Reviews

This Disaster Loves You by Richard Roper

frogl8dy's review against another edition

funny hopeful

4.0

thecurseofchris's review

emotional funny hopeful sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

It's rare that I get completely gripped by a book, especially when I least expect it, but it happened here and I'm so very glad that it did. I think this might end up being one of my favorite reads of the year. The exploration of love, life, loss, and grief in this novel is incredibly well-done. It's captivating and moving and heartbreaking and powerful, all in one.

5/5. Go read this book.

momgoth_'s review

emotional reflective 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? It's complicated

4.0

ermykneeandwheezy's review

emotional hopeful lighthearted mysterious reflective sad medium-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? No

4.25

kshertz's review

emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

The score reflects that this book is marketed as a romance when it absolutely is not. It’s a story about grief and losing the one you loved. Also this man is a mess and makes this new woman do all this labor to help him through the grief. That’s a therapist job. Not your love interest. So in the end it was fascinating but not romance so I’d only recommend for people going through grief about losing their partner

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Content Warnings

Minor: Misogyny, Death, Classism, Miscarriage, Abandonment, Grief, and Infertility

kristy's review

emotional inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing 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

5.0

Sweet story

jaelyn7's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This Disaster Loves You was the first romance I have read by a male author with a story focusing around the male protagonist. I would recommend this to people who like realistic romance novels instead of the lighthearted rom-com style.

What Worked for Me
In the author interview in the end, Roper mentioned that he wrote some parts of himself into Brian's character, which made sense because Brian was the only well-developed character. Brian is not your typical romance male-lead, and his self-deprecating humor and deep love for Lily stood out to me over mention of appearance. I enjoyed the character and think this story would be better revolving around Brian's journey to discover himself. I thought the highs and lows of Brian and Lily's relationship were also realistic, especially when you're only hearing one person's side.

What Didn't Work for Me (spoilers)

I was not a big fan of Lily, and I never felt convinced that she loved Brian as much as he loved her. I honestly felt sorry for Brian throughout the whole book; it seemed like he was ignoring all the signs of unhealthiness and would overlook them once a positive moment occurred. At the same time, this story is coming from Brian's perspective, and he believes she was too good for him. So in his eyes, he may not have documented the moments of Lily showing him love. Then, I saw absolutely no chemistry between Brian and Tess. Both had a significant amount of healing to do and not enough came up about Tess' character that made a romance so deep that justified Brian moved to New Zealand for her. I wish the Tess/Brian romance arc was eliminated and replaced with Brian coming to terms with himself. Then, the whole ending was not believable for me in the context of the story. Why did we spend all this time with Brian on this journey to find Lily if he had a hunch she died? And, if that was the case, I don't understand how she was not found earlier on if her disappearance was investigated. Overall, I thought this was a solid idea for a romance, since I do not believe all romances need a happy-ever-after. But, I needed more about what Brian learned or how Tess would bring out a more confident version of Brian to be satisfied with the ending.

neonmuted's review

emotional hopeful inspiring 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? No

3.75

supermarioctopus's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful 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? It's complicated

3.75

sarahgaelsbooks's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.5