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scampbell1290's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Gaslighting and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Rape, Grief, Domestic abuse, and Death of parent
katiemack's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
My main issue is with the writing. There is too much description in some parts and not nearly enough in others. For example, I still have no idea how Liya's career progressed or why Jay worked in Liya's office instead of his firm's building. I'm also not sure why the readers got a graphic depiction of childbirth and a lot of sexual tension/thoughts only to have the sex happen behind closed doors. (I completely missed it until one of the characters mentioned it.)
I'd still try Preeti's book because I thought she was Liya's most compelling friend, but the writing didn't work for me.
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse
aliciachauhan_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Grief, Sexism, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Bullying, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Cursing, Medical content, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racism, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship
coppolaklein's review against another edition
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
2.0
Moderate: Sexual violence, Fire/Fire injury, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Child abuse, and Body shaming
jnwhit94's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, and Domestic abuse
jrdnmanon's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Child abuse, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, and Sexual assault
noellelovesbooks's review against another edition
4.0
Don’t be fooled by the cartoon cover this book deals with a lot of heavy topics like the sexual assault and attempted rape of a minor, a minor that is shamed and blamed for the assault and labeled “unclean and loose” not only by their community but also by a parent. We also see the lifetime of grief someone faces when they blame the tragic death of a loved one on themselves.
Liya has been told, from a young age, that she’s dirty and shouldn’t expect any nice guys to want her. Focusing on her career, and enjoying life, Liya is determined to never fall prey to the whims of men again. Though her parents know she doesn’t want to marry they still go behind her back to invite a potential suitor to dinner. What other option than fleeing dinner does she have?
Jay doesn’t believe he deserves a happy ever after and is determined to never marry. Blaming himself for the tragic death of his father, when he was a child, Jay does whatever he can to help his brother and mother be happy. Even though he has no plans to marry…Jay can’t turn his mother down when she asks him to meet a potential bride. Why did said match flee their dinner like demons were chasing her? If she didn’t want to meet she could have said so instead of embarrassing his poor mother who now worries they somehow offended Liya before even meeting her.
We get instant enemies over a misunderstanding, then forced proximity when they find out Jay’s the lawyer that’s been hired to help Liya’s company, and then a slow burn as they realize maybe the other isn’t so bad after all. I adored this couple and was cheering for them from the start. If you love romance’s that deal with heavier topics but prefer FTB [fade to black, aka when sex takes place off-page rather than on-page] I highly recommend giving this debut romance a chance.
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Misogyny, Sexism, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, and Grief
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury and Death of parent
Minor: Racism
thefatpaperback's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Sexual assault, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Sexism, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Grief, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Pedophilia, and Sexual violence
Minor: Sexual content
drishthings's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
the indian aspect was *chefs kiss*
i just got annoyed with the heroine a bit
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
brokenbodybitch's review against another edition
4.25
The romance in this book is pretty good, the chemistry between the characters is definitely well written and at times, they do questionable things but generally there is some reasoning (in this book the reason is very often a trauma response or something related to fears and trauma) that makes it so you can still root for the MC or LI. I really enjoy how you can tell their upbringing and what they went through up till now really motivated their actions and often times, you can see the bouncing ball of oh well this is because of this and stuff like that you aren’t left wondering what possessed them to do whatever they did.
I am not south Asian so I can’t speak on the accuracy or quality of the rep but I think the family dynamics in this book were really well done, yes don’t get me wrong a lot of the family was just straight up insufferable and I would gladly like to clock her dad in the face, however the dynamics and relationships between characters felt very real and they stayed true throught the book. I find when some authors try to write family dynamics with generational trauma and abuse and heavier more complicated things like that they will sometimes have these happy endings that while nice, ultimately don’t seem all that realistic, where as in this book her father is vile her entire childhood (for whatever reasons) and he didn’t have this seemingly instant magical turn around, his actions lined up with how his character had been set up from the beginning, and that was with all the characters I can think of.
I really enjoyed this book, yes it is a romance but it also deals with trauma from many many different angles as well as having South Asian representation. At times it reads a little more like a YA/NA romance but all in all, the characters have clear and developed backstories and it deals with trauma from so many sides that it felt like it had another purpose beyond the romance.
Extra CW/TW:
The biggest ones to be aware of are SA between an adult and minor, being told you are lying about it and other horrible things along those lines by many people but especially parental figures, and the trauma that goes along with SA, in particular childhood SA. It is handled fairly well by the end of the book and does have a positive ending but it can be very heavy at times; and I can’t speak on childhood SA but from a general SA trauma perspective it was pretty accurately portrayed. Again I’m not the authority on this, but I don’t think it is harmful rep by any means just very possibly triggering for someone with those potential triggers. It’s not a bad book I don’t think, just be very cautious going into it
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Medical content, Pedophilia, Toxic relationship, Adult/minor relationship, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Alcohol and Domestic abuse