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kyleethecatlady's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
5.0
It gets five stars if it makes me cry
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content and Death of parent
Moderate: Cancer, Chronic illness, and Grief
Minor: Animal death and Infertility
jg34's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
Katherine Center DOES NOT MISS. She always finds a great balance of romance, character study, conflict etc. With some romances the characters seem to fall to fast or the third act breakup is not convincing, but I’ve never felt this issue with Katherine’s books. We really get to see the couple get to know each other and grow. Any conflict they face seems genuine and believable. And of course our main character is also going through her own journey aside from the budding romance. In this case our main character Emma is struggling to balance her dream career of screenwriting with caring for her ailing father. There is also grief, sibling relationships, feelings of inadequacy, things that many of us can relate too!
The male main character Charlie was charming and lovable. Get you a man that LISTENS and LEARNS from criticisms and get this… actually CHANGES HIS BEHAVIOR in response. IMPOSSIBLE. someone who so willingly agrees to do things he does not want to do to please someone else. A man who can be clueless but would google how to help you with any of your problems. Someone deep down so unselfish and accommodating. SWOON.
However, one thing that rubbed me the wrong way was how he acts in the beginning. It is a total 360 to how he acts for the rest of the book. He buys into partnering with Emma very quickly after earlier in the day he is listing about 1000 reasons why he would never ever work with her. I sort of get that he has this performance he puts on to act like he doesn’t give a shit but damn did he have to be so mean in the beginning?? I literally teared up for poor Emma!!
One more small complaint. (SPOILER) there is a public declaration of love, which personally is a bit of an ick for me. I’M SORRY I’m so shy I would die.
The ending though. Katherine center’s books (SPOILER) always have a happy ending. I can always count on her for this, she is so good at happy endings and always leaves me feeling hopeful and wholesome. I love seeing the characters growth on display in the epilogue, living their best (but still realistic) lives.
Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this, loved the characters, loved the plot, loved the growth. Great time would recommend.
The male main character Charlie was charming and lovable. Get you a man that LISTENS and LEARNS from criticisms and get this… actually CHANGES HIS BEHAVIOR in response. IMPOSSIBLE. someone who so willingly agrees to do things he does not want to do to please someone else. A man who can be clueless but would google how to help you with any of your problems. Someone deep down so unselfish and accommodating. SWOON.
However, one thing that rubbed me the wrong way was how he acts in the beginning. It is a total 360 to how he acts for the rest of the book. He buys into partnering with Emma very quickly after earlier in the day he is listing about 1000 reasons why he would never ever work with her. I sort of get that he has this performance he puts on to act like he doesn’t give a shit but damn did he have to be so mean in the beginning?? I literally teared up for poor Emma!!
One more small complaint. (SPOILER) there is a public declaration of love, which personally is a bit of an ick for me. I’M SORRY I’m so shy I would die.
The ending though. Katherine center’s books (SPOILER) always have a happy ending. I can always count on her for this, she is so good at happy endings and always leaves me feeling hopeful and wholesome. I love seeing the characters growth on display in the epilogue, living their best (but still realistic) lives.
Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this, loved the characters, loved the plot, loved the growth. Great time would recommend.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Animal death, Cursing, and Alcohol
author2223's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Grief, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cancer, Panic attacks/disorders, and Medical content
itschelseaw's review against another edition
emotional
funny
fast-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
5.0
Absolutely loved this book. It was trope-y but in a winking way. I had to stop myself from crying for the last 60ish pages because I was in public and would’ve gotten concerned people disrupting me from the book.
I loved the chemistry between Charlie and Emma, it felt real and electric.
The speech at the end was so romcom perfection, Charlie really studied up.
I loved the chemistry between Charlie and Emma, it felt real and electric.
The speech at the end was so romcom perfection, Charlie really studied up.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Cancer and Chronic illness
katmystery's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
The first half was hilarious, and I appreciated the unhinged writer rep. But the second half lost me. My main problem with it was that the love interest was mean. Not abusive, but rude. He doesn’t treat the MC nicely. The book says this is okay because he’s just pushing her away to protect her, but… no. He insults the MC several times out of nowhere and is very critical and snappy. My second problem was with the MC. She’s obsessed with “fixing” the love interest, which results in her kinda forcing him to do exposure therapy for various fears and getting mad at him for not wanting to, which made me uncomfortable. And the ending was way too heavy for a rom-com. Katherine Center did this in The Bodyguard too, throwing extremely serious and potentially triggering content into the story towards the end and then brushing it off in a rushed ending without treating this content with the care it deserves.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Chronic illness, Grief, Car accident, and Death of parent
jamie_rich's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
medium-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
Moderate: Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
carla20's review against another edition
emotional
funny
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Medical content, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
lauraelovesbooks's review against another edition
emotional
funny
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
5.0
Surprise surprise, another 5-star read from Katherine Center. This was a true love letter to the romance genre and, to borrow a phrase, I absolutely felt its glow in my heart
This book is full of beautiful emotion, laugh-out-loud charm, and incredible banter.
My one complaint would be that the ending was a little rushed , but I can easily forgive that for everything else we get in return
This book is full of beautiful emotion, laugh-out-loud charm, and incredible banter.
My one complaint would be that the ending was a little rushed , but I can easily forgive that for everything else we get in return
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cancer, Chronic illness, Medical content, and Grief
Minor: Animal death
vickie0326's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Chronic illness, and Medical content
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Car accident
jla's review
emotional
funny
sad
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? It's complicated
5.0
This was everything I wanted in a rom-com and none of my pet peeves. I loved the characters, the writing, and the plot. The characters were well developed and lovely despite their flaws. The paced was perfect, and there wasn't anything I would have left out. The second-hand embarrassment wasn't too terrible. I will definitely check out her other books.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness