Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
funny
hopeful
reflective
Loveable characters:
Yes
I really enjoyed this. I smiled a great deal while reading it. I found Oscar very relatable, often frustrating, and stubbornly endearing. This was not a typical romance novel, but I think I liked it all the more for that? The thing about Kris Ripper's books is that I just never fail to be completely interested and invested in the characters. They always feel so complex and real. I found Oscar and Jack's relationship really sweet and funny and tender. It just felt very unique to them and their personalities. There's not a lot of plot here, which is fine by me, I'm here for the emotional arc. And for being sort of a low key and gentle book, I still found myself unable to put it down. Again, I think this is because I was invested in the characters and I wasn't quite sure how things would unfold. I don't know, there's just something about how this author writes characters, I could read the dialogue and interactions all day. It's just always so damn compelling somehow. So, yeah, really enjoyed this and sped through it. Also, the content warning at the start made me weirdly emotional, so bonus points I guess for making me tear up before the story even started ;)
medium-paced
I really like sequel of series where the side characters of the previous books are now main characters. I loved The Love Study and was happy to see the MCs here even if only a bit. I must admit that, even liking Oscar, I wouldn't say he was a grouch like the synopsis said. He has severe social anxiety and depression and that makes him seem rude, unapproachable and unlikeable. He makes unreasonable decisions, he rushes into conclusions, he makes mistakes and not always wants someone to be there to tell him everything is going to be okay.
So his hate sex friends with benefits thing that he has going on with Jack is not really hate, but is based on insecurities and feeling safe being with someone they fairly know so they're not afraid of showing what usually they would've hidden to hook ups. It was there and it was easy, and very convenient since Oscar was working for Jack to clean up his grandma's house.
I really liked how, before starting this sex no strings nor feelings attached, they talked about boundaries and safe words. And I liked how Jack wasn't into penetrative sex and Oscar accepted this without trying to convince him nor judge him. Because everyone likes different things and they should be opened about them if they want to have a healthy relationship, no matter the nature of it.
I liked this book but I didn't love it, sadly. While I related a lot with Oscar, he made me too angry, and the story lacked Jack's POV to be understood completely. Jack seemed almost inconsequential to the story, almost like he wasn't truly the main's love interest but just someone he knew and happened to have sex some times.
The ending was also a bit rushed in my opinion, and could've benefitted of at least one other chapter or a sort of epilogue.
So his hate sex friends with benefits thing that he has going on with Jack is not really hate, but is based on insecurities and feeling safe being with someone they fairly know so they're not afraid of showing what usually they would've hidden to hook ups. It was there and it was easy, and very convenient since Oscar was working for Jack to clean up his grandma's house.
I really liked how, before starting this sex no strings nor feelings attached, they talked about boundaries and safe words. And I liked how Jack wasn't into penetrative sex and Oscar accepted this without trying to convince him nor judge him. Because everyone likes different things and they should be opened about them if they want to have a healthy relationship, no matter the nature of it.
I liked this book but I didn't love it, sadly. While I related a lot with Oscar, he made me too angry, and the story lacked Jack's POV to be understood completely. Jack seemed almost inconsequential to the story, almost like he wasn't truly the main's love interest but just someone he knew and happened to have sex some times.
The ending was also a bit rushed in my opinion, and could've benefitted of at least one other chapter or a sort of epilogue.
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
First of all, I gotta say that I want a friends group called the mother f*ckers! I love them!
I got to admit though that I took me some time to like both Oscar and Jack; I kinda liked them more through Dec’s eyes. However, they are really cute together and I just love the fact that they love each other with all their grumpiness.
I got to admit though that I took me some time to like both Oscar and Jack; I kinda liked them more through Dec’s eyes. However, they are really cute together and I just love the fact that they love each other with all their grumpiness.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Sexual content
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Death, Dementia
Swearing
Anxiety
Hoarding
Bad self talk/self blame
Harry Potter reference
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-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
I received an advance copy from the publisher via Netgalley for review purposes. This in no way influences my review; all words, thoughts, and opinions are my own.
Gosh, this was so much fun! I’m an absolute sucker for grumpy and snarky types, so two together was just an absolute delight!
Oscar is a bit of an anxious mess but he has a great found family around him who always support him and celebrate even small victories - like only having a few almost panic attacks and no actual ones! Recently added to the friend group is Jack, Declan’s coworker-of-sorts who is snark and vinegar. One night the two decide to have no-strings attached sex and when Dec convinces Oscar to take the job cleaning up Jack’s house for sale, it becomes convenient to continue having sex together.
One of my favorite parts of this series is 100% the chosen family. The different personalities and the different ways the support each other and show their care is wonderful. I need to read more from Kris Ripper just for how ze writes chosen family!
I found Oscar’s anxiety extremely relatable, especially the spirals he catches himself in. I love the ways he has check-ins with his friends, especially Ronnie, and they respect his needs when it comes to anxiety spirals and panic attacks. I also usually despise “breakups” in last third of a book, but this made a lot of sense in the miscommunication and anxiety sense, and I love how things were resolved in the end. The emphasis on communication and working with different conflict resolution methods was just, gah, I adored this book!
Meeting Oscar in The Love Study, I was very excited for his book (more grumpy, anxious stories!) and this didn’t disappoint! I had so much fun reading this and I especially love how grumpy and snarky Jack and Oscar are together. Their antagonism and the ways they work together was a delight.
Gosh, this was so much fun! I’m an absolute sucker for grumpy and snarky types, so two together was just an absolute delight!
Oscar is a bit of an anxious mess but he has a great found family around him who always support him and celebrate even small victories - like only having a few almost panic attacks and no actual ones! Recently added to the friend group is Jack, Declan’s coworker-of-sorts who is snark and vinegar. One night the two decide to have no-strings attached sex and when Dec convinces Oscar to take the job cleaning up Jack’s house for sale, it becomes convenient to continue having sex together.
One of my favorite parts of this series is 100% the chosen family. The different personalities and the different ways the support each other and show their care is wonderful. I need to read more from Kris Ripper just for how ze writes chosen family!
I found Oscar’s anxiety extremely relatable, especially the spirals he catches himself in. I love the ways he has check-ins with his friends, especially Ronnie, and they respect his needs when it comes to anxiety spirals and panic attacks. I also usually despise “breakups” in last third of a book, but this made a lot of sense in the miscommunication and anxiety sense, and I love how things were resolved in the end. The emphasis on communication and working with different conflict resolution methods was just, gah, I adored this book!
Meeting Oscar in The Love Study, I was very excited for his book (more grumpy, anxious stories!) and this didn’t disappoint! I had so much fun reading this and I especially love how grumpy and snarky Jack and Oscar are together. Their antagonism and the ways they work together was a delight.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content
Minor: Ableism, Fatphobia, Racism, Suicidal thoughts
This book is going to be perfect for people who love the grumpy x grumpy dynamic, two people who fight all the time but still they're cute together.
I've been really looking forward to this book as I loved The Love Study so much and I loved Oscar, I thought he had a lot of potential as a main character. And I did love Oscar, and I mostly enjoyed this book too. Not as much as The Love Study, which was a 5 star read for me, but still, I definitely did enjoy it.
What I loved most about this book is how Oscar's anxiety is represented in an unpalatable way. He's grumpy, he acts out, he fights with people. His anxiety actually impacts the way he's functioning. This felt very refreshing to read!
I'm convinced Oscar is somewhere on the aromantic spectrum, by the way. There's just something about the way his relationship with Jack that felt distinctly aro to me (I'm aro myself, for the record). It's not canon or anything and it might not have been meant like this/everyone might not agree with me, but that's what I took from the book!
I want to finish this review with a warning, because Oscar does deal with a lot of body image issues and internalized fatphobia. He's generally self aware about it and I think this is something a lot of people struggle with and it deserves to be discussed in books, but please be careful if this might be difficult for you to read.
I've been really looking forward to this book as I loved The Love Study so much and I loved Oscar, I thought he had a lot of potential as a main character. And I did love Oscar, and I mostly enjoyed this book too. Not as much as The Love Study, which was a 5 star read for me, but still, I definitely did enjoy it.
What I loved most about this book is how Oscar's anxiety is represented in an unpalatable way. He's grumpy, he acts out, he fights with people. His anxiety actually impacts the way he's functioning. This felt very refreshing to read!
I'm convinced Oscar is somewhere on the aromantic spectrum, by the way. There's just something about the way his relationship with Jack that felt distinctly aro to me (I'm aro myself, for the record). It's not canon or anything and it might not have been meant like this/everyone might not agree with me, but that's what I took from the book!
I want to finish this review with a warning, because Oscar does deal with a lot of body image issues and internalized fatphobia. He's generally self aware about it and I think this is something a lot of people struggle with and it deserves to be discussed in books, but please be careful if this might be difficult for you to read.