samanderson24's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
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
I’m wishing I had Polly, Nina, and Maggie as friends in my life. I love that there was a huge focus on platonic relationships as well as the developing romantic relationship between Laura and Bob.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Misogyny, Mental illness, and Gaslighting
brittany_jean's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
fast-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
4.5
I DNF Nina Hill, but I really loved this one. Also, no other book I’ve read has captured how driving with driving anxiety feels the way this one does.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders
mswarning's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
slow-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
3.25
It was really sweet, but not a lot happened. It's definitely a slowburn with little payoff. The ptsd portrayal was nice to see and pretty realistic so at least there's that.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Car accident, Injury/injury detail, Mental illness, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Alcoholism, Infidelity, Vomit, and Alcohol
kelsharr's review
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
4.75
Content Warnings
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders and Car accident
natashaleighton_'s review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Toxic relationship and Car accident
kshertz's review
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I love this author and this is a sweet little romcom about bouncing back and finding yourself. It’s about how to be the best version of yourself and how that’s different for everyone. How everyone has setbacks but they only keep you down if you let them. It’s pretty inspirational and has a lot of cute one liners. Not an earth shattering book but I really enjoyed it. I think it makes for a great beach read for sure.
Content Warnings
Minor: Car accident, Gaslighting, Injury/injury detail, and Panic attacks/disorders
cassielaj's review
emotional
funny
inspiring
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
5.0
It’s stupid how much I loved this. Actually, I’m not surprised, because I’ve been obsessed with everything Abbi Waxman writes for the past two years. No other author makes me laugh like AW does, with her dry humor and quirky characters. She balances hilarity with some truly lovely emotional moments, and I love how she gives every character a point of view. This one was more romance-forward than her others, but it was still balanced with personal growth and new friendships, which AW explores so well.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders and Mental illness
Moderate: Toxic relationship and Car accident
Laura’s ex-fiancé makes an appearance that is totally infuriating and could be triggering (love-bombing, condescension, emotional manipulation)effthecanon's review
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- 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
3.75
First all, I love Abbi Waxman's work and was really looking forward to this one and all in all it delivered. I loved the "found family" feeling, but I did find myself frustrated with the omniscient narrator. This isn't an uncommon narration style for Waxman, but I just felt like it bounced around to so many people and there are so many asides for comic relief that are cute, but I felt a bit pulled away from who I was supposed to care about.
I also found myself frustrated with how slow Laura's character development happened. She's clearly dealing with a lot and I absolutely love how Waxman approached what she's facing, but I would have loved to see glimmers of growth throughout the story, rather than it all just being suggested at the end.
It was nice for all of the characters from Waxman's previous LA books to come together, I just felt like by focusing on everyone else, I lost my focus on Laura who I was hoping to really partner with throughout the story. But the romance was sweet, the friendships are top-notch, and Waxman is a master of writing animals which is a skill that should be more appreciated.
I also found myself frustrated with how slow Laura's character development happened. She's clearly dealing with a lot and I absolutely love how Waxman approached what she's facing, but I would have loved to see glimmers of growth throughout the story, rather than it all just being suggested at the end.
Spoiler
I also feel like the clearly toxic and frankly abusive relationships that Laura deals with are glossed over in exchange for just saying that Laura doesn't like confrontation.It was nice for all of the characters from Waxman's previous LA books to come together, I just felt like by focusing on everyone else, I lost my focus on Laura who I was hoping to really partner with throughout the story. But the romance was sweet, the friendships are top-notch, and Waxman is a master of writing animals which is a skill that should be more appreciated.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Car accident, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, and Bullying
Minor: Alcoholism and Alcohol
serendipitysbooks's review
funny
hopeful
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
Adult Assembly Required is billed and catalogued as a romance yet I’m not sure I agree. It definitely included a romance but the plot itself was more centred on the growth of Laura as she established herself in LA, away from her family and ex-fiancé with all their expectations and judgements, and worked to recover from a traumatic accident. Several of the characters have featured in Waxman’s previous books so it was a bit like catching up with old friends. A warm feel-good read with a quirky ensemble cast.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Toxic relationship
rebeccap's review against another edition
medium-paced
- 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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders and Car accident
Minor: Alcoholism