Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

It Had to Be You by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

5 reviews

lucky_readr's review against another edition

I wish I could have DNFed this. Every time I thought something worse couldn't possibly happen to make me dislike the book more, it did. I understand why people love this author, and even this book, but coming to it brand new in 2024 was not a good experience. This book is egregiously sexist and misogynistic, full of body shaming, casually racist, and it handles some very sensitive subjects VERY poorly.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Child abuse and Death of parent

The adult/minor relationship is not actually an adult/minor relationship, but there is a graphic sex scene between him and his ex-wife while she pretends to be a 16 year old and he's 37 years old. You don't find out until the very end that it's his ex-wife.

falafellaa's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted slow-paced

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

3.0

Considering this book is 30 years old it aged… let’s say fine. A lot of things are going on that an author from the 2020s wouldn’t dare to write down but Phoebe is actually an amazing character in a world that is still pushing discriminating narratives.

Still, Phoebe is a saint because i couldn’t have put up with the annoying, childish, aggression-problems-having man-child that is Daniel.

P.S. Chapter 3 is a fucking jump scare and i don’t EVER want to read something like this again.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Kidnapping, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Bullying, Gun violence, Homophobia, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Stalking, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

Minor: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Car accident, and Pregnancy

mariskyjy's review

emotional funny hopeful tense medium-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

4.0

Honestly, I did not expect to like this as much as I did. I went into it with the knowledge that it had been published in the early 90s, so I was expecting A LOT of outdated beliefs and language that would be entirely out of hand today (and for good reason). While that is partially true in some circumstances, it surpassed my expectations there. Definitely picked it up because it sounded a little bit like Ted Lasso, but with a toxic MC.

Phoebe is a wonderful, stubborn heroine, who finds a way to deceive men into thinking she's a "sex bomb" and a "bimbo" - always a good trope in my book! She's not a brat or uptight about it, she's very funny and kind.
 
Dan is fairly complex as a hero, and while his beliefs about marriage were antiquated, they weren't unexpected. Their banter is great, and I love, love how stubborn Phoebe gets, as well as how sweet Dan can be with her.

I also really enjoyed the side characters - Ron, Molly, and Darnell in particular! Also, the sex scenes (with the except of the first one

in which Dan picks up his ex wife while she is roleplaying a teenager)

were excellent. 

Cons: Everything was tied up very nearly in the last chapter/epilogue, which seemed a little cheesy to me (but again, not unexpected). Also a minor con but as a romance reader, I did NOT understand any of the football talk - I kind of just fumbled through those parts (get it?). Mentions of a certain orange man gave me heartburn. Also the "big bad" reveal was... Not great. 

Regardless, this book definitely exceeded my expectations. I think it'll be sticking with me a while.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Kidnapping, Stalking, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Child abuse, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Incest, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Grief, and Death of parent

Listed sexual assault / rape as graphic

While not INCREDIBLY in depth (thankfully), FMC does have flashbacks to her rape, which could be triggering. Her cousin also sexually harassed her as a child, and it's deeply uncomfortable.

trashbinfluencer's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful tense 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

sten89's review against another edition

challenging emotional tense medium-paced

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

3.75

While this is a romance book, it covers heavier topics. Some of which took me out of the story. Before reading I wish I had known that within the first few chapters, it appears that an adult is picking up a 16 year old for sex. This was a sex game an adult couple was playing but it almost made me DNF the book. 

The writing was pretty good. Some chapters would switch perspectives with no clear transfer that took me a while to get used to. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Fatphobia, and Rape

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Incest, Misogyny, Sexual content, Violence, Stalking, and Death of parent