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spellbindingtomes's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Cancer, Death, Grief, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
elaineh7's review
funny
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
The ending really saved this book for me. The first half was a struggle bc of the lead male character Charlie. How many times did Emma overhear Charlie saying bad
things about her? Serval times.
things about her? Serval times.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Death, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, and Death of parent
smartcookiesca's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Car accident, and Death of parent
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders and Abandonment
roseleaf24's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- 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
4.5
I couldn’t put this book down! I loved the characters and their stories, and I loved the tie-in to The Bodyguard. Not a fan of the very brief complication at the end, but everything else had me laughing and crying and completely engaged.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Car accident, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexual content
erinmassey23's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, and Death of parent
Moderate: Cancer, Panic attacks/disorders, Terminal illness, and Car accident
Minor: Animal death, Infertility, and Misogyny
jebuss16's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer
bookswithangeli's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer, Medical trauma, and Death of parent
Minor: Suicide
lilybell's review
emotional
funny
fast-paced
- 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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cancer
le3713's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I loved the Hollywood setting of this romcom, and its many many funny, quotable scenes (Meryl Streep! hiding in the pantry! The Jack Stapleton cameos!). I love a romcom about romcom books/movies, so the concept couldn't have been better for me. At the same time, it packed an emotional punch I didn't see coming (I cried about an hour straight towards the end). I can't decide if I think the very brief Charlie's cancer metastizied, never mind it was bronchitis, bit was too much, but it sure got me in the moment. The way that Emma has to make room for hope in the midst of tragedy and uncertainty will stay with me for awhile.
Favorite quotes:
“A great rom-com,” I said, “is just like sex. If you’re surprised by the ending, somebody wasn’t doing their job. We all know where it’s headed. The fun is how we get there.
The hug lasted so long that the rest of us found ourselves looking around, and that’s when I met eyes with Meryl Streep, still seated at her place. “Hello,” she said to me, lifting her fork in some impossibly cool hybrid between a wave and a toast. Was that the most badass fork-based greeting I’d ever witnessed in my life? No time to ponder—because before I could stop myself, I was launching one big burst of nonpunctuated words: “Hello Meryl Streep I adore all your work and I am madly in love with you.” To which she said, “Thank you,” as if people said that exact thing to her every day. Which they probably did, right? Who are we kidding?
That’s when Charlie piped up. “Anyway, it’s not a romance.” “What?” Logan said. Charlie nodded, like Yeah. “Learned that yesterday,” he said, cocking his head at me. Then, looking mischievous, he said, “It’s not a romance unless everyone has an orgasm.” “That’s not—” I started. But Logan said, “Oh, I think that movie’s got plenty of orgasms.” “If you don’t have a happy ending,” I corrected. Then I felt the need to stress: “An emotionally happy ending.” How was this conversation happening? To be extra clear: “An ending with the couple happily together. And Meryl Streep alive and well.”
“I’m not, by the way,” he added. “Not what?”
“In love with you.”
“Oh,” I said. Then, in case my voice sounded weird, I added, “Of course not!”
“I googled it,” Charlie continued, “and I’m not.”
“You googled whether or not you’re in love with me?”
“I googled how long it takes to fall in love.”
“And?” I asked. “How long does it take?”
“Eighty-eight days,” Charlie answered, definitively. “And we’ve only known each other for thirty-one. So. Problem solved.”
"All I can figure is this: it hurts to be disappointed. It hurts so much, we’d rather never get our hopes up. And it’s humiliating, too—right? How foolish are you to hope for the best? How pathetic is it to try to win after you’ve already lost? How naive must you be if you don’t know that humanity is dark and vicious and totally irredeemable? But the argument Emma’s been making this whole time—and I’m paraphrasing here—is this: If those are the only stories we tell about ourselves, then those are the only stories we have.”
Poor happy endings. They’re so aggressively misunderstood. We act like “and they lived happily ever after” is trying to con us into thinking that nothing bad ever happened to anyone ever again. But that’s never the way I read those words. I read them as “and they built a life together, and looked after each other, and made the absolute best of their lives.” That’s possible, right? That’s not ridiculous. Tragedy is a given. There is no version of human life that doesn’t involve reams of it. The question is what we do in the face of it all.
Favorite quotes:
“A great rom-com,” I said, “is just like sex. If you’re surprised by the ending, somebody wasn’t doing their job. We all know where it’s headed. The fun is how we get there.
The hug lasted so long that the rest of us found ourselves looking around, and that’s when I met eyes with Meryl Streep, still seated at her place. “Hello,” she said to me, lifting her fork in some impossibly cool hybrid between a wave and a toast. Was that the most badass fork-based greeting I’d ever witnessed in my life? No time to ponder—because before I could stop myself, I was launching one big burst of nonpunctuated words: “Hello Meryl Streep I adore all your work and I am madly in love with you.” To which she said, “Thank you,” as if people said that exact thing to her every day. Which they probably did, right? Who are we kidding?
That’s when Charlie piped up. “Anyway, it’s not a romance.” “What?” Logan said. Charlie nodded, like Yeah. “Learned that yesterday,” he said, cocking his head at me. Then, looking mischievous, he said, “It’s not a romance unless everyone has an orgasm.” “That’s not—” I started. But Logan said, “Oh, I think that movie’s got plenty of orgasms.” “If you don’t have a happy ending,” I corrected. Then I felt the need to stress: “An emotionally happy ending.” How was this conversation happening? To be extra clear: “An ending with the couple happily together. And Meryl Streep alive and well.”
“I’m not, by the way,” he added. “Not what?”
“In love with you.”
“Oh,” I said. Then, in case my voice sounded weird, I added, “Of course not!”
“I googled it,” Charlie continued, “and I’m not.”
“You googled whether or not you’re in love with me?”
“I googled how long it takes to fall in love.”
“And?” I asked. “How long does it take?”
“Eighty-eight days,” Charlie answered, definitively. “And we’ve only known each other for thirty-one. So. Problem solved.”
"All I can figure is this: it hurts to be disappointed. It hurts so much, we’d rather never get our hopes up. And it’s humiliating, too—right? How foolish are you to hope for the best? How pathetic is it to try to win after you’ve already lost? How naive must you be if you don’t know that humanity is dark and vicious and totally irredeemable? But the argument Emma’s been making this whole time—and I’m paraphrasing here—is this: If those are the only stories we tell about ourselves, then those are the only stories we have.”
Poor happy endings. They’re so aggressively misunderstood. We act like “and they lived happily ever after” is trying to con us into thinking that nothing bad ever happened to anyone ever again. But that’s never the way I read those words. I read them as “and they built a life together, and looked after each other, and made the absolute best of their lives.” That’s possible, right? That’s not ridiculous. Tragedy is a given. There is no version of human life that doesn’t involve reams of it. The question is what we do in the face of it all.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer and Death of parent