You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
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
challenging
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
okay so i absolutely devoured this book, finished it in one sitting, and i have some thoughts.
i’d like to first start off by saying that i thought before we were strangers was phenomenal and is one of those rare books that i recommend as a result of being a read that truly changed something inside me. not only were the characters and plot great, so was the writing, so i was thrilled to pick up another renée carlino book.
these characters are. something. and they’re meant to be i understand why. emiline (gorgeous name) was incredibly interesting to read, albeit frustrating (is that insensitive i’m sorry if it is i know she went through the wringer). jase, or jax really, felt so real to me? real in a way that cara and trevor just did not. if i’m being completely honest trevor just raised my blood pressure in all the wrong ways, and his story was so unsatisfying to me. cara was lovely but unfortunately fell victim to the tried and true “put together best friend of the frazzled main character” trope that is all too predictable.
i absolutely loved the “all the roads between” portions. they were absolutely my favorite parts of the book and i was definitely a little sad when we had to go back to the present. the way the plot is set up with the parallel timelines made this book impossible to put down.
however! my main issue with this book (and why i couldn’t justify giving it a higher rating despite how much is made me feel/how engaged i was in it) was how rushed it felt. both books, both the fictional and actual, felt like they had cheap and underdeveloped endings that could’ve benefited from just a little more writing. if some romantasy stand alones can be ridiculously long so can a book like this. i would genuinely read a sequel to this book because of how unfulfilled i am with the ending. something here is underdeveloped and i can’t put my finger on it, it just is.
also, plot convenience? some of these choices had plot convenience written all over it and i don’t have the brainpower currently to elaborate but i felt the need to throw out that thought.
i feel like i’m being too critical and i feel bad because i genuinely really enjoyed reading this book. it had me jaw dropped, slamming it down onto my bed, staring at the imaginary cameras, all the things. i adore when i pick up a book that makes me feel like that, to me that’s what reading is all about. it was dramatic in all the right ways, incredibly touching and emotional, and was an epic love story that truly had me on the edge of my seat.
tldr: country roads take me home with a side of suffering and epic romance (?)
i’d like to first start off by saying that i thought before we were strangers was phenomenal and is one of those rare books that i recommend as a result of being a read that truly changed something inside me. not only were the characters and plot great, so was the writing, so i was thrilled to pick up another renée carlino book.
these characters are. something. and they’re meant to be i understand why. emiline (gorgeous name) was incredibly interesting to read, albeit frustrating (is that insensitive i’m sorry if it is i know she went through the wringer). jase, or jax really, felt so real to me? real in a way that cara and trevor just did not. if i’m being completely honest trevor just raised my blood pressure in all the wrong ways, and his story was so unsatisfying to me. cara was lovely but unfortunately fell victim to the tried and true “put together best friend of the frazzled main character” trope that is all too predictable.
i absolutely loved the “all the roads between” portions. they were absolutely my favorite parts of the book and i was definitely a little sad when we had to go back to the present. the way the plot is set up with the parallel timelines made this book impossible to put down.
however! my main issue with this book (and why i couldn’t justify giving it a higher rating despite how much is made me feel/how engaged i was in it) was how rushed it felt. both books, both the fictional and actual, felt like they had cheap and underdeveloped endings that could’ve benefited from just a little more writing. if some romantasy stand alones can be ridiculously long so can a book like this. i would genuinely read a sequel to this book because of how unfulfilled i am with the ending. something here is underdeveloped and i can’t put my finger on it, it just is.
also, plot convenience? some of these choices had plot convenience written all over it and i don’t have the brainpower currently to elaborate but i felt the need to throw out that thought.
i feel like i’m being too critical and i feel bad because i genuinely really enjoyed reading this book. it had me jaw dropped, slamming it down onto my bed, staring at the imaginary cameras, all the things. i adore when i pick up a book that makes me feel like that, to me that’s what reading is all about. it was dramatic in all the right ways, incredibly touching and emotional, and was an epic love story that truly had me on the edge of my seat.
tldr: country roads take me home with a side of suffering and epic romance (?)
Umm I kinda skimmed the entire second half of this book because it was taking FOREVER. And I understand that the second “timeline” of when they were kids/teenagers was more important, but the present timeline felt entirely forgotten. And I kind of hated the two main characters as adults. Not my fave.
Finished this book 15mins ago and still crying. I haven't ugly cried this much in so long and I blame this book in the best way. Highly recommend it.
This book has been on my shelves for 5 years untouched and I can't believe I was going to unhaul it. Will definitely check out this author other books.
This book has been on my shelves for 5 years untouched and I can't believe I was going to unhaul it. Will definitely check out this author other books.
An insanely cute book that I had trouble putting down - it kept making me "aww" out loud!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 … I sure did finish this book in one sitting and sure did bawl my eyes out more times than I can count. This book would have been a 5 star read for me if 1. They explained why Jase never looked for her or tried to contact her if he knew exactly where she was the whole time and 2. If the ending and epilogue didn’t end on a flat note. I don’t know but I was expecting to read a little more on their love at the end now that they finally made their way to each other and I was also expecting the epilogue to have more substance? But besides that I absolutely LOVED everything else about this book.
Different. Not bad. A romantic tale, and yet, not. I found the protagonist self-centered, but that's sort of the point. I found the boyfriend character without merit - why would she stay with him? He seems like a real idiot. I don't know. The story entertained me and it had a good plot within a plot.