Reviews with content warning for Mental illness - All the Feels

Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

All the Feels by Olivia Dade

29 reviews

nightlight_reader's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted 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

5.0

These two were my favorite in Spoiler Alert, I was so glad to see them again! I LOVED Alex, I felt seen, I felt his chaos, I loved his voice and his tone and his joy. Lauren was a delight to get to know better, she’s so strong and brave and made such a great contrast to Alex. Such a different protagonist compared to April from Spoiler Alert.

I loved them. Alex and Lauren are so goofy together, I love that they found each others’ love languages in a perfect way. Alex’s favorite tropes are also my favorite tropes and I would read any of his fics any day.

Content Warnings

monicalaurette's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny lighthearted sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

In my journey to read the Spoiler Alert series backwards I have finally finished All The Feels and I indeed have many feelings myself - possibly all of them at once. I think this might be my favorite of the stories within this little Hollywood circle of actors and actresses. First off, the cover is so cute and warm and was my favorite of the three books too. And the way that Lauren reminded me of myself a little bit and that I’ve always wanted someone like Alex to love me so fiercely like he did her. From the start he was smitten with her - and of course he didn’t know it until much later but I KNEW IT JUST FROM THIS QUOTE:

“Her eyes were brighter now than the stars about could explain.”

Like EXCUSE ME YOU’RE IN LOVE GOOD SIR!

Of course I got my dreaded third-act breakup, but this one for some reason didn’t bother me as much as Peter & Maria’s so maybe that’s why I liked the book just a little more. I know I liked the book more because of the way I held onto it so tight and caused damage to the spine 😂

And of course we had our text chats and fanfictions which I loved and seeing more into Alex’s life and how he thinks. Because I’m reading backwards on this sort of interconnected trilogy I know part of Marcus & April’s story but I’m not upset about it because I just want to see how cute they are compared to the couples I have now come to love from Dade.

Content Warnings

cluckieduck's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny slow-paced

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

3.0

Profoundly irked by the lack of pegging!

Overall enjoyable…more good than bad, I’d say.

Definitely some problematic elements, especially surrounding the intense focus on Lauren’s appearance that didn’t let up from page 1 right through to the end of the epilogue. I also found Alex a bit infantile for a 39-year old and I don’t know if that was the best way to show his ADHD. Being a “delightful asshole” came across more grating than endearing at times.

But otherwise, I enjoyed the crossover timeline from Spoiler Alert and how they interconnected. I really liked the slow burn of Alex & Lauren’s relationship, plus the extra tidbits of the fanfics and playing up the romantic tropes on their road trip.

Content Warnings

bookcheshirecat's review against another edition

Go to review page

2.0

““This is the best day of my fucking life!” he shouted. “Only! One! Bed! My second-favorite trope!”

➽ All the Feels was a HUGE disappointment for me. I love Olivia Dade's Spoiler Alert series, so I have no idea what happened with this second companion novel! The story follows Alex, who is Marcus' best friend and a fellow co-actor on Gods of the Gates. He's flirty, stubborn and tends to get into trouble, which is why Lauren is hired as his new assistant. Lauren is a former ER therapist and lowkey forced into this job by her cousin. She's struggling a lot with her body image and the fatphobia she experiences in her daily life. The setup could have been interesting, but this book's first mistake was leaning too heavily on Spoiler Alert. The first half is set parallel to the previous book, so there were similar events and it felt like All the Feels didn't stand on its own (especially compared to the third book Ship Wrecked). I'm sad that Lauren wasn't that well fleshed out compared to Olivia Dade's other heroines, as she had a lot of potential.

➽ My main issue was with how Alex was written in this book. I enjoyed him in Spoiler Alert, but he was so offputting her. I understand that he struggled with his ADHD, but it didn't excuse all of his actions. Alex's impulsivity and attraction to making trouble were a huge problem as they affected everyone around him. Instead of trying to get himself under control as best as possible, his actions became everyone else's problems. I don't think he took responsibility for his rash decisions or tried to grow. In the end, people like Lauren were caught in the crossfire and had to deal with him causing scandals. Alex's humor didn't shine in this book and he felt more immature compared to Spoiler Alert. It also made me uncomfortable how he centered himself in other people's trauma, e.g. his mother's past abusive relationship.

➽ I couldn't root for the romance because of Alex's issues and how they influced his relationship with Lauren. Their dynamic made me uncomfortable, as Lauren is the one who has to constantly manage Alex's emotions and talk him down so he doesn't do anything that would hurt his image. She's hired as his manager for a reason, but sadly Alex never tries to change his behavior toward the press. Instead, Lauren has to deal with his outbursts and the narrative doesn't really support her critisim of Alex. In my opinion, she was right to tell Alex that it's not worth it to antagonize the media for her or go after anyone who called her names. She was clearly uncomforztable with how he defended her. Sadly, the book tookm the stance that Alex was right and Lauren's issue was that she had low self esteem. There was just something so uncomfortable to how Lauren's concern were brushed off. Their dynamic felt very uneven, as Lauren didn't allow herself to show any negative emotions, as she knew it would make Alex flip out and do something that hurt his career. Lauren couldn't be honest with her partner and was constantly worried about something upsetting Alex that would make him cause a scandal. That's not a healthy relationship for me and I felt sorry that Lauren always had to consider Alex's emotions at the detriment of her own, just because he couldn't deal with them.

Content Warnings

katbsc's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging funny inspiring 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

4.75

Content Warnings

martamae77's review

Go to review page

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

4.75

Content Warnings

vaguely_pink's review against another edition

Go to review page

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.

Content Warnings

jenn_reads's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny 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

3.0

It felt a bit like an AU fic I couldn't place the source of, but it was cute enough. I am not sure how I feel about all the focus on Lauren's body even though that was the point.

Content Warnings

nicoreads333's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny lighthearted medium-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

3.5

This was an enjoyable read! I loved that one of the MCs had ADHD, it felt nice to see that in print. He was funny and kind and loving and everything you could want in a love interest. The female MC didn't have all that much of a personality other than being "ugly" and letting people walk all over her. I wanted to love her, but there wasn't much to connect with. That being said, I did really like idea of two people who aren't perfect matches in terms of conventional attractiveness get together. It was beautiful seeing their connection grow throughout the story. I will say, I didn't feel any heat until the actual spicy scenes, so that also was a slight let down. I felt their love but not their attraction.

All in all, it was funny and sweet and had a good message, so I would recommend.

Content Warnings

readingqueerly's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny lighthearted relaxing medium-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

3.75

Thoroughly enjoyed reading this. It was a fun story and I think Olivia Dade writes loveable and fun characters.
I think my only remark is not a big deal just a personal thing. It's not really a spoiler, but kind of so I'm marking it as one.

there was so much talk of pegging yet no actual pegging scene between them and idk I kinda wish there was 😂

Content Warnings

More...