shelbymu's review against another edition
3.0
Another emotional rollercoaster. Lily meets Ryle, falls in love with him and he starts to show a dark side. She reminisces about a past love who finds her later in life. I felt myself wanting to see more of Atlas, but I guess that’s what the next book is for. I hope it shows them later in life as well. I felt drawn to the characters and I understood them well and had a few times where I was at a loss for words. The writing was captivating and anytime i wanted to stop i read another chapter. I do wish there was more romance since I liked the cocky side to both men. Spice =
sickievickie's review against another edition
2.0
I really wanted this book to be good. I wanted to enjoy this book as much as every single other person on the planet (at least that’s how it feels) but I couldn’t. I felt like I was forcing myself to continue reading and with each page I read I felt like I had to force it more and more.
First of all, Lily Bloom. Lily Bloom who owns a flower shop. Really? We couldn’t come up with a more creative name for a florist than LILY BLOOM? Really? That was hard enough to get over in and of itself. I could not get over that at all. And she also seems like a very unreliable narrator. I don’t know if it was just because I couldn’t get into the book but I didn’t trust her storytelling at all.
Ryle Kincaid was my second issue with this book. How was it that every single relative of this man was somehow entangled in Lily’s life? Like, his sister working with her, even though they were rich? I’ll get into that in a second. But if this man was a resident, about to become a full fledged doctor, how did he have the time to be doing all of this crap with Lily? And what was he doing risking every single thing he was working towards for his future career by hitting Lily? I know that in real life it happens, doctors can be domestic abusers, but something about it was just so wrong and I couldn’t even begin to try understanding it.
Back to Ryle’s sister, Allysa. What was that all about? She’s rich but she’s working for Lily at the flower shop, but not getting paid, because she was bored? Like, what? How out of touch with the world is Colleen Hoover? First, who works for free? Not a single person in the world. Second, what rich person is working? She has no reason to work, has no established career path for herself, so she goes to work for her brother's girlfriend at a flower shop but does not want to get paid. That’s like Kim K. going to work for one of Travis Barker’s kids but saying “no, don’t worry about the money”. Rich people are the most worried about money, in my limited knowledge. They wouldn’t work for anyone for free or work if they simply did not have to.
Next, the LETTERS. ELLEN DEGENEROUS. Really? REALLY? Why? What did we gain from that? Literally nothing, and it was the stupidest thing I have ever read in my entire life.
And Atlas, just not real. Nothing about his storyline was realistic. He had no parents and was homeless and went to school ratty and smelly and no one noticed? Not one teacher called CPS in their entire friendship? And then he disappears from her life and just appears again at the exact right time, just as Ryle begins abusing her? It doesn’t even sound believable.
The entire time I read this book I felt like I was reading fanfiction. It felt like I was in seventh grade and was reading a wattpad story during silent reading. Seventh grade me would have loved this book, she would have devoured every last word, but grown, adult me, resented this book with every word I read.
It felt like I was wasting my time in continuing to read it. I was forcing it, making myself read and read. I began skipping the stupid Ellen letters because they really didn’t offer anything to the story, and if I ever had the chance to speak to Colleen myself the one thing I would ask her is why in the name of god she even bothered to include the fucking letters.
Two and a half stars is the most generous rating I could have given this book. I would never reach for this again, I don’t even think I could force myself to try reading this book for a second time. A waste of time and a waste of paper.
First of all, Lily Bloom. Lily Bloom who owns a flower shop. Really? We couldn’t come up with a more creative name for a florist than LILY BLOOM? Really? That was hard enough to get over in and of itself. I could not get over that at all. And she also seems like a very unreliable narrator. I don’t know if it was just because I couldn’t get into the book but I didn’t trust her storytelling at all.
Ryle Kincaid was my second issue with this book. How was it that every single relative of this man was somehow entangled in Lily’s life? Like, his sister working with her, even though they were rich? I’ll get into that in a second. But if this man was a resident, about to become a full fledged doctor, how did he have the time to be doing all of this crap with Lily? And what was he doing risking every single thing he was working towards for his future career by hitting Lily? I know that in real life it happens, doctors can be domestic abusers, but something about it was just so wrong and I couldn’t even begin to try understanding it.
Back to Ryle’s sister, Allysa. What was that all about? She’s rich but she’s working for Lily at the flower shop, but not getting paid, because she was bored? Like, what? How out of touch with the world is Colleen Hoover? First, who works for free? Not a single person in the world. Second, what rich person is working? She has no reason to work, has no established career path for herself, so she goes to work for her brother's girlfriend at a flower shop but does not want to get paid. That’s like Kim K. going to work for one of Travis Barker’s kids but saying “no, don’t worry about the money”. Rich people are the most worried about money, in my limited knowledge. They wouldn’t work for anyone for free or work if they simply did not have to.
Next, the LETTERS. ELLEN DEGENEROUS. Really? REALLY? Why? What did we gain from that? Literally nothing, and it was the stupidest thing I have ever read in my entire life.
And Atlas, just not real. Nothing about his storyline was realistic. He had no parents and was homeless and went to school ratty and smelly and no one noticed? Not one teacher called CPS in their entire friendship? And then he disappears from her life and just appears again at the exact right time, just as Ryle begins abusing her? It doesn’t even sound believable.
The entire time I read this book I felt like I was reading fanfiction. It felt like I was in seventh grade and was reading a wattpad story during silent reading. Seventh grade me would have loved this book, she would have devoured every last word, but grown, adult me, resented this book with every word I read.
It felt like I was wasting my time in continuing to read it. I was forcing it, making myself read and read. I began skipping the stupid Ellen letters because they really didn’t offer anything to the story, and if I ever had the chance to speak to Colleen myself the one thing I would ask her is why in the name of god she even bothered to include the fucking letters.
Two and a half stars is the most generous rating I could have given this book. I would never reach for this again, I don’t even think I could force myself to try reading this book for a second time. A waste of time and a waste of paper.
bookzbyem's review against another edition
5.0
Finished this book in 5 hours! I loved it, made me love reading again!
karu_ck's review against another edition
1.0
Aburrido. No sé siente una verdadera conexión entre la protagonista y la persona que se supone que se enamora y que tiene tanto conflicto en separarse de él debido al maltrato. Ojo, no digo que sea difícil dejar a alguien a quien amas, si no que independiente del tema, siento que la descripción del amor es igual a un amor fugaz y sin sentido o profundidad.
sophzv's review against another edition
5.0
If this wasn’t a HEA I think I would’ve died inside. This book injured my soul and then put it back together again.
dcmr's review against another edition
1.0
A worthy subject (domestic abuse) that falls apart under the pressure of really bad writing.
kinga4144's review
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
kimberly_b's review against another edition
5.0
Update: It's 5 years later, and I still love this book. It wasn't as intense of a read the second time around since I knew what would happen, but it was still phenomenal.
This was the first book that I've read by Hoover, and I can't even express how impressed I was. Hoover's writing is so vivid that my heart was literally pounding in certain parts. Hoover addresses a topic in this novel that NEEDS to be addressed more often (I won't say what so as to keep this review spoiler free). This is a book that I will absolutely have my daughter read once she is old enough. What a phenomenal book.
5 stars, plus a spot on my favorites shelf
This was the first book that I've read by Hoover, and I can't even express how impressed I was. Hoover's writing is so vivid that my heart was literally pounding in certain parts. Hoover addresses a topic in this novel that NEEDS to be addressed more often (I won't say what so as to keep this review spoiler free). This is a book that I will absolutely have my daughter read once she is old enough. What a phenomenal book.
5 stars, plus a spot on my favorites shelf
mila_98's review
lighthearted
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0