Reviews with content warning for Death of parent - Better Than the Movies

I liked this book. I didn’t love it though. The overall plot is an enemies to lovers trope which I do like but I felt like has been done better in other books. For example: The Do-Over. I enjoyed that enemies to lovers trope more. Like another reviewer said it just didn’t stick the landing.

I also found myself really not liking Liz’s attitude or character at all about halfway through the book. She knew she was being a bad friend by lying to her best friend and stepmom but still continued to do it. I found myself wanting to scream “JUST TELL THE TRUTH,” so many times. And I understand with the loss of her mom things aren’t the same but she definitely should’ve just been honest with the people in her life rather than just lying to them.

I also felt like it took a little too long for her to realize that who she thought she wanted to be with was not the one but that’s just me. I liked the ending though how everything got resolved but I don’t think this book was a super stand out to me.

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ayah_reads's review

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lighthearted

3.0

I think I'm truly in my YA romcom era...once again that is as no longer a teenager.

Idk why, maybe the escpasim of YA romcoms is hitting just right right now, but I'm EATING these books up, reading them and staying up late like there is no tomorrow (like I also don't have a full time adult job the next day agwhwhw). I mean I read two books in two weeks and for me that's impressive as someone who spent all of last year not feeling in the mood to read because I was in a post English major slump.

My rating may seem low - I did really enjoy this and blew through it, I liked that the plot, and our MC's arc and development was rooted in her grief for her mother, it's the exact type of depth I love romcoms to have to make them feel grounded but also not be overly heavy.

I think my main thing that makes this something I enjoyed rather than loved (and definitely my last read has risen the bar so high for how good YA romcoms can be and how much I can love them) is that the writing honestly wasn't that great?? Like it didn't hinder things super badly but it could have been a lot better and I think that also meant that the character interactions and that enemies to lovers dynamic that I absolutely love, just didn't hit as hard (the MC's interiority also definitely gave major YA vibes but that's not fair on me to fault considering it is indeed YA - so I'm thinking of this more in terms of the prior reasoning).

So I got to the end and was like yay I enjoyed that but ultimately won't really think about them and this book that much moving forward, it was fun for a short time not a long time.

Overall, had a fun time, but wish the writing had been better to really have the character interactions and enemies to lovers arc stick the landing just right.

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melissaalgood's review

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emotional funny hopeful reflective 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

5.0

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jessistewart's review

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funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

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

4.5

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