Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Wenn aus Funken Flammen werden by Abby Jimenez

20 reviews

racheln23's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Kristen’s toxic trait is that she thinks she should be making other people’s decisions. 

I loved how the book started. I enjoyed Kristen’s bluntness and snarkiness.  I love how her and Josh clicked. It seemed very authentic, but then things started going downhill. 

Kristen was absolutely exhausting. At one point, I literally hated her. 

Also, I really imagined the book being a little bit lighter; I t
was under the impression that K&J were going to be thrown into wedding planning WAY more together and we would see some fun, light, playful, and maybe awkward scenes. But wedding planning was almost non existent. If anything, I’d say that K&J are “thrown into a situation where Kristen ends up being Josh’s boss, and they just can’t avoid blurring professional lines!” (Juk juk juk juk juk!)

The book gets incredibly heavy and I hated that as well (too much ptsd for me). The ending was predictable but I 100% knew what Abby Jimenez’s true message was that wasn’t plot related. So cheers to Ms Jimenez. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Infertility, Toxic relationship, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Medical content and Medical trauma

senga15's review against another edition

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Infertility, Mental illness, Blood, Grief, Car accident, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Infidelity, Toxic relationship, and Medical content

Minor: Miscarriage, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and War

marycage's review against another edition

emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Gore, Infertility, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Grief, Car accident, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Stalking

lily_sutton's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful fast-paced

• 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? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infertility

Moderate: Death, Mental illness, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Medical content, Grief, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Miscarriage and Toxic relationship

zalikawashere's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted 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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Chronic illness, Death, Infertility, Mental illness, Grief, and Pregnancy

Minor: Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, and Fire/Fire injury

slugwifereads's review against another edition

DNFed at 27%. 

✨she’s not like other girls, she’s worse ✨ 

I could see where the story was going with a miracle pregnancy angle, and I really disliked that with her infertility storyline. I also couldn’t hear one more time how she was “not like other girls” - it made it feel like it was written by a 17-year old boy. I enjoyed her other series but this one isn’t for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infertility

Moderate: Infidelity, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Medical content, and Medical trauma

mels_reading_log's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Once again, Abby Jimenez has written a book that I couldn’t put down. I’m in love with the characters of this book, especially Stuntman Mike, and their lives that are not Hallmark-perfect. As someone who had terrible periods and had a hysterectomy when I was 30, I can feel Kristen’s pain and how hard it is to go through such a thing. But having a partner who loves you unconditionally and can help you get through those insecurities is imperative. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Mental illness, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Miscarriage and Panic attacks/disorders

cutepatzie's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective relaxing sad medium-paced

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

4.5

It's a nice book. And I understand the feelings os female lead but sometimes I think she was just so cruel to ml that I was honestly want to drop of reading this book. And also I wish that the side character the female best friend at the end of the book become like a nothing to the author. Just was like the main point and twist of the whole book, but she was sure just for that purpose and left behind like a garbe that no one want. but from a positive aspect I like that this book is not scary to talk about periods and femeal diseases of the reproductive system what was huge plus to me. Overall I am happy that book finishes with happy ending and shines the light on infertility and how hard it is to be a girl. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Car accident, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Miscarriage

Minor: Pregnancy, Alcohol, and War

kelly_e's review against another edition

emotional funny relaxing 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? Yes

5.0

Title: The Friend Zone
Author: Abby Jimenez
Series: The Friend Zone #1
Genre: Romance
Rating: 5.00
Pub Date: June 11, 2019

T H R E E • W O R D S

Sassy • Wholesome • Emotional

📖 S Y N O P S I S

Kristen Petersen doesn't do drama, will fight to the death for her friends, and has no room in her life for guys who just don't get her. She's also keeping a big secret: facing a medically necessary procedure that will make it impossible for her to have children.

Planning her best friend's wedding is bittersweet for Kristen—especially when she meets the best man, Josh Copeland. He's funny, sexy, never offended by her mile-wide streak of sarcasm, and always one chicken enchilada ahead of her hangry. Even her dog, Stuntman Mike, adores him. The only catch: Josh wants a big family someday. Kristen knows he'd be better off with someone else, but as their attraction grows, it's harder and harder to keep him at arm's length.

💭 T H O U G H T S

Abby Jimenez has quickly climbed the list of my favourite romance authors after reading Part of Your World and Yours Truly (her two most recent releases). With that being said, I was incredibly excited to unwrap a copy of The Friend Zone, Abby's debut, as one of my blind date with a book in my most recent order from Em's Reading Boutique. I think this may just be my favourite so far.

The characters, the romance and the depth were all what made this novel standout for me. Told in alternating POVs between the male and female leads, the chemistry felt so real. Abby does the male POV really well. I've loved each of her male leads, for different reasons, so far. Their banter was fantastic and really eluded to just how comfortable they were with one another, despite Kristen's huge secret. I really connected with Kristen's inability to talk about her uterine fibroids, painful periods, and impending hysterectomy. It's hard to talk about things, especially when you don't know how the other person will react, even when there's a level of trust. In my opinion, that's part of being human. I know many readers have had issues with that part of the storyline, but I got it.

I also appreciate Abby detailing in her author's note how she based much of the story on her own best friend's infertility journey. There's also a lot of contention surrounding the ending, and it's quite possible a different ending would have been more impactful, yet I respect Abby for telling the story how she saw fit. For me, it was more about Kristen accepting the love she deserves than the 'miracle'. It's important to remember that everyone's journey is different. This is one story, and there are millions of other stories out there.

This book holds a lot of pain, which felt very realistic. I like my romances with the rawness of real life struggles and this one certainly fit that bill. I'd definitely recommend caution and doing some research before picking this one up. If you're looking for something light, this likely isn't it. But I absolutely loved this book and could not put it down! I'm looking forward to more of Sloan's in book two.

📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• Abby Jimenez devotees
• fans of dual perspective romcoms
• readers looking for a romance with depth

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"'Before I broke inside. Before my body made me wrong for you. Sometimes soul mates don't end up together, Josh. They marry other people. They never meet. Or on of them dies.'" 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Infertility, Medical content, Medical trauma, Car accident, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cursing, Death, Mental illness, Sexual content, Blood, and Grief

Minor: Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, Murder, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

death of partner

atamano's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Infertility, Grief, Medical trauma, and Car accident

Moderate: Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Blood, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

Minor: Vomit