Scan barcode
nitzanschwarz's review against another edition
4.0
Okay, so, honestly? This is just a very sweet romance about two nice people falling in love and braving the hardships of life together, as a unit.
Like, there is no real relationship angst between these two because that's not the type of story this is, and probably not the type of story Bowen likes to tell judging by this and The Year We Fell Down. Instead, she likes to tell stories of people coming together and helping each other stay afloat and find ground. Center and focus each other. Stuff like that.
I like that. I like that a lot.
Scarlet is dealing with a family scandal that, more than anything, makes her feel extremely guilty. Guilty for not having seen any signs, and guilty for the off chance all those accusations are lies. She doesn't know where she stands or belongs anymore, but she wants to carve a new life away from all the horribleness.
Bridger is living on a knife's edge, with his whole at stake. Because whereas Scarlet wants to put her family far behind her, he just wants to keep his together. Or, at the very least, him and his sister. Here is this earnest man who is doing it *all*. Keeping his grades, his jobs and his sister. But it could all easily crumble.
Now, these two people meet and unite, and that's that for them. There is no other person they'd rather be with, and it shows through their quiet ease around each other, and the way they lean into each other. Quite beautiful.
The only two things I can mention on the negatives are not really negatives, just observations;
1. It's probably best for me not to read Bowen's book one after the other, because sometimes her characters voice sound *very* similar. Like, describing the school as Hogwarts houses or using Giddyup. Two very specific things that appeared in both books, by completely different characters. That's a bit weird for me. And something I definitely struggle with in my own writing lol
2. [The discovery of Scarlet's true father was a bit weird for me. I had no particular issue with it, but I did wonder why it was necessary to completely disassociate her from her pedophile dad. Like, good people can be born to horrible human beings. That's just a fact, and that's okay. They very rarely get the good fortune of discovering that those scumbag people are actually not blood-related to them in any shape or form, and that made me kind of sad that Bowen felt it necessary to "clean" Scarlet by giving her this out. Just some thoughts, tho (hide spoiler)]
Like, there is no real relationship angst between these two because that's not the type of story this is, and probably not the type of story Bowen likes to tell judging by this and The Year We Fell Down. Instead, she likes to tell stories of people coming together and helping each other stay afloat and find ground. Center and focus each other. Stuff like that.
I like that. I like that a lot.
Scarlet is dealing with a family scandal that, more than anything, makes her feel extremely guilty. Guilty for not having seen any signs, and guilty for the off chance all those accusations are lies. She doesn't know where she stands or belongs anymore, but she wants to carve a new life away from all the horribleness.
Bridger is living on a knife's edge, with his whole at stake. Because whereas Scarlet wants to put her family far behind her, he just wants to keep his together. Or, at the very least, him and his sister. Here is this earnest man who is doing it *all*. Keeping his grades, his jobs and his sister. But it could all easily crumble.
Now, these two people meet and unite, and that's that for them. There is no other person they'd rather be with, and it shows through their quiet ease around each other, and the way they lean into each other. Quite beautiful.
The only two things I can mention on the negatives are not really negatives, just observations;
1. It's probably best for me not to read Bowen's book one after the other, because sometimes her characters voice sound *very* similar. Like, describing the school as Hogwarts houses or using Giddyup. Two very specific things that appeared in both books, by completely different characters. That's a bit weird for me. And something I definitely struggle with in my own writing lol
2. [The discovery of Scarlet's true father was a bit weird for me. I had no particular issue with it, but I did wonder why it was necessary to completely disassociate her from her pedophile dad. Like, good people can be born to horrible human beings. That's just a fact, and that's okay. They very rarely get the good fortune of discovering that those scumbag people are actually not blood-related to them in any shape or form, and that made me kind of sad that Bowen felt it necessary to "clean" Scarlet by giving her this out. Just some thoughts, tho (hide spoiler)]
emily_is_reading's review against another edition
4.0
this was like a wattpad soap opera and i loved it
whiskis's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
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
I loved the characters in this book, and the struggles they went thru made the story a great one.
emmina's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
tense
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? It's complicated
3.5
lamanda_quiring's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Sarina Bowen is incapable of writing characters that you don’t love. I’m flying through these books, but having the best time. There’s moments that made me tear up, laugh, and gave me the warm fuzzies. I love Bridger & Scarlet.
charms1976's review against another edition
5.0
BRIDGER!!
I am seriously in fan-girl love with this series. One of my faves!
I am seriously in fan-girl love with this series. One of my faves!
oliviaaschumer's review against another edition
1.0
How to deal with finding out your dad’s a p*do? Find out he’s not your dad at all!
12th August
8:56pm-8:57pm (1)
17th August
11:37am-11:49pm
18 mins
19 mins
30 mins
4:47pm-5:30pm (43)
5th September
8:09 (45 minutes)
9:30am start (27 minutes)
Total: 195 minutes
12th August
8:56pm-8:57pm (1)
17th August
11:37am-11:49pm
18 mins
19 mins
30 mins
4:47pm-5:30pm (43)
5th September
8:09 (45 minutes)
9:30am start (27 minutes)
Total: 195 minutes
readfrenzy's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars ~ Audio Book Review
It's weird to go back and read some of Sarina's older work because I think she's a much better storyteller now. Overall, this is a pretty decent story with likable characters. The love story between Bridger and Scarlet is sweet, even though there is some really awkward sex talk. Scarlet actually has conversations in her mind with Bridger’s penis. I kid you not. I wish the resolution of Scarlet’s conflicts wasn’t so rushed.
I probably would have enjoyed the book more if I had read it instead of listening to the audio book. For me, the female narrator is not very convincing and she detracts from the story.
It's weird to go back and read some of Sarina's older work because I think she's a much better storyteller now. Overall, this is a pretty decent story with likable characters. The love story between Bridger and Scarlet is sweet, even though there is some really awkward sex talk. Scarlet actually has conversations in her mind with Bridger’s penis. I kid you not. I wish the resolution of Scarlet’s conflicts wasn’t so rushed.
I probably would have enjoyed the book more if I had read it instead of listening to the audio book. For me, the female narrator is not very convincing and she detracts from the story.
thisfishlikestoread's review against another edition
2.0
It was okay. While it was well written, the story was mildly engaging and honestly had a dull plot with useless situations as props.
What you have is a basic YA novel.
Writing is hard, I feel bad to give such reviews since I understand how difficult it is to produce anything decent.
Here's hoping to read better books ahead.
What you have is a basic YA novel.
Writing is hard, I feel bad to give such reviews since I understand how difficult it is to produce anything decent.
Here's hoping to read better books ahead.