Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
4.5 stars - 4 for the story, 5 for the narration.
When I saw that Gomez Pugh was narrating this, I pounced immediately because I knew he'd be absolutely perfect for Oscar - and I wasn't wrong.
When I saw that Gomez Pugh was narrating this, I pounced immediately because I knew he'd be absolutely perfect for Oscar - and I wasn't wrong.
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
(3.75) The friend group was pretty overbearing and the main character was pretty frustrating at times. But the chemistry was fun and the sex was hot. 🥵 I also thought this was a very accurate and relatable portrayal of someone with severe anxiety, and I appreciated the respectful way that the issue of clearing out a hoarder house was handled.
I am going to have to check out the other books in this series and more of this author's work, for sure!
I am going to have to check out the other books in this series and more of this author's work, for sure!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder, Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Abandonment
Minor: Transphobia
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really appreciate the anxiety rep and I think it was the first book I read that mentioned the influence of meds on somebody’s libido. Other than that - I didn’t bond with anybody except for Evelyn cause she was lovely and I wasn’t convinced that those two main characters wanted to be together. Sadly the romance wasn’t romancing for me :(
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content
Moderate: Dementia
medium-paced
I liked this. It wasn't mindblowing or anything, but it was fun. Oscar's anxiety was well-portrayed, though I don't get how if he dislikes handshakes so much, he can go and fuck strangers, but whatever. I guess people in romantic books just fuck a lot.
The Hate Project by Kris Ripper
The Love Study #2
Adored this Carina Adores romance! It had me smiling, caring, chuckling, and hoping for the best for two rather prickly characters. I will say that the story grew on me and I was not enamored at all by the end of the first chapter BUT by the end of the second chapter I was invested and wanted to know what would happen.
What I liked:
* The slow build of the relationship
* That the two men were not “easy” to love from the first moment you met them
* The group of friends that go by a name that would be censored if I typed it in her…they are there for one another no matter what.
* Being able to read and understand this book without having read book one in the series first
* Stepping into a world that is not my own
* Oscar: anxiety plagued, quirky, caring, organized, interesting, a person that as explained helped me understand better someone I know.
* Jack: bright, cautious, caring, loves his grandmother, a person with potential that is tapped in this story.
* That both characters became more and more real as I read, I was invested in them and their HEA was something I truly wanted them to achieve.
* Evelyn: Jack’s grandmother is a character and oh so lovable!
* The way the hoarding aspect of the story was handled
* Finding out what “The Secret” was
* All of it really except…
What I didn’t like:
* Having to say goodbye to the characters when the book ended…
Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin-Carina Adores for the ARC – This is my honest review.
5 Stars
The Love Study #2
Adored this Carina Adores romance! It had me smiling, caring, chuckling, and hoping for the best for two rather prickly characters. I will say that the story grew on me and I was not enamored at all by the end of the first chapter BUT by the end of the second chapter I was invested and wanted to know what would happen.
What I liked:
* The slow build of the relationship
* That the two men were not “easy” to love from the first moment you met them
* The group of friends that go by a name that would be censored if I typed it in her…they are there for one another no matter what.
* Being able to read and understand this book without having read book one in the series first
* Stepping into a world that is not my own
* Oscar: anxiety plagued, quirky, caring, organized, interesting, a person that as explained helped me understand better someone I know.
* Jack: bright, cautious, caring, loves his grandmother, a person with potential that is tapped in this story.
* That both characters became more and more real as I read, I was invested in them and their HEA was something I truly wanted them to achieve.
* Evelyn: Jack’s grandmother is a character and oh so lovable!
* The way the hoarding aspect of the story was handled
* Finding out what “The Secret” was
* All of it really except…
What I didn’t like:
* Having to say goodbye to the characters when the book ended…
Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin-Carina Adores for the ARC – This is my honest review.
5 Stars
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
There's some cute stuff in here (like the various friendships and Jack's grandmother stealing every scene she's in) BUT MOSTLY a lot of tedious stuff if I'm being honest. Oscar's life isn't really that interesting, so how could this book be much more interesting?
It's not fun or edifying to read about a person who has a depression blanket nest to avoid life, plays video games to avoid life, avoids going out to avoid life, and whose main project is literally cleaning a house to avoid getting another job.
Soz but those are just facts about storytelling. I think the author tries (and somewhat succeeds?) at smoothing over the tedium, but there's only so much ze can do.
Sometimes it feels like authors are just sort of going through the motions of filling in the outline they've written. I don't mean to denigrate this author in particular, but I can also think of Kacen Callender and--to a much lesser extent--Alex Gino as some examples of when authors fail to have enough imagination about the events in their books. Why am I only picking on non-binary and gq authors right now? How rude and unforgivable of me. I guess I'm just picking on people in my own "weight class."
Oscar's anxiety is tough. It's a lot. And I'm not really sure about Jack and Oscar being good for each other. Not really sure what this story is about exactly. I think a lot of people will like it, but I'm pretty undecided.
I think dual perspective could have helped a lot. It just feels like I don't know a lot about Jack's thoughts and feelings. In a love story, sometimes dual perspective can end up being really lame, but I think this author has shown zir restraint in making a love story extremely mushy, so ze could have handled it.
I love Rani and Oscar's friendship. How he knows he can call her "female-coded insults" (b*****) to give her gender euphoria, how she uses a color code to get his consent to pry into his life. They're really lovely together.
WTF Evelyn
"I wanted Mexican food, but Jack told me that would be insensitive."
I rolled my eyes.
"I knew you're trying to do some sort of trendy white lady accidental racism thing, Evelyn. It's not going to work I already know you're doing it to cause drama."
"Who me?"
It's not fun or edifying to read about a person who has a depression blanket nest to avoid life, plays video games to avoid life, avoids going out to avoid life, and whose main project is literally cleaning a house to avoid getting another job.
Soz but those are just facts about storytelling. I think the author tries (and somewhat succeeds?) at smoothing over the tedium, but there's only so much ze can do.
Sometimes it feels like authors are just sort of going through the motions of filling in the outline they've written. I don't mean to denigrate this author in particular, but I can also think of Kacen Callender and--to a much lesser extent--Alex Gino as some examples of when authors fail to have enough imagination about the events in their books. Why am I only picking on non-binary and gq authors right now? How rude and unforgivable of me. I guess I'm just picking on people in my own "weight class."
Oscar's anxiety is tough. It's a lot. And I'm not really sure about Jack and Oscar being good for each other. Not really sure what this story is about exactly. I think a lot of people will like it, but I'm pretty undecided.
I think dual perspective could have helped a lot. It just feels like I don't know a lot about Jack's thoughts and feelings. In a love story, sometimes dual perspective can end up being really lame, but I think this author has shown zir restraint in making a love story extremely mushy, so ze could have handled it.
I love Rani and Oscar's friendship. How he knows he can call her "female-coded insults" (b*****) to give her gender euphoria, how she uses a color code to get his consent to pry into his life. They're really lovely together.
WTF Evelyn
"I wanted Mexican food, but Jack told me that would be insensitive."
I rolled my eyes.
"I knew you're trying to do some sort of trendy white lady accidental racism thing, Evelyn. It's not going to work I already know you're doing it to cause drama."
"Who me?"
3.5
Very sweet and funny. Grumpy meets Grumpy .
Lovely narration.
Very sweet and funny. Grumpy meets Grumpy .
Lovely narration.
Laugh-out-loud funny, tender, snarky, poignant, and a fabulous read. Kris Ripper has to write more books because I want to read more!
I started reading this, hated it, and then put it down. I really should’ve just left it as a dnf honestly because this just wasn’t for me. I think some people would like the main characters and their complexity, but the spiraling emotions and long ranty internal monologues made me loathe reading from the main character’s perspective. Also the adult scenes were graphic and … aggressive? And those two things just really aren’t to my taste unless done well.
A positive for me was the friend group. I think this is a case where if we had followed literally any of the side characters, I would’ve jived with the author’s writing more. When the writing was good, I think the writing can be compared to Alexis Hall’s - who was actually mentioned in the acknowledgments.
A positive for me was the friend group. I think this is a case where if we had followed literally any of the side characters, I would’ve jived with the author’s writing more. When the writing was good, I think the writing can be compared to Alexis Hall’s - who was actually mentioned in the acknowledgments.