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pencilspeaker's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Sexual content and Grief
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders and Death of parent
bumblemee'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
4.0
I'm always a sucker for the found family trope, which immediately made me like this book. The characters are such a well thought out friend group, who love each other so much that it'll warm your heart in no time. Their relationships with each other felt very real, which helped making the characters themselves feel real. All of them just .. made sense in a way. I also thought most of them had their time to shine and become a complex person in the eye of the reader, which I think was nice, because I worry sometimes that side characters don't get enough depth, since they're not the couple the story focuses on. But in this case I got a clear sense for all of them, which makes sense since while this is a romance book, it takes its time to explore friendship as well.
I really loved Harriet - probably bc I related to her a lot. Maybe you find her annoying if you can't see aspects of yourself in her and would just like to shake her sometimes and tell her that she's way too much in her head without finding someone to do a reality check with. She struggles a lot with listening to her own needs and the negative consequences this can have, even if her goal is to do the opposite: make everyone happy.
I thought it was very interesting how Harriet and Wyn were written - both with low self-esteem for different reasons and in a way that makes it hard for them to communicate effectively when they'd need it most. It's sometimes hard to read this kind of story, where there's a lack of communication, which you as the reader can see clearly. But in this case it felt very natural, you could understand why they can't get their shit together sooner. (Not gonna lie though, I was a little frustrated at times, but it was okay.)
The tone of this book was a little bittersweet in my opinion, especially because we spend a lot of time exploring the relationships between characters before the events of the book (the good and he bad), but also get to see the complicated situation they're in at the moment. A lot of people on here say that this book is "lighthearted" and I see why, but to me it wasn't. Maybe that's a matter of the state you're in when reading this and how the topics resonate with you. It my case, this book didn't drag me down or anything, but it made me (a little) sad more often than not to be honest, so I can't say I thought of it as lighthearted.
Graphic: Sexual content, Alcohol, Grief, and Mental illness
Moderate: Death of parent, Medical content, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Chronic illness
cdoubet'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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death of parent, Cursing, Grief, Alcohol, Panic attacks/disorders, Confinement, Mental illness, Sexual content, and Death
Minor: Pregnancy and Car accident
marmalade_and_books'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
Wyn’s character was not at all what I expected—he was better. He’s the doting, thoughtful, and loyal flirt we all wish we knew and could call our own (as least that’s true for me).
And what would an EH book be without some sort of parent-trauma? That part hits home every time…maybe I should try therapy!
I loved this book’s theme of found family and holding on to the people that matter most to you even if that relationship changes over time. I wanted to text my friends several times while reading this to tell them that I love them.
“I wish I could swallow the sound, that it would put down roots in my stomach and grow through me like a seed.”
Minor: Blood, Chronic illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Terminal illness
one_more_chapter96'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
Moderate: Grief and Death of parent
Minor: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Drug use, and Pregnancy
isacarvalho91'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
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Grief, Drug use, Bullying, Chronic illness, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Death of parent
bringmybooks'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
4.75
B̷R̷I̷N̷G̷ ✨ 𝗕𝗢𝗥𝗥𝗢𝗪 ✨ B̷Y̷P̷A̷S̷S̷
I honestly & truly don’t think this book is going to be for everyone, and I honestly & truly don’t think all of Emily Henry is for everyone (4 starred her first two, lukewarm on them in retrospect, DNFed Book Lovers, don’t @ me). All of that being said, I honestly & truly loved this book.
(Also, did I finally break down and decide to read this because the MC loves Murder She Wrote? no comment)
There are some books that I think have universal appeal, and others that hit harder because of the life you’ve lived and the experiences you’ve had, and I think that was a huge part of why this hit so well for me. I can totally understand why people would look at this and go “miscommunication trope at it’s finest, yawn” but (as someone who’s not typically a fan of this trope) I felt this was a super realistic portrayal of trying to figure out who you are and what you want as you grow older, especially as you try to do it in a relationship with someone you love who is growing up alongside you.
One of my gripes with some of EH’s work is that it’s too … quippy. Nobody can be “on” 24/7, zinging barbs back and forth with whomever they come across from the moment they open their eyes until the moment they go to bed. Sometimes even the quippiest person just calls their partner and says, “Hey, do we need milk?” without there being a joke attached to it, you know?
That being said, I felt that that the characters in this book were way more realistic, and I actually believed in them, which made it a lot easier to stay invested in the story & in their relationships. It’s got so much heart in the way that growing up in a friend group is described, especially as we start to want different things that don’t align with how our friends or partners are growing up.
tl;dr this one brought me back to EH and I’ll be giving her next one a read!
Graphic: Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Cursing, Alcohol, Death of parent, Mental illness, Drug abuse, and Pregnancy
Minor: Toxic relationship, Infidelity, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, Vomit, Sexual harassment, Dementia, Chronic illness, and Drug use
hannalizzy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Abandonment, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Death of parent, Death, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, and Drug use
taliabasma's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Mental illness, Death of parent, and Grief
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders
infjkiki'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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Grief, Sexual content, Mental illness, Alcohol, and Death of parent
Moderate: Pregnancy, Drug use, and Chronic illness
Minor: Vomit, Panic attacks/disorders, and Medical content