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mmadill227's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Moderate: Death of parent and Domestic abuse
Minor: Alcohol and Car accident
memoirsofabooklover's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Grief and Sexual content
Moderate: Infidelity, Cancer, Alcohol, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Vomit, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Physical abuse, Deadnaming, Alcoholism, and Fire/Fire injury
multiple discussions about a cult and people who had been onelisas_leseecke's review against another edition
- 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: Child abuse
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Grief, Infidelity, Cancer, Death of parent, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, and Child abuse
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Religious bigotry, and Alcohol
yazzy_annalise's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Like always, my one (initial) gripe was that the negative to positive feelings for the male lead happened way too fast, but it worked really well with the story the Emily Henry was trying to tell. Don't get me wrong, I always wish romance books were longer and had a slower development (not a slow burn) because I want deeper development, but I did not miss it as much in this book. I was even thrown for a surprise at the very end of the book--
I do love a good romance that starts with a rivalry/bet, it's just the best way to build some tension and lay the foundation for antics later in the book. I wish we got more of those weekend getaways/aspects of the bet in general. I know that the story wasn't really built around this concept, but it's my favorite trope so I was a little disappointed. This is where the story felt rushed because I was using the Friday/Saturday agreement to measure how long their romance took of the summer and it was kind of hard to gauge.
Ultimately, I am satisfied and would recommend the book because of the escapism and the great way Emily Henry handled all of January's problems. I never felt like they detracted from the plot or the characters or made it tedious to get through the book.
Moderate: Infidelity and Grief
Minor: Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Death, and Death of parent
vas_17'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? No
3.25
Moderate: Grief, Death of parent, Death, Domestic abuse, and Cancer
Minor: Suicide
ashfrxns'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
Moderate: Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Grief, Vomit, Sexual content, Infidelity, and Alcohol
thegazillionthreader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I have been debating between 3.5 or 4 stars…. Because I absolutely loved the writer’s aspect of the characters in the book + the few quotes I really liked, I think I will say 4.
Update: 3.5 won the debate I think, (which is not on a bad rating on my personal rating scale)
This book was a bit different than what I expected. Not in a bad way, it was just more serious and deep than I thought it was going to be, and not the “super fun only focused on the steamy romance” that I thought, although it did have some funny and swoon scenes. The blurb had me imagining and speculating how things would be (especially when it mentioned cults, and I became apprehensive from it actually) but it all ended up being pretty different from what I anticipated, cults and all.
At times I kept losing focus though and had to keep rereading things, which affected things a tad. Some of this due to outside factors, the writing style could be it but idk why because it was pretty clear, some due to the timeline of things especially in the beginning… but it really does boil down to me being way too easily confused 😅 so that’s on me.
I didn’t always feel the chemistry between the characters… other times I did.
Spoilers Below
Spoilers Below
Gus, even up until the end, I couldn’t fully trust him, it wavered. Not because he was a bad guy, no no no. He really was a good guy. But he was written so well I think and then seeing things from January’s POV I was feeling bad for her several times. When he disappeared. Then after that phone call. Then even when he went and talked to his ex and just didn’t really say anything for a whole day. I guess it’s the lack of communication and silence and all that… but, it did concern me for January and their relationship 😅
But I get it, I get that’s his character and why he is that way and that he’s a lot more than that and all that. And in the end they seemed good.
Like I said, I liked some of the quotes and the whole message of “happy for nows”. It’s real and I like it.
Also I must add how my jaw DROPPED when Gus’ romance book was revealed. That was not what I expected. Omg. 😭 Sir, that is not a happy ending or a romance book. (I know, I know. It’s a happy ending to him, but still 😂)
Also like I said, absolutely loved that they were writers, and several times it made me want to go write.
All in all, not quite what I expected and sadly didn’t love it as much as I hoped, but it was still good and I would still recommend to those who are thinking of giving it a go.
Moderate: Death of parent and Cancer
Minor: Domestic abuse, Infidelity, and Child abuse
caitlinjadams's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Infidelity, Cancer, Death of parent, and Grief
Moderate: Abandonment, Alcohol, Death, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Vomit, Suicide, and Sexual content
Minor: Addiction and Drug abuse
Cultslibrarybookscene's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Child abuse, Cancer, and Domestic abuse
prairieraven's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Moderate: Alcoholism, Car accident, Death of parent, Addiction, Religious bigotry, Alcohol, Grief, Infidelity, Abandonment, Cancer, Confinement, Death, Sexual content, Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, and Gaslighting