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lena200770's review
inspiring
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
3.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Cursing
memorable's review against another edition
emotional
funny
slow-paced
Oh this book was somewhat complicated! At first, I couldn’t warm up to both characters; I simply couldn’t understand how someone could treat another person like that.
Once they moved into the new house, I learned to like them both and got an explanation for the way they are. The ending then felt a bit rushed. This book was a rollercoaster for me.
Once they moved into the new house, I learned to like them both and got an explanation for the way they are. The ending then felt a bit rushed. This book was a rollercoaster for me.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing, Toxic relationship, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Body shaming, Sexism, and Sexual content
entanglednovels's review
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Wow. You Deserve Each Other deserves all the praise it gets. And I definitely don't hate Nicholas.
Trying to pinpoint a word to describe how this book made me feel is so difficult since there were so many emotions I felt during it. The closest I can come to I think is satisfaction. But it feels like so much more than that. Like watching double planets that have been knocked out of their orbit come back to each other. Their orbit isn't quite the same, and neither are they, but the gravitational pull is stronger than ever.
The journey that Nicholas and Naomi go on throughout this book is quite astronomical. It almost doesn't feel doable as you're reading it, but it is. I'm still finding it difficult to reconcile the Nicholas from the start of the book with the Nicholas from the end. Because they are like two completely different people. I think what makes it possible is that the growth is actually there. You can actually track it on each page in both characters. Yes, there are a few things I wish it had shown them discussing more, but we can assume not everything is brought to the table - or page, I guess.
It's also important that our MC, Naomi, isn't necessarily a likeable character. In fact, there are quite a few things she does that are not kind or things I agree with (although some take place before the book and are recalled). But to see her acknowledgement on the page, of how she hasn't been a supportive, loving partner either is so important. Realizing that in the same way Nicholas has been failing her, Naomi had been failing him. Now, trust me, I understand that there's only so much you can provide to a relationship that isn't reciprocated. There has to be support and give on both sides. Sometimes without the expectation of receiving back. Watching Naomi come to this realization was a breathe of fresh air, and her growth is amazing. I've found the lack of growth in the MC of some romance books is what doesn't give me that full satisfaction in reading. A lot of them are all about how the love interest needs to grow and adapt, and the MC is left waning and a little bit behind. Not Naomi.
I haven't genuinely laughed at a book like this in a long time. It's definitely not everyone's sense of humour, but some of it was brilliant. Despite some of the not nice things Naomi says, she is an absolute star when it comes to destroying Deborah, Nicholas's mother (who rightfully deserves to be destroyed). I'm not sure I've ever loathed a character in a romance book as much as I did Deborah. God, just thinking about her makes me angry. She is the embodiment of that white woman gif freaking out at the window and ripping down the curtains. Like for the ever loving FUCK Deborah, you don't need to be involved in every aspect of your adult son's life. Please, get your own goddamn life. She deserves every bit of the vitriolic responses Nicholas and Naomi give her.
Deborah aside, I've found a new favourite and I'm so excited to see what else Sarah Hogle writes. It'll be hard to live up to the spot Nicholas and Naomi now hold in my heart.
Trying to pinpoint a word to describe how this book made me feel is so difficult since there were so many emotions I felt during it. The closest I can come to I think is satisfaction. But it feels like so much more than that. Like watching double planets that have been knocked out of their orbit come back to each other. Their orbit isn't quite the same, and neither are they, but the gravitational pull is stronger than ever.
The journey that Nicholas and Naomi go on throughout this book is quite astronomical. It almost doesn't feel doable as you're reading it, but it is. I'm still finding it difficult to reconcile the Nicholas from the start of the book with the Nicholas from the end. Because they are like two completely different people. I think what makes it possible is that the growth is actually there. You can actually track it on each page in both characters. Yes, there are a few things I wish it had shown them discussing more, but we can assume not everything is brought to the table - or page, I guess.
It's also important that our MC, Naomi, isn't necessarily a likeable character. In fact, there are quite a few things she does that are not kind or things I agree with (although some take place before the book and are recalled). But to see her acknowledgement on the page, of how she hasn't been a supportive, loving partner either is so important. Realizing that in the same way Nicholas has been failing her, Naomi had been failing him. Now, trust me, I understand that there's only so much you can provide to a relationship that isn't reciprocated. There has to be support and give on both sides. Sometimes without the expectation of receiving back. Watching Naomi come to this realization was a breathe of fresh air, and her growth is amazing. I've found the lack of growth in the MC of some romance books is what doesn't give me that full satisfaction in reading. A lot of them are all about how the love interest needs to grow and adapt, and the MC is left waning and a little bit behind. Not Naomi.
I haven't genuinely laughed at a book like this in a long time. It's definitely not everyone's sense of humour, but some of it was brilliant. Despite some of the not nice things Naomi says, she is an absolute star when it comes to destroying Deborah, Nicholas's mother (who rightfully deserves to be destroyed). I'm not sure I've ever loathed a character in a romance book as much as I did Deborah. God, just thinking about her makes me angry. She is the embodiment of that white woman gif freaking out at the window and ripping down the curtains. Like for the ever loving FUCK Deborah, you don't need to be involved in every aspect of your adult son's life. Please, get your own goddamn life. She deserves every bit of the vitriolic responses Nicholas and Naomi give her.
Deborah aside, I've found a new favourite and I'm so excited to see what else Sarah Hogle writes. It'll be hard to live up to the spot Nicholas and Naomi now hold in my heart.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Body shaming and Cursing
Minor: Infertility, Medical content, and Toxic relationship
samchase112's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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
4.25
At the beginning of the book both characters were annoying, whiny, and so utterly unrootable. By the end, I was squealing out loud and swooning over how adorable Nicholas and Naomi's relationship is. I wish the transformation of their relationship wasn't so abrupt, and that we explored their day-to-day relationship more carefully. Even so, I loved both characters individually, with all their quirks and sense of humor. I definitely want to read more by this author, as well as read more "rediscovering love" stories because it was such a fun plot! I highly recommend this book to rom-com lovers, and could honestly see myself rereading it at some point.
Reread: November 2022
LOVED this reread! So cozy and wonderfully romantic.; just what I needed.
Reread: November 2022
LOVED this reread! So cozy and wonderfully romantic.; just what I needed.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Cursing
debz57a52's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
** some spoilers below **
Hmmm.... mixed emotions about this book. At the beginning, it was kind of horrible. I didn't like Naomi or Nicholas at all. I really wanted them to break up. Naomi especially is terrible, but she's also the narrator and you get in her head and you don't want to be there because WTF is wrong with her? I am incredibly serious when I say she has Issues with a capital I. One good man is not going to heal here; she should really be in therapy. I say that, even after I have finished the book.
However. Naomi and Nicholas's relationship is kind of hysterical too. I laughed out loud more times reading this book than any in recent memory, and that's a good thing for this time of my life.
My frustration: It's clear Nicholas loves Naomi, but I feel like he puts all the pressure on Naomi for the bad times they're going through. However, once he starts doing the things he should have been doing all this time - talking to her about his feelings, standing up for her to his mom, spending more time letting her get to know him, following through on chores he said he'd do, being himself - the relationship gets exponentially better. So was it really her pulling away, as he says so many times, or was it equally their fault?
Hmmm.... mixed emotions about this book. At the beginning, it was kind of horrible. I didn't like Naomi or Nicholas at all. I really wanted them to break up. Naomi especially is terrible, but she's also the narrator and you get in her head and you don't want to be there because WTF is wrong with her? I am incredibly serious when I say she has Issues with a capital I. One good man is not going to heal here; she should really be in therapy. I say that, even after I have finished the book.
However. Naomi and Nicholas's relationship is kind of hysterical too. I laughed out loud more times reading this book than any in recent memory, and that's a good thing for this time of my life.
My frustration: It's clear Nicholas loves Naomi, but I feel like he puts all the pressure on Naomi for the bad times they're going through. However, once he starts doing the things he should have been doing all this time - talking to her about his feelings, standing up for her to his mom, spending more time letting her get to know him, following through on chores he said he'd do, being himself - the relationship gets exponentially better. So was it really her pulling away, as he says so many times, or was it equally their fault?
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing and Sexual content
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