Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

All the Feels by Olivia Dade

55 reviews

vaguely_pink's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-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

4.0

I enjoyed Spoiler Alert, but I enjoyed this one so much more. Alex is one of the most accurate portrayals of ADHD I’ve ever come across and I felt very seen in his character. 

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a_libra_library's review against another edition

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emotional sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0


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ashleyvharris's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted 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

3.5

In All the Feels, Olivia Dade unapologetically puts her fat, selfless heroine in the spotlight with a famous and disgustingly attractive man as her enthusiastic love interest.

This book was such a fun read and a welcome departure from its current peers in the contemporary romance genre. Dark/tortured/serious men seem to be in favor at the moment with romance readers, but damn if Alex Woodroe doesn’t make me change my mind. He is so joyously ADHD and cares about others so fully and without hesitation. Not to mention his very kinky taste in fan fiction for HIS OWN GODDAMN CHARACTER. It’s a breath of fresh air or rather a gulp of fresh air after laughing too hard. 

Wren’s character is oh so relatable, both as a fat woman and as someone who has perfected the art of making themselves less than for the benefit of others. Wren’s character struggles felt authentic and were portrayed with care. I sincerely appreciate the message that Wren doesn’t need someone to always defend her, but instead learns that she is WORTH defending herself. 

While I value the narrative of supporting domestic violence victims, it came across a bit heavy handed and misguided at times. Alex’s guilt over
his mother’s abusive relationship
makes sense given his lack of understanding about DV. But, with the exception of the auction, it felt like his charity support was more like throwing his money at the issue instead of being a voice and actually learning about what DV is and the work that goes into helping victims. It would’ve been so good to have a scene where Alex takes Wren to one of the shelters he supports and they get the chance to interact with people there. Building a stronger connection between his charity work and Wren’s ER clinician background could’ve further established a common ground and sensitivity between the two. 

I’m a little disappointed that we don’t get a scene with Wren confronting
Ron
. It would’ve been lovely to get closure there and see Wren come full circle with one of her childhood bullies. 

Overall, this was a hilarious, unique, and big-hearted romance that makes room for people with different bodies and minds. Dade’s message is clear: you are worthy of love and ALL the good things this life has to offer. Period.

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gemin1reader's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted

3.25

For a story that mentioned pegging about a hundred times, why was there no pegging?!

It was a cute enough story and I enjoyed the read but it did frustrate me after a while - I guess it’s nice to see a book with an ‘ugly’ love interest but did we need it hammered home so much?! 

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jessgj's review against another edition

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

4.75

Alas, not my favorite of this series thus far. Admittedly, I'm not a fan of slow burn romances and the working title for this book was "Slow Burn" so that's more on me. Your mileage might vary.

That said, I remember being excited to see Alex and Lauren fall in love while reading Spoiler Alert and this didn't disappoint. I really appreciate that Lauren isn't the "accepted" type of plus-sized, I.E. the hourglass-shaped vixen with a Jessica Rabbit-like bust-waist-hips ratio. Bodies come in different shapes and sizes and they're all valid and deserve our appreciation.

I also appreciate the depiction of Alex's ADHD. ADHD is often portrayed as this vapid, quirky, impulsive thing and Alex is very much seen that way in the public eye but we get to see the full picture of his love, his need for acceptance, his huge emotional range. We get to see the world through his eyes and it's so rich.

And Wren, ugh. She kept surprising me and her struggle with giving just so much of herself that she's burning out on all fronts is something I understand too well. Dade sucked punched me with that and the slow reveal of just how much Lauren does that. It's actually reminded me to take better care of myself so thank you, Olivia Dade for that one.

Overall, it wasn't the slam dunk I was hoping for but it's still a great time with a great cast. 

TW: Mentions of domestic assault, fatphobia, panic attacks, some violence and bullying

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shaipanda's review against another edition

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

5.0

I LOVEDD thisss - idk what it what exactly and I definitely get why not everyone would love this cause some of the dialogue and stuff could definitely come across as cringy at times but I don’t care I loveddd this 
I could not put it down and I loved their dynamic and stuff so much 
Literally enjoyed so so much and I’m so glad I saw this mentioned on booktok and randomly decided to pick it up when I was at the library the other week 

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ladythana's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0


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briannareads1342's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-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


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kingrosereads's review against another edition

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emotional funny inspiring lighthearted reflective 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? Yes

3.25

I’ll say I really thought this book had its moments. It’s the first book I’ve read where the male love interest had golden retriever energy. I like that Alex is protective of Lauren but I know I’d feel just as uncomfortable as Lauren and feel like a nuisance too. I didn’t really like Alex negging her constantly and at first I didn’t like that he compared her to a Picasso or a bird or the Venus of Willendorf, but he thought those things about her made her cute, charming, interesting, and ultimately, beautiful and sexy. I also really loved that Alex was really into fanfic and the tropes. It was obvious to me (and apparently all his friends) he was crushing on Lauren almost from the start. I will admit there are moments where it didn’t seem like their relationship didn’t really fit. I was happy they actually communicated with each other and are actively working on themselves. The stress in the importance of therapy was amazing. And the conversation about domestic violence from the perspective of a loved one that was unaware of the abuse was pretty spot on. I think Lauren is a pretty accurate portrayal for a lot of big women and how we try to make ourselves as small as possible for the sake of others. I haven’t read Spoiler Alert but I think I’ll give it a shot after this. 


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jucolo's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny 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
I love the way Dade writes her leading women. Is it refreshing to read about women who look like us, the every day woman? YES. But her women are so much more than that (thank god). I was struck in Spoiler Alert by April's POV -- how unique she was, how strong her convictions were, how much she seemed like a real person. In All The Feels, I felt the same way about our woman protagonist, Lauren Clegg. Very different from April, and so completely Lauren. I loved her, I loved her confidence, and I loved her caution, too! She and Alex (the man protagonist) fit so well together. Their love story was so real and believable because Dade wrote them as bouncing off of each other. Sometimes banter can get old in books, but in All The Feels, their banter had purpose: it established the connection between Lauren and Alex as well as became a way for the two to convey how they felt (about each other, about their day, etc.). Love!

As always, Dade's use of fanfiction culture is perfect. In Spoiler Alert, Dade addressed the nuances and complexities of fandom and fandom culture (which worked well for April and Marcus, two people who have immersed themselves in fandom). In All The Feels, Dade doesn't address fandom culture in the same way because it isn't of interest to Alex -- what Alex cares about are the stories and the tropes, which is just perfect. 

When Alex gets the soulmate-first-words tattoo at the end, I almost cried I stg.

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