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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
pagesfromhome'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.
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Car accident, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, and Bullying
Minor: Alcoholism and Alcohol
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