dorothy_gale's review against another edition
3.0
3.4★: LIKED IT FOR THE MOST PART; SOME WAS ‘TOO PERFECT.’ I chose this book because it had such good ratings, was very popular, and it was an “author” I had never read before. It turns out the author is not a single person, but “the combined pen name of long-time writing partners/best friends Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings.” I like that BFFs can work directly together and be so successful. Published in 2018, I am in the 13% minority of the 269,059 people to give it less than four stars so far. It averages 4.34 stars.
I liked that it was a coming of age story and the protagonist Macy loses her parents (separately) at an early age and still becomes a doctor. Having been through a variety of grief lately, I appreciated how significantly grief impacted her years later. And, especially for an audiobook, I loved that the alternating timelines were simple and clear: “Then” and “Now” and that each chapter was labeled with the date. Macy’s parents were beautifully written. And her best friend later in life -- my kind of bestie. As a bibliophile, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Macy and Elliot’s dreamy life of books. Withholding WTH happened until the last 40 minutes of the book was definitely an effective strategy to keep me engaged.
What I didn’t like was something about the best-friend-becomes-lover convenience. I like to think that men and women can be friends without it becoming physical, but maybe I am naïve. And the male being the one who is more emotionally intelligent... I think that might be so rare as to border on unrealistic lol. Especially given his household dynamics. Fight me. The role of alcohol in one incident and drugs in another were both good for overall positive messaging, but seemed oversimplified.
This was my 24th romance-themed book in the past year (both direct and indirect), and I think I am a bit romanced-out. I only have four direct romance books on my list for 2023 and I’m going to try to remember to keep it that way. Romance is not in my Top 10 genres; I definitely prefer it as a secondary or even tertiary plot element.
I liked that it was a coming of age story and the protagonist Macy loses her parents (separately) at an early age and still becomes a doctor. Having been through a variety of grief lately, I appreciated how significantly grief impacted her years later. And, especially for an audiobook, I loved that the alternating timelines were simple and clear: “Then” and “Now” and that each chapter was labeled with the date. Macy’s parents were beautifully written. And her best friend later in life -- my kind of bestie. As a bibliophile, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Macy and Elliot’s dreamy life of books. Withholding WTH happened until the last 40 minutes of the book was definitely an effective strategy to keep me engaged.
What I didn’t like was something about the best-friend-becomes-lover convenience. I like to think that men and women can be friends without it becoming physical, but maybe I am naïve. And the male being the one who is more emotionally intelligent... I think that might be so rare as to border on unrealistic lol. Especially given his household dynamics. Fight me. The role of alcohol in one incident and drugs in another were both good for overall positive messaging, but seemed oversimplified.
This was my 24th romance-themed book in the past year (both direct and indirect), and I think I am a bit romanced-out. I only have four direct romance books on my list for 2023 and I’m going to try to remember to keep it that way. Romance is not in my Top 10 genres; I definitely prefer it as a secondary or even tertiary plot element.
vivianne_g's review against another edition
emotional
funny
sad
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
5.0
ccash1's review against another edition
5.0
I absolutely loved this book!! Maya knew me well when she said she thought i’d like it - i got obsessed, couldn’t put it down!! i think it described teenage love so well and it was cool to see how that teenage love played into her adult life. i thought the pacing was really good and i was so invested the whole time in what had happened between macy and elliot. the elliot/emma reveal was not too much of a shock but still thought it was well done. the car accident was a shock to me, that was super heart breaking. it reminded me of “if i stay.” one thing i did wish is we got a bit more of elliot’s emotional reaction to finding out about what happened with her dad. it was clear he felt the guilt, but it would take me a really long time to forgive myself for something like that (even if it wasn’t directly my fault), so i would’ve liked a bit more turmoil there but honestly that’s my only con - i really enjoyed it!!!
leenakhashab's review against another edition
4.0
ok so… I really adored this story! I LOVED how real and innocent it felt and wow I just think I love childhood friends to lovers! it’s so sweet and fulfilling
bookworm_678's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0