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cecetomas's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Sexual content and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Lesbophobia
Minor: Racism
brinotbrie's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Sexual harassment
Moderate: Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, and Outing
Minor: Death of parent
bookishmillennial's review against another edition
- 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
Find me on Instagram: @bookish.millennial or tiktok: @bookishmillennial
I really enjoyed this slow burn, forced-proximity, workplace, will-they-or-won’t-they, age gap sapphic romance !!! I do think it dragged on a bit during the middle, but I appreciated the setting against Hollywood and the film / tv industry in general. It was familiar, fun, and I could absolutely see this being adapted on tv as a fluffy little romcom 😍 Jo & Emma were such goobers and played into the trope I like to call “two idiots who need to kiss already” 😅😂😇
I thought Meryl took such great care with the topics touched upon, such as sexism, power dynamics, homophobia, ageism, racism, the lack of diversity “in the room” in Hollywood, the invasive American paparazzi, & parasocial relationships. Even though it wasn’t my favorite book by Meryl Wilsner, I am still their stan forever!
💨 Steam: 1/5
Graphic: Racism and Sexism
Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexual content
marcylikesbooks's review against another edition
3.5
This one was different and I was pleasantly surprised at the authors range within sapphic romance. This one is a very slow burn and for 96% it’s so chaste which is kind of adorable. I liked the slow burn, I liked the characters, the setting, the writing. It’s very easy for me to step into the world they’ve made and that’s one of the things I truly love about reading.
The story has a few things I didn’t like but also didn’t hate, just things that maybe could have been done better (but again, debut book so that makes sense).
I really like slow burn generally but this is too slow, there still needs to be progress. It’s pretty angsty which I also like as long as it goes somewhere but the progression in their relationship stalls or regresses for long periods of time which ends up feeling drawn out which can be little frustrating to read at times.
They also don’t actually get together until right at the very end which it almost feels like a cliffhanger because you don’t get to see them be a couple at all. It’s almost like the book ends when their romance is at the 60 or 70% mark because the book is getting long and too much time was spent drawing things out.
The first real conflict they face felt kind of silly and manufactured to me where a non-issue becomes this source of hurt and the drama that’s generated from it seems incongruent with what actually happened.
The book is also set in Hollywood and one of the plot points explores the systemic sexual predation of women in that culture which I’m conflicted about. On one hand I think it’s really important that more people talk about it and being set in Hollywood it makes sense to and it was handled well. On the other hand I personally don’t like reading about creepy sexual predators in my romance books and it’s possibly the biggest mood killer I can think of.
I really need to learn how to write reviews that don’t just outline the things that could have been better because I did really enjoy it. Honestly this story was a good, enjoyable read with potential to be great and given how much the authors next book improved, I’m really looking forward to what they write next because I’m sure it’s only going to get better and better.
Graphic: Sexual harassment
Minor: Homophobia, Racism, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment
plsnotanotherdamselindistress's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
But firstly, this book couple has a 14 year age-gap(28/42 I believe) which I am never a fan of especially also adding the boss/employee dynamic. I appreciate that nothing really happened until Emma no longer worked for her, but this part still made me feel a little bit icky...
Still what I loved was the envolvement of their siblings and also getting to watch these other relationships grow.
Sadly when visiting the awards together we do not get an inside of what happens after the red-carpet incident only them quite a few times mentioning how much fun they had together which I believe could have helped making their connection more facetted as for except for one time the author did not write scenes in which both simply have fun with each other.
Spice: 1.25/5 (only like one scene at the end...the scene was good, but...)
Graphic: Sexual harassment
Moderate: Homophobia
Minor: Racism and Sexism
stacy837'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
4.0
Moderate: Biphobia, Cursing, Homophobia, Racism, Sexism, Xenophobia, Lesbophobia, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Medical content
3frenchtoast's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Sexual content and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Homophobia
Minor: Racism
avidreaderandgeekgirl's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Graphic: Cursing, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Medical content, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
alexalily's review
- 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
3.0
Graphic: Sexual content and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Racism, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Outing, and Alcohol
Minor: Cursing and Stalking
erica_0000's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Sexual assault
Moderate: Homophobia, Racism, and Sexism