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mariskyjy's review against another edition
Tw: noncon, child abuse, mention of post partum depression below
• said he hadn't had sex in a long time and went to visit wife marina. "She didn't say no," (I think the implication was PPD) but seemed disinterested. He felt awful afterwards, which is a *great* excuse (sarcasm)
• the kids are terrified of him. "His" son asks, upon getting in trouble, "are you going to hit us?" And Philip is a menacing presence to them, and doesn't know how to parent them. Like even if you have never hit your kid(s) (which Eloise is convinced that she's *such* a good judge of character, despite only meeting this guy within the last week, that Phillip could *never* abuse his kids), they shouldn't be terrified that you're going to. End of sentence. No, wait: fuck this guy. Now end of sentence.
• spoiler, the "reasoning" for this is eventually that his father was horribly abusive towards him, and Phillip is trying not to be like him. Cool reason, bro. I get that therapy was not a huge thing back then (assuming) but my god. Work on yourself to not be like your father.
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: War
ghostmomxoxo'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
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcohol and Classism
gerlinen's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Death, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Abandonment
solinel7's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
It was entertaining enough for me to finish it.
Phillip is insufferable in many of the scenes.
Eloise is neurodivergent, imo.
The kids are some of the best parts of the book and we barely got scenes with them.
Look for Trigger warnings ⚠️
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Mental illness, Self harm, Medical content, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent
Minor: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Injury/Injury detail
annahamburger'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? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Moderate: Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, and Grief
Minor: Ableism, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
hayleyvem'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: Child abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Vomit and Grief
penandpaper'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
2.25
Graphic: Mental illness, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent
Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Injury/Injury detail
lunep's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Violence, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Mental illness, Medical content, and Alcohol
Minor: Pregnancy and War
writtenbydnicole's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexism, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Pregnancy
readwithde'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? It's complicated
3.5
First, Phillip spends the majority of the book dealing with undue weight of responsibility on him -- things he neither expected or wanted, but dealt with as needed.
Eloise is obviously an escape for him -- both a chance to be seen and heard, but more practically someone to ease his load and shoulder some responsibility for his home and children. And Eloise does not appreciate the seeming bait-and-switch effect this causes.
The primary conflict stems from this: Phillip has no example of a good father and no practice being a good husband. He is lonely, desperate, and traumatized. Eloise doesn't automatically fix everything, but her ability to listen, love, and take charge give him just enough breathing room to manage his own issues, though other events help him along.
There's quite a lot of kissing and passion, more so than the other books, as Phillip uses that to avoid emotions and words. It is honestly more Phillip's story than Eloise's, as her undergoes the most changes and self-discovery.
Emotional, but good story; would have loved more of Eloise's spunk, as her character was often drown out due to others' needs.
Graphic: Grief and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Death, Sexual content, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child abuse, Toxic relationship, and Violence