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neverlandpages4's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Bullying, Grief, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, and Grief
Minor: Alcohol, Car accident, Miscarriage, Infertility, Confinement, Child death, Xenophobia, and Toxic relationship
witcheep'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? It's complicated
5.0
"Life without you was a series of pros and cons. Risks and rewards. Black and white with very few shades of gray. But then you came back and flipped a switch inside me, flooding my world with color after a ten-year blackout, and I don't plan on giving that up. Not now. Not ever."
In the book some characters from Asher's other series, Dreamland Billionaires, have small but influential parts as side characters, and the book lays a foundation for a Dirty Air Series crossover as well with the christmas present of F1 passes. I'm looking forward to seeing how all her series will be more interconnected in the future.
I've been admiring Asher's writing of multidimensional characters before, but I think she has outdone herself here. Asher writes about depression and the ways for dealing with it in a very respectful way. Addressing the metal health struggles and destigmatising them by showing how they are only a part of someone's life even when they affect the people around them also is immensely priceless.
Graphic: Sexual content and Mental illness
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Miscarriage, Child death, Alcohol, and Classism
tenderbench's review
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Infertility, Medical content, Mental illness, Alcohol, Car accident, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Sexual content, and Death of parent
finnickdeservedbetter'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
Tropes & Themes
- Small town
- Billionaire romance
- Childhood rivals to lovers
- Friends with benefits
- Second chance
- Carpenter x interior designer
- One bed
- Witty banter
- Mexican-American FMC & MMC
- Infertility/genetic illness struggles
- Mental health rep (anxiety & depression)
- Dead dad trauma
Spice:
Medium (4+ explict scenes)
My Thoughts:
To absolutely no one's shock, I loved yet another Lauren Asher book.
I took me a second to warm up the Dahlia but I ended up loving her. I really liked seeing not only anxiety and depression representation that was realistic and non-stigmatizing, but also infertility/genetic illness talked about. That's not super common in contemporary romance. I really admired her strength in healing from what Oliver did to her, as well as accepting that she'll always struggle with mental illness. Sometimes it iz what it iz. Anxiety and major depression gang โ๐ป๐
I also loved Julian of course. I too, am a petty and spiteful asshole. I loved seeing his growth and journey learning to be emotionally vulnerable. I also really appreciated seeing a MMC that was adamant about adopting and that adoptive kids are no less part of their family (although conversations about the adoption industry are also very important).
That being said, I'm very excited for Rafe and Ellie's book. Fingers crossed book three will be Lorenzo and Lily ๐ค๐ป
Favourite Quote:
Graphic: Cursing, Alcohol, and Sexual content
Moderate: Mental illness, Infertility, and Grief
Minor: Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Death of parent
lifeofchrstnlvly's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
The only positive I had was the cameo of the characters from the Dreamland Billionaire series, but other than that, it gave me nothing.
The pranks Julian and Dahlia pull on each other are very childish, considering they are both 30-year-olds. As for the dialogue, some parts were too cringey, but I can admit that Julian had his moments when he made me swoon. As for the spice, I mostly skimmed them since I thought there were too many for a Lauren Asher book. At one point, I just got exhausted from the spicy scenes and was rolling my eyes.
The pacing was so off, and I'm facing the same issue as with Final Offer: it was longer than necessary. It was so long for no reason. It could have been 200 pages shorter, and the plot would not suffer. I didn't mind the numerous banter between the main characters because I understand that authors need the tension to make readers root for the couple. However, the constant reminder of how they had a falling out 10 years ago started to get annoying (as if it wasn't mentioned enough). It made me dread picking up this book and reading it because of how repetitive it was.
โRomance books don't need to be this long,โ that's what we keep on saying. Please, listen to us.
Graphic: Infertility, Sexual content, and Mental illness
Moderate: Alcohol
Minor: Death of parent, Car accident, Pregnancy, and Panic attacks/disorders
kat7794's review
- 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
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Sexual content, Cursing, Grief, Infertility, and Miscarriage