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ellacat11's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Sexism, Gun violence, Misogyny, Murder, Violence, Death, and Cursing
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Sexual content, Stalking, Toxic friendship, Hate crime, Violence, Alcohol, Death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Murder, Sexism, and Abandonment
jennp28's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Moderate: Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Death of parent
sea_tea_books's review against another edition
3.5
3.5 ⭐
Graphic: Murder, Gun violence, and Death
Moderate: Abandonment and Grief
mel_bee_421's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.75
Moderate: Gun violence and Violence
nyquillll's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Things I liked:
- The tension and angst that was built between the two main characters. Also, I'm always a fan of the put-together-never-rests + soft-place-to-land combo of main characters. And I loved how the authors built out this dynamic - and it felt respectful of both personalities and reasons for being, too, not shaming one or the other.
- The friendship between Nicole and Dub, the exploration of complex and strained family relationships - the love that exists but the pain and hurt that often goes unexpressed, how time and years gone by can change us but also the core parts of us remain, the lengths people will go to out of greed and pure money lust, the decision to choose yourself first and promising to not build a life around other people, women in male-dominated or male-expected roles, the role of a parent in raising a child - how much of themselves is "sacrificed" and how much is poured into, children aging and the parent-child relationship changing, the effects of single-parenting on an only child, how trust is earned and broken, how love can make the world feel more intense and seem brighter, and that for what it's worth, adventures that make you feel you breathe differently, that make you feel the blood pumping in your veins, that challenge you to grow into a new version of yourself are a certain kind of addiction themselves.
- The writing style :)
Things that were challenging for me:
- THE (major spoiler ahead, warning)
MURDER????? THE DEATH!!!!! like what the fuck. Was not expecting that in a romance book at all, at fucking all. I also was like "How are the characters just moving on all nonchalant????" I get that the dude was an ass, truly I hated him, but ??????? It was such a strong move to make and to include this in the story - though I do think it wrapped up satisfactorily and the twist that was introduced helped explain some things but for a good portion of the book I was like "Am I just supposed to forget this happened, too?" - Sometimes the pacing of the book felt slow. Some areas were thick with descriptions of the landscape and the paths they were taking and I am not someone who's directionally savvy nor a long-description-of-landscape gal, so that was hard sometimes
- I wanted
Nicole & Walter to have a side story haha, not really a challenge per se, though
I already downloaded 2 other Christina Lauren books :)
Graphic: Sexism
Moderate: Death of parent, Grief, Gun violence, Misogyny, Murder, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Classism
Some quotes I highlighted:epov's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Graphic: Gun violence, Sexual violence, and Sexual content
kottengoesbork's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Moderate: Death, Gun violence, and Death of parent
Minor: Sexual content
jspells's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Minor: Death of parent, Violence, Death, Sexual content, and Gun violence
cheyarsen's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Moderate: Gun violence
Minor: Death
ericanadine's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Minor: Death, Gun violence, and Violence