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books_after_bedtime's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
stephennc2's review against another edition
3.75
“That man looks at you like you’ve bottled the sun just for him…”
This book is about the power of love for that one person that will never truly go away—one of my favorite themes. The story and the writing were really quite good. The first half was especially powerful and even funny at times for me. I loved the buildup. There was a hefty amount of spice, which I liked, but it felt a little rushed and disconnected from the deep emotional connection of the MCs. Also, both MCs kept getting under my skin in their own ways at different times in the book, which started to be grating by the end in my opinion.
This book is about the power of love for that one person that will never truly go away—one of my favorite themes. The story and the writing were really quite good. The first half was especially powerful and even funny at times for me. I loved the buildup. There was a hefty amount of spice, which I liked, but it felt a little rushed and disconnected from the deep emotional connection of the MCs. Also, both MCs kept getting under my skin in their own ways at different times in the book, which started to be grating by the end in my opinion.
bookaddict32's review against another edition
5.0
OMG! I loved second chances books.
This book was great. The plot was spot just how I like. The characters was really lovable.
The email part of the story got me so good. I keep asking myself when are they finally seeing each other. Love that kind of story when they don’t know who they are talking to.
I recommend that book for sure.
This book was great. The plot was spot just how I like. The characters was really lovable.
The email part of the story got me so good. I keep asking myself when are they finally seeing each other. Love that kind of story when they don’t know who they are talking to.
I recommend that book for sure.
aakansha_0210's review
emotional
sad
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
djm_chal's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.0
bookworm_6's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
thebaxter84's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.5
eesh25's review against another edition
3.0
I wanna start the review by saying that this isn't a bad book. The writing is fine, the pace is good, and it does have an idea of what it wants to be in terms of story and characters. The execution falters a lot, though. And it hit a lot of bad notes with me.
The premise is that Jax and Wilder were in love during college. Jax was a jock, and he came from a religious family. But he still wanted to come out to them because he didn't want to hide his relationship. He went home to tell them that he's gay and with Wilder, and then basically disappeared off the face of the planet. Wilder tried to find him, but couldn't. And now, nine years later, after Wilder publishes a book called Love Always, Wild, they come in contact again.
The book is told from the perspectives of both Jax and Wilder. So we see what Wilder went through when he couldn't find out what happened to Jax. And we see why Jax cut Wild off. Except the latter part isn't well done.
You see, Jax's father died when he went home nine years ago. And Jax believes that it's because of his "sin" of being with a man. But then the book doesn't give us anything that reinforces the fact that Jax is someone who would believe something so extreme. He's not religious, and his guilt over his "sin" is told but never shown. And it feels like the author threw in whatever she could come up with to justify Jax abruptly cutting off all contact with Wilder.
Worse, there's actually another reason why Jax can't be with Wilder, one that's much more convincing, but the book still insists on going with the Jax-believe-he-is-being-punished thing.
I also wasn't sold on the romance. Several times throughout the book, it's made to seem like Jax and Wilder only want to be together because they can't help how they feel. There's this weird subtext of how they could both be with different people if the other wasn't an option. I think it was the author's way of telling the reader that she believes that you get more than one love in life? But it seemed more like she was saying there are better options out there, but the protagonists are too obsessed with each other to realize it.
I mean, there's even another guy Jax is interested in! A guy who lives in his town, and who's nice and into Jax. I don't even know what the point is of giving so much time to Jax's attraction to the guy if nothing's going to come of it.
The way I see it, the book could either have devoted a little less time to Jax ogling the guy while still claiming to be in love with Wilder. Or it could've just ditched the Jax and Wilder ship. Personally, I'd vote for the latter. It would've made for a more interesting premise. Also, I wasn't a fan of Wilder by the end because he did something seriously dickish. I also wasn't a fan of his friend most of the time. Actually, let's just say that Wilder's side of the story was interesting in the beginning, but only went downhill from there. Jax's, on the other hand, had the opposite trajectory, even if I wasn't fond of how his story concluded. This might be my first canon "NOTP".
Overall, the story had some interesting aspects. I loved how much Jax cared for his younger brother and his dilemma about coming out that was related to that. But certain character motivations, and the romance, were lacking. Also, back-to-back sex scenes. Why?
...And by the end, I'd lost all interest in what had started as a promising read, and was just glad the book was over.
Thank you to the author for the advanced copy. I'm sorry the review isn't more complimentary.
The premise is that Jax and Wilder were in love during college. Jax was a jock, and he came from a religious family. But he still wanted to come out to them because he didn't want to hide his relationship. He went home to tell them that he's gay and with Wilder, and then basically disappeared off the face of the planet. Wilder tried to find him, but couldn't. And now, nine years later, after Wilder publishes a book called Love Always, Wild, they come in contact again.
The book is told from the perspectives of both Jax and Wilder. So we see what Wilder went through when he couldn't find out what happened to Jax. And we see why Jax cut Wild off. Except the latter part isn't well done.
You see, Jax's father died when he went home nine years ago. And Jax believes that it's because of his "sin" of being with a man. But then the book doesn't give us anything that reinforces the fact that Jax is someone who would believe something so extreme. He's not religious, and his guilt over his "sin" is told but never shown. And it feels like the author threw in whatever she could come up with to justify Jax abruptly cutting off all contact with Wilder.
Worse, there's actually another reason why Jax can't be with Wilder, one that's much more convincing, but the book still insists on going with the Jax-believe-he-is-being-punished thing.
I also wasn't sold on the romance. Several times throughout the book, it's made to seem like Jax and Wilder only want to be together because they can't help how they feel. There's this weird subtext of how they could both be with different people if the other wasn't an option. I think it was the author's way of telling the reader that she believes that you get more than one love in life? But it seemed more like she was saying there are better options out there, but the protagonists are too obsessed with each other to realize it.
I mean, there's even another guy Jax is interested in! A guy who lives in his town, and who's nice and into Jax. I don't even know what the point is of giving so much time to Jax's attraction to the guy if nothing's going to come of it.
The way I see it, the book could either have devoted a little less time to Jax ogling the guy while still claiming to be in love with Wilder. Or it could've just ditched the Jax and Wilder ship. Personally, I'd vote for the latter. It would've made for a more interesting premise. Also, I wasn't a fan of Wilder by the end because he did something seriously dickish. I also wasn't a fan of his friend most of the time. Actually, let's just say that Wilder's side of the story was interesting in the beginning, but only went downhill from there. Jax's, on the other hand, had the opposite trajectory, even if I wasn't fond of how his story concluded. This might be my first canon "NOTP".
Overall, the story had some interesting aspects. I loved how much Jax cared for his younger brother and his dilemma about coming out that was related to that. But certain character motivations, and the romance, were lacking. Also, back-to-back sex scenes. Why?
...And by the end, I'd lost all interest in what had started as a promising read, and was just glad the book was over.
Thank you to the author for the advanced copy. I'm sorry the review isn't more complimentary.