Reviews with content warning for Infidelity - Wenn aus Funken Flammen werden

Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

Wenn aus Funken Flammen werden by Abby Jimenez

37 reviews

emilymartin210's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

2.0

This was my first experience with Abby Jimenez, and I'm going to need someone to convince me to try more of her books because this one was not it. It was well-written, but the plot and characters were truly not enjoyable at all. Had I not been listening to this on a road trip, I would have probably DNF'd.

First of all, the two main characters are truly insufferable. Kristen is not like other girls because she *checks notes* wears sweatpants, likes a taco truck in Skid Row, and speaks her mind in a way that is borderline insulting. Josh is not like other guys because he has six sisters and will go buy tampons at the store.

Moving on. Their relationship starts with infidelity. The author and the characters seem to excuse that because they don't hook up until 30 seconds after Kristen ends her two-year relationship, but emotional cheating is cheating!!! When you're avoiding your military boyfriend's calls to spend the night with a guy you just met, I'm going to say that's infidelity.

Beyond that, this book felt stuffed with plot details that never truly paid off. It felt disjointed and weirdly paced at times, which I think is due to the

shocking, out-of-the-blue, unnecessary death of Brandon

at the end. The miscommunication between Kristen and Josh should have been solved earlier, but it had to wait until the very end in order to squeeze in a few random, unearned plot twists.

Someone please convince me to give her another try.

Content Warnings

mariposa517's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

Content Warnings

lex_is_bookish's review against another edition

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challenging emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

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m_pines_pnw's review against another edition

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fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

This was one of the most unhinged plots I've ever read. So much happened so quick and recounting it to friends was like retelling a telenovela, so if that's your vibe go for it! I did think that the relationship was a borderline emotional affair, so that's a red flag for me, and the infertility issue was not handled well. Spoiler time:

I hated that the main character had 0 time between her "breakup" and hooking up with the main love interest. There was no closure or communication, and she just immediately jumped his bones the second the other guy let her down, and I felt like their relationship was an emotional affair before that, so she was basically cheating half the book from my perspective. Also her surprise baby at the end undid all of her struggles with fertility, and it would have been nice for that to not be some miracle when the author could have actually represented the difficulties of infertility. Don't even get me started on the best friend's fiancé's death.

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abidavisf's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective 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? It's complicated

4.5

I feel seen. I had no idea going into this book that it would represent fertility struggles, lack of self worth, or the fear of opening your heart to someone, particularly when you feel that you are lacking the thing they really want. I understand Kristen so deeply. Her fears are my fears. Her plans for her health are continuously considered in my brain. Thank you, Abby Jimenez, for seeing me.

The Friend Zone is remarkably unique in its warmth & comfort that is paired with gut-wrenching pain. We all know and love Abby Jimenez for the way she can make us laugh and cry in a matter of seconds, and The Friend Zone is a gentle wade into the tragedy that would come in books further down the line. As a debut novel, it establishes Abby Jimenez’s writing style perfectly: you’re going to feel warm and fuzzy, and you’re also going to sob so hard you can’t breathe, and you’ll love every second of it.

Sloane and Brandon’s love story was so beautiful, and I wish they could have had their own book.

Knowing that Sloane’s book is next, that she finds love after unimaginable tragedy, is both humbling and haunting. I am fascinated by the idea of having multiple soulmates, and I’m ready to have my heart ripped out with The Happy Ever After Playlist while also completely terrified. I know this one’s going to hurt.

I’d love to know more about Josh’s family further down the line, how he was raised, what made him decide he wanted NINE children. From the sounds of it, it was a happy childhood so maybe there wasn’t much to go into, but it would have been nice to meet some of his relatives all the same, maybe even Celeste.

Kristen’s decisions so accurately reflect my own, and this book was truly cathartic to read. The acknowledgments and Abby’s note were too. Your life and worth do not end because of infertility, and that’s an important message that I need to believe for myself. I’m working on it.

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mirandaburel's review against another edition

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emotional funny sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

This book is an interesting read. In the one hand there were things I really liked (josh, primarily) and other things I really didn’t (the entire existence of Tyler, the purposeful miscommunication). Sometimes this book reached for 4 stars and other times I wanted to rate it a 2.

I think the author’s note gave a lot of insight and empathy toward the fertility plot line. but the pacing of it, the way Kristen refused to have a proper conversation about it with Josh, the late OCD reveal (which makes a lot of sense and makes me think she’s an unreliable narrator and almost want to reread it through that lens)… to me it was just frustrating to read. I feel like a lot of things could have been explored more but were brushed aside to make it a ~romance~.

Speaking of the romance…again I have mixed feelings. I think they had great chemistry, but they also fell for each other ridiculously quickly. I feel like the central conflict being her fertility would have been better than if it was just that. But instead she had this not-exactly-cheating plot line with Tyler and Josh (that led to her eventual pregnancy iirc), and Tyler’s proposal, her “thinking about it” only to immediately refuse. It’s just felt unnecessary when the central conflict could have just been her working through her health issues while grappling with her growing feelings for Josh. (To be clear, a lot of time is still spent in that conflict, but it felt like stonewalling and not actual progress).

Them the thing with alone and Brandon….felt gratuitous. Now that I know it’s a setup for book 2 it makes sense, but it was A Choice for the third act conflict and i just didn’t really like it!

TLDR this book tried to do too much, instead of digging deep with the most interesting bits.

Content Warnings

tidoublegarrr's review against another edition

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emotional sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

Content Warnings

senga15's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad 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

Content Warnings

emilytrnr's review against another edition

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This book felt misogynist and also had some distasteful offhand comments that turned me off. I also felt like, in the year 2019, why was a book being published that was SO condemning of all things feminine? I was confused about the inclusion of Tyler when it seemed a non-issue, and for all the “I’m not a cheater” talk there was definitely content that veered onto emotional affair territory. After half of the book I felt like I knew where 90% of the plot was going, almost all the tension was gone, and the relationships and humor felt geared towards a high schooler’s understanding of romance and jokes. Not for me.

Content Warnings

akswhy's review against another edition

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emotional tense fast-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

2.75

I love how believable these characters are, but the refusal to communicate trope is tired. The drama ramps up dramatically in the second half and the tone shifts SERIOUSLY. Be mindful of the content warnings.

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