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alyssajp's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Cancer
Minor: Abortion, Alcohol, and Suicide
solarlavenderreads's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Medical trauma, Cancer, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abortion, and Grief
Moderate: Death of parent, Sexual content, and Pregnancy
Minor: Abortion
bookishmillennial's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
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? No
disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews. I enjoy most books for what they are, & I extract lessons from them all. I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me here: https://linktr.ee/bookishmillennial
Gosh, I love HBY!!! This was absolutely delightful, endearing, and heart-warming. I have really enjoyed HBY's past 3 books & this one absolutely lived up to my love of those!!!
This is first-person, present tense POV of Win. This is not a spoiler, because the author's note in the very beginning gives you warning, plus the premise kind of gives it away, but I really don't mind the surprise pregnancy trope! I love Lizzie Blake's Best Mistake by Mazey Eddings (highly recommend if you're a neurodivergent honey!), and I think we need to normalize more stories like this, because they feel authentic. Why do we hate when others don't particularly plan to get pregnant, but then decide "yeah, let's do this!" and a sweet lil baby is born? I don't really see the ick as long as both parents are willing/enthusiastic with the best intentions, and HBY wrote it so tenderly here!
Win is witty, goofy, loyal, and messy. She is working at a cafe, plus lifeguards during the summer, bringing her annual income to a whopping $26k (this is relevant later). The last thing she expects is to get pregnant after a Halloween/pirate one-night-stand with a guy who literally got dressed and bounced the moment they came. Win was also a surprise baby for her mom, and has been third-wheeling her best friends Sarah & Caleb, who are a couple (who also hosted the Halloween party where Win & Bo hook up) forever!
Bo is pensive, kind, and gracious! He is truly a book boyfriend to remember. I loved how he handled every single conversation about a hard topic, whether it was family, past relationship trauma (Bo’s past with an ex Cora & Win’s past with toxic ex Jack), disabilities, medical history, and more. I loved Bo's proposal of living costs and how to split it between himself and Win, based on their incomes, rather than simply going Dutch on everything. That was the point in the book where I was completely sold on him hahaha.
I loved both of these characters' journeys & their slow burn together was so satisfying. NO THIRD ACT BREAKUP OR MASSIVE CONFLICT EITHER!!!!! I think a theme in romance is that we all want to feel *chosen* rather than a product of circumstance or convenience, and that is something that comes up again in Bo & Win's journeys with this unplanned pregnancy. There were also some incredibly & beautifully human conversations about ableism, how being part of a marginalized group expands one’s empathy, & some inherent biases & thoughts parents have about having children. I really appreciated the conversations & inner dialogue Win had with Bo about this. HBY did a beautiful job illustrating this!
I listened to the audiobook via Libro FM & I highly recommend it. Victoria Connolly did a fantastic job :D
representation: body diversity (Win is explicitly described as loving to eat, and her midsection showing that, which I realllyyyyy appreciated - more variety in body types in romance please!), FMC has a smaller limb for one of her hands, MMC has a prosthetic leg/is an amputee, character is a cancer survivor, different family makeup (some people don't grow up with both parents! some people navigate loss/grief very early in life!), found family!
steam rating: 2.5/5
see content warnings below <3
side note: There's a throwaway line in here that says "Brittany from Walmart knows what she did!" as they discuss customer service reps, and I am on a mission to find a redeemable Brittany in fiction. We are the goddamn worst wahhhhhhhhh
Gosh, I love HBY!!! This was absolutely delightful, endearing, and heart-warming. I have really enjoyed HBY's past 3 books & this one absolutely lived up to my love of those!!!
This is first-person, present tense POV of Win. This is not a spoiler, because the author's note in the very beginning gives you warning, plus the premise kind of gives it away, but I really don't mind the surprise pregnancy trope! I love Lizzie Blake's Best Mistake by Mazey Eddings (highly recommend if you're a neurodivergent honey!), and I think we need to normalize more stories like this, because they feel authentic. Why do we hate when others don't particularly plan to get pregnant, but then decide "yeah, let's do this!" and a sweet lil baby is born? I don't really see the ick as long as both parents are willing/enthusiastic with the best intentions, and HBY wrote it so tenderly here!
Win is witty, goofy, loyal, and messy. She is working at a cafe, plus lifeguards during the summer, bringing her annual income to a whopping $26k (this is relevant later). The last thing she expects is to get pregnant after a Halloween/pirate one-night-stand with a guy who literally got dressed and bounced the moment they came. Win was also a surprise baby for her mom, and has been third-wheeling her best friends Sarah & Caleb, who are a couple (who also hosted the Halloween party where Win & Bo hook up) forever!
Bo is pensive, kind, and gracious! He is truly a book boyfriend to remember. I loved how he handled every single conversation about a hard topic, whether it was family, past relationship trauma (Bo’s past with an ex Cora & Win’s past with toxic ex Jack), disabilities, medical history, and more. I loved Bo's proposal of living costs and how to split it between himself and Win, based on their incomes, rather than simply going Dutch on everything. That was the point in the book where I was completely sold on him hahaha.
I loved both of these characters' journeys & their slow burn together was so satisfying. NO THIRD ACT BREAKUP OR MASSIVE CONFLICT EITHER!!!!! I think a theme in romance is that we all want to feel *chosen* rather than a product of circumstance or convenience, and that is something that comes up again in Bo & Win's journeys with this unplanned pregnancy. There were also some incredibly & beautifully human conversations about ableism, how being part of a marginalized group expands one’s empathy, & some inherent biases & thoughts parents have about having children. I really appreciated the conversations & inner dialogue Win had with Bo about this. HBY did a beautiful job illustrating this!
I listened to the audiobook via Libro FM & I highly recommend it. Victoria Connolly did a fantastic job :D
representation: body diversity (Win is explicitly described as loving to eat, and her midsection showing that, which I realllyyyyy appreciated - more variety in body types in romance please!), FMC has a smaller limb for one of her hands, MMC has a prosthetic leg/is an amputee, character is a cancer survivor, different family makeup (some people don't grow up with both parents! some people navigate loss/grief very early in life!), found family!
steam rating: 2.5/5
see content warnings below <3
side note: There's a throwaway line in here that says "Brittany from Walmart knows what she did!" as they discuss customer service reps, and I am on a mission to find a redeemable Brittany in fiction. We are the goddamn worst wahhhhhhhhh
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Pregnancy, and Sexual content
Moderate: Death, Ableism, and Grief
Minor: Suicide and Abortion
spines'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
4.0
this is such a sweet romance, i have absolutely nothing bad to say about this book. It’s so heartwarming and lovely and soft and the characters are all super lovable and sweet.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy
Minor: Cancer, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, and Ableism
jillkaarlela's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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
5.0
Taylor Swift songs: “Lover”, “King of my heart”, “peace”
Age rating: 16+ (4 steamy chapters, 1.5/5🌶️
If you want to believe in love again, true unconditional love, read this book! I’m so serious!!! I never EVER thought I would love an unexpected pregnancy trope book, but here I am, crying happy tears over this book three times. I think this unexpected pregnancy trope works because both Win and Bo have always wanted a kid, but never knew/had the right time. So it’s not like this child is unwanted by any means, but the way the child gets there is unconventional. They both really really wanted this child, now that they know it’s an option. This child brings them so much joy!! (When he finds out, he cries tears of joy! Like, come on!) It makes my heart happy, even as someone who doesn’t like/want kids. I know they will give the child so much love. If any book couple will stay together forever, and is meant to be together in every lifetime, it’s Win and Bo. Nothing can convince me otherwise. This is a perfect book, no notes.
Bo is genuinely one of my favorite book boyfriends ever because he is one of the most caring and genuinely loving men ever!! I don’t usually love blondes, but I’ll forgive it this time. He’s a 6’5” gentle giant, cinnamon roll man, with glasses!! And he’s a huge nerd, which we loveeeeeee!! He’s just perfect.
Also the discussions of disabilities were SO IMPORTANT!! They were handled with so much care and thought and nuance. I appreciated this representation so much, as someone with a chronic illness/disability.
TW: grief, disability discussions, ableism, postpartum depression (past, off page), suicide (past, off page), cancer (past, off page), emotionally abusive/toxic relationship (past, off page)
Age rating: 16+ (4 steamy chapters, 1.5/5🌶️
If you want to believe in love again, true unconditional love, read this book! I’m so serious!!! I never EVER thought I would love an unexpected pregnancy trope book, but here I am, crying happy tears over this book three times. I think this unexpected pregnancy trope works because both Win and Bo have always wanted a kid, but never knew/had the right time. So it’s not like this child is unwanted by any means, but the way the child gets there is unconventional. They both really really wanted this child, now that they know it’s an option. This child brings them so much joy!! (When he finds out, he cries tears of joy! Like, come on!) It makes my heart happy, even as someone who doesn’t like/want kids. I know they will give the child so much love. If any book couple will stay together forever, and is meant to be together in every lifetime, it’s Win and Bo. Nothing can convince me otherwise. This is a perfect book, no notes.
Bo is genuinely one of my favorite book boyfriends ever because he is one of the most caring and genuinely loving men ever!! I don’t usually love blondes, but I’ll forgive it this time. He’s a 6’5” gentle giant, cinnamon roll man, with glasses!! And he’s a huge nerd, which we loveeeeeee!! He’s just perfect.
Also the discussions of disabilities were SO IMPORTANT!! They were handled with so much care and thought and nuance. I appreciated this representation so much, as someone with a chronic illness/disability.
TW: grief, disability discussions, ableism, postpartum depression (past, off page), suicide (past, off page), cancer (past, off page), emotionally abusive/toxic relationship (past, off page)
Content Warnings
Moderate: Pregnancy
Minor: Suicide, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Ableism, and Cancer
readwithjules_'s review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
book of the year. I genuinely do not have a single complaint. This book has everything you could possibly want in it and more. Win and Bo have my heart <3333
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Cancer
Minor: Suicide
megj23's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Vomit, Sexual content, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Cancer and Cursing
Minor: Suicide, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Ableism, Death of parent, and Death
romancewithem's review against another edition
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I loved every page of this book!! It was such a joy to read and get lost in their story
I loved the instant connection and chemistry and the seeing it grow and develop throughout the story
I feel like this could quickly become a book that I could reread over and over and never get bored of it
I loved all the characters and their humour was right up my street
Fully sobbing over the ending it was so cute
- disability & amputee
- 1st person, single pov
- accidental pregnancy
- one night stand
- roommates / forced proximity
- no 3rd act break up
I loved the instant connection and chemistry and the seeing it grow and develop throughout the story
I feel like this could quickly become a book that I could reread over and over and never get bored of it
I loved all the characters and their humour was right up my street
Fully sobbing over the ending it was so cute
- disability & amputee
- 1st person, single pov
- accidental pregnancy
- one night stand
- roommates / forced proximity
- no 3rd act break up
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Pregnancy
Moderate: Death of parent, Alcohol, and Cancer
mabellene's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy and Cancer
Moderate: Suicide, Ableism, and Death of parent
Minor: Abandonment and Abortion
risseandshine's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
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? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide, Cancer, Death, and Death of parent