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livlamentloathe's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
All I've heard is good reviews of this book and I need to ask: have you ever been in a relationship with good communication? Have y'all ever heard of TELLING your partner your feelings and being straight with them and listening before storming off?
That said, I did like parts of this. Despite the bad communication, Elle and Darcy were sweet together. I especially liked Elle's family issues, and Darcy's whole thing. Like just her period. I adored her.
Spoilers under cut:
The ending was exhausting. How Elle was perfect and never did a bad thing in her life and was such a sad martyr. Boo hoo. I liked Elle and I totally side with her on all her family nonsense, but with Darcy? Yeah, she was partly right but she was also a bitch about it. She told Darcy she didn't have a heart when everything she'd learned until that point said otherwise. ALSO LET'S CONTEXTUALIZE: IT'S BEEN A MONTH SINCE THEY STARTED DATING!!! Maybe TWO since they met!!! It's not insane at ALL to be confused about what you're doing still -- and they never really HAD a convo about their relationship prior to the ending. Both were insecure and self-doubting so they took their frustrations out on one another but it made me so frustrated because they were BOTH wrong. NO, Elle, you were not fucking clear from the start. Yeah, she made a comment on their failed first date, but then everything DID get complicated, to Darcy's point. Yes, Darcy needed to grow a mouth but she's had traumatic relationships all her life so it's fair that it wasn't easy. Also fuck Elle for knowing Darcy has a bad relationship with her mom, and just assuming she would be entirely truthful in that conversation. Like oh wow how inconceivable! Girl who has issues opening up partly because of negligent parent LIES to mother who she's clearly arguing with?????? What a concept!!!
Plus a lot of the secondary characters felt so contrived to me. Their early ministrations were frustrating and often felt forced. Like how Brenden behaved in the first quarter of the book? Clearly it was all set up to justify the fake dating arc. And Margo was a real jerk sometimes-- she made up for it eventually but still.
That said, I did like parts of this. Despite the bad communication, Elle and Darcy were sweet together. I especially liked Elle's family issues, and Darcy's whole thing. Like just her period. I adored her.
Spoilers under cut:
The ending was exhausting. How Elle was perfect and never did a bad thing in her life and was such a sad martyr. Boo hoo. I liked Elle and I totally side with her on all her family nonsense, but with Darcy? Yeah, she was partly right but she was also a bitch about it. She told Darcy she didn't have a heart when everything she'd learned until that point said otherwise. ALSO LET'S CONTEXTUALIZE: IT'S BEEN A MONTH SINCE THEY STARTED DATING!!! Maybe TWO since they met!!! It's not insane at ALL to be confused about what you're doing still -- and they never really HAD a convo about their relationship prior to the ending. Both were insecure and self-doubting so they took their frustrations out on one another but it made me so frustrated because they were BOTH wrong. NO, Elle, you were not fucking clear from the start. Yeah, she made a comment on their failed first date, but then everything DID get complicated, to Darcy's point. Yes, Darcy needed to grow a mouth but she's had traumatic relationships all her life so it's fair that it wasn't easy. Also fuck Elle for knowing Darcy has a bad relationship with her mom, and just assuming she would be entirely truthful in that conversation. Like oh wow how inconceivable! Girl who has issues opening up partly because of negligent parent LIES to mother who she's clearly arguing with?????? What a concept!!!
Plus a lot of the secondary characters felt so contrived to me. Their early ministrations were frustrating and often felt forced. Like how Brenden behaved in the first quarter of the book? Clearly it was all set up to justify the fake dating arc. And Margo was a real jerk sometimes-- she made up for it eventually but still.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse
Minor: Child abuse, Abandonment, and Biphobia
Emotional Abuse from family/parents, Biphobia mentioned very brieflyempathephant's review against another edition
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Okay, I will preface this by saying this is the first adult romance I have ever successfully read. I don't know which of the things that irritated me are a product of the genre vs the book. On the other hand, this is the first adult romance I have successfully read, so that says something I think. I nearly put it down at the beginning for the cheesiness and predictability, but I'm glad I decided to roll with it and stick around for the journey.
I had a lot of fun with these characters. I loved the pop culture references and the name-dropping of real places and restaurants in Seattle (drooling over these new additions to me To Eat list!) I even learned a lot about astrology, something I've never had much of an interest in, and am more open to exploring that now. So good job, book. It's set around the holidays, which I didn't know before reading, so perfect Hallmark Christmas movie fodder. Get on that Netflix.
My main complaint was (vague/general spoilers about character development)Elle's lack of character development, whereas Darcy was the one who had to do all the growing. Both characters had interesting flaws and backstories and I liked seeing them play against one another. But it wasn't until the very end that Elle had any aha moments, and even then Darcy was the main focus. It made if feel a little like the book was passing moral judgement on personality styles - Elle was a bit of a MPDG, perfect the way she is, just misunderstood, while Darcy had (understandable given her background but unfortunately) The Wrong Attitude. Like I get that this is a romance novel so it's probably going to side with the hopeless romantic in order for the plot to like, function. But I wanted to see a *little more* of Elle at least recognizing what made Darcy's inherent personality great and not just having fun changing her or seeing what's underneath.
NEVERTHELESS! I will probably read the second novel in this series despite not being as into it because it isn't an f/f relationship. So take that as you will.
I had a lot of fun with these characters. I loved the pop culture references and the name-dropping of real places and restaurants in Seattle (drooling over these new additions to me To Eat list!) I even learned a lot about astrology, something I've never had much of an interest in, and am more open to exploring that now. So good job, book. It's set around the holidays, which I didn't know before reading, so perfect Hallmark Christmas movie fodder. Get on that Netflix.
My main complaint was (vague/general spoilers about character development)
NEVERTHELESS! I will probably read the second novel in this series despite not being as into it because it isn't an f/f relationship. So take that as you will.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Infidelity and Grief
Minor: Toxic relationship, Child abuse, and Alcoholism
One of the main characters experienced and describes/deal with the repercussions of
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