. I wish I had stopped reading because I liked the end about the same as the rest, which is to say I didn't like it much. I'll start with what I did like:
The main character is a survivor of rape. The rape is discussed but happens before the book begins and it has consequences for her life. However, she is not a broken person, as many rape survivors are portrayed. It deeply affected her but she is able to get treatment and continue on to a promising life. I thought this was wonderful because it's so rare to see a portrayal like that. I also thought the banter between the two leads was pretty cute.
The banter, though, was also part of my problem: every character had the same voice. They had the same sense of humor, and they even used the same slang. My other problem with the banter and the attitudes of the characters in general was the rampant misogyny. It's standard mid-2010's misogyny, i.e. girls are overemotional and willing to sleep with guys for status, and men are driven by primal urges instead of their brains. It's stuff that's aged like milk and left a similar bad taste in my mouth. The heroine, Hannah, has an overwhelming "not like other girls" quality that is obnoxious. The story thinks that because she's not blonde and skinny, she is a rarity, which really speaks to the author's limited imagination more than anything else. I found that the trope that the story is based on, the "fake dating" trope, was all that made the story interesting, and that was resolved halfway through the book; after that, there wasn't a lot that was interesting. I was bored and annoyed, and mostly just wished I could rewind time to before I started the book.
The main character is a survivor of rape. The rape is discussed but happens before the book begins and it has consequences for her life. However, she is not a broken person, as many rape survivors are portrayed. It deeply affected her but she is able to get treatment and continue on to a promising life. I thought this was wonderful because it's so rare to see a portrayal like that. I also thought the banter between the two leads was pretty cute.
The banter, though, was also part of my problem: every character had the same voice. They had the same sense of humor, and they even used the same slang. My other problem with the banter and the attitudes of the characters in general was the rampant misogyny. It's standard mid-2010's misogyny, i.e. girls are overemotional and willing to sleep with guys for status, and men are driven by primal urges instead of their brains. It's stuff that's aged like milk and left a similar bad taste in my mouth. The heroine, Hannah, has an overwhelming "not like other girls" quality that is obnoxious. The story thinks that because she's not blonde and skinny, she is a rarity, which really speaks to the author's limited imagination more than anything else. I found that the trope that the story is based on, the "fake dating" trope, was all that made the story interesting, and that was resolved halfway through the book; after that, there wasn't a lot that was interesting. I was bored and annoyed, and mostly just wished I could rewind time to before I started the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Alcohol, and Sexual content
Moderate: Rape and Child abuse
girlgetsbook's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
This is the worst book I've ever read and I feel like I lost all my brain cells reading it, it's just full to the brim with misogyny and sexism and there's even a sprinkle of homophobia there as well, and to make matters worse most of the misogyny comes from the main female character, she just constantly is putting other women down, being a not like other girls girl and playing into harmful and sexist stereotypes. Aside from that the writing was like the worst wattpad fanfiction you could find, I'm convinced people who recommend this are joking about liking it because there's no way this book is so beloved by so many people, let alone by women. It has some heavy topics sprinkled out that no one warned me about and it really is jarring to see them in the story in juxtaposition with the silly writing that tries to be sexy all the time. Overall I had more fun reading through my notes (because I've spent three months reading this book) than actually reading the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Sexism, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Homophobia
mariarose0523's review against another edition
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.5
MEH. The writing style and references were quite dated at times. It oddly enough felt like a man wrote this book at certain points. Some of the FMC's perspectives and internal dialogue was borderline misogynistic, and at times felt like it was written more for the male gaze.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny
missgarceau's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
I think if a book is going to contain details of SA/Domestic Abuse & Mental Health Disorders- an author TW forward would be appreciated.
This is a “pool book” & maybe 2/5 spice or about medium spice.
It’s about what you’d expect for a college sports romance. It’s was a quick read.
This is a “pool book” & maybe 2/5 spice or about medium spice.
It’s about what you’d expect for a college sports romance. It’s was a quick read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Rape, and Sexual assault
adinadragos's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
A colossal waste of time full of casual misogyny, slut-shaming and flat characters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexism, Physical abuse, Body shaming, and Misogyny