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jessicalarson125's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism and Alcohol
Moderate: Death of parent and Death
Minor: Chronic illness
spaghettireads's review against another edition
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Grief
shinysarah28's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Death of parent
extraaardvark's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Grief, and Death of parent
missrosymaplemoth's review
3.75
An intriguing mystery that unfolds at a good, steady pace. It wasn’t traditionally predictable for me and I enjoyed being made to keep guessing. I did think there were a lot of cheesy, uncharacteristic monologues. The main character is constantly the victim of other people’s rude actions and poor choices, and at times it felt like an endless barrage. Very meta, a book about an author who writes books about an author- depending on the reader, this could be a pro or a con. Overall just “meh,” no strong feelings either way but I would recommend it to women in the main character’s age range (late thirties-mid forties).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Alcoholism and Death of parent
alicelalicon's review against another edition
lighthearted
reflective
fast-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? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, and Infidelity
nrogers_1030's review
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Classism
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Infertility, Terminal illness, Pregnancy, Infidelity, and Alcohol
cwerber's review
emotional
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I struggled on what star rating to give the book. I mean, I liked it but I didn't like it that much.
<Spoiler> I don't watch a lot of rom-coms, let alone Hallmark movies but this felt like a Hallmark movie come to life.
That being said, I'm not entirely sure why she was so broken up over Essie's death. Yes, she was her favorite author and her books helped Liv through some tough times. However, the level of angst...anyway. I enjoyed it enough to read to the end even if I want to shake some (most) of the characters. </Spoiler>
It did help to pass the time while waiting for a room for my dad in the ER.
<Spoiler> I don't watch a lot of rom-coms, let alone Hallmark movies but this felt like a Hallmark movie come to life.
That being said, I'm not entirely sure why she was so broken up over Essie's death. Yes, she was her favorite author and her books helped Liv through some tough times. However, the level of angst...anyway. I enjoyed it enough to read to the end even if I want to shake some (most) of the characters. </Spoiler>
It did help to pass the time while waiting for a room for my dad in the ER.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Classism and Infidelity
Minor: Infertility and Death of parent
librariangeorgia's review against another edition
adventurous
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? Yes
3.0
I loved the synopsis for this one but was quite hesitant to start it incase I didn’t end up enjoying it.
However I shouldn’t have doubted myself. I really enjoyed this book!
I loved the journey that Liv went on and how much she had developed her confidence by the end of the book. It was really nice to read!
I didn’t expect the twist towards the end and I actually enjoyed how that was fed into the storyline.
The one thing that did bug me was that at the beginning I feel like the author got mixed up when referring to Johnny or Jake - I think their names may have been mixed up a couple of times which is an easy mistake to make since both their names start with J!
Other than that, I thought this was a solid book and easy to read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death of parent, and Grief
tctimlin's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
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
4.0
I totally enjoyed this story of middle-aged, middle-class Liv, mother of two, financially strapped, cleaning houses while escaping through contemporary chick lit (she mentions lots of popular authors/books). Her favorite job is cleaning for her favorite author, the recluse Essie Starling, who is always kind to Liv even though she is difficult with everyone else. When the author dies, Liv is tasked with finishing her unfinished novel, and as she attempts to figure out who Essie would have cast as her “hero” she ends up exploring Essie’s mysterious past, and learning a great deal about herself along the way. Sometimes you have to learn to be the hero in your own life.
Content Warnings
Minor: Grief, Terminal illness, Alcoholism, Death, and Death of parent