Reviews with content warning for Cancer - Nichts als Liebe

I heard a lot of good things about this book. I wanted to read it ASAP. When I had the opportunity, I grape it with excitement.

The book is narrated from Macy's point of view in a dual time (then and now). Macy and Elliot meet when Macy's father buys a vacation home. There Macy meets her neighbor Elliot, and they begin a friendship.

Macy has an emotional dependency on Elliot. He becomes her emotional support and therapist at times. The relationship gets complicated when both fall in love. They got scared of ruining their friendship or being rejected by the other. This situation led them to misunderstandings, angst, and entanglements.

Elliot and Macy meet one day by chance after spending 11 years without speaking to each other. This encounter shakes them to their core. Macy realizes that her relationship with her fiancé Sean is not making her happy. She doesn't love him. They are together because the relationship is easy for them.

Elliot dumps his girlfriend as soon as he sees Macy. I would have liked to see Elliot's relationship with Rachel, his girlfriend. She was the person who helped him deal with the aftermath of his breakup with Macy. I dislike the way Elliot handled things with her. Rachel deserved better.

The thing about the adult Elliot is that we don't know anything about him. We know the sweet and thoughtful teenager Elliot. But Adult Elliot is a complete mystery.

The conflict drags on unnecessarily. Elliot and Macy could have worked out their problems from the start. Unfortunately, this harms the reading because once the truth comes out. What happened to them that night is intense, and we don't have enough time to process everything. As readers, we only have a little time to digest and deal with that information.

The climax of the conflict wasn't well handled. We find out that Elliot cheated on Macy with another girl. When Elliot explained the situation, it became clear that he was sexually assaulted. Elliot was so drunk that he couldn't consent to having sex. Emma preyed on him. Even more, considering how confused he was that he thought he was with Macy. Consent works both ways!

At some point, he admitted to having a breakdown while he was with a girl. That is PTSD!

It is a pity that the authors didn't treat the scene as it was. What happened to Elliot is as important and traumatic as what happened to Macy.

Content Warnings

trinitytang's review against another edition

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emotional sad fast-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? Yes

3.25

The book was enjoyable enough to read, but I saw all the "plot twists" coming from a mile away. Nothing surprised me and the ending was anti-climatic. It was enjoyable enough to read in one sitting, but nothing about this book made me laugh, cry, or brought out any particular emotion from me. Would not reread.

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danajoy's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

I LOVED the first two thirds of this novel. The two timelines, then and now, watching Macy and Elliot fall in love and come back together. They are so clearly drawn to eachother. I loved how all in he was.

I still enjoyed the rest but I personally don't like

when characters have PIV sex for the first time without a condom. Especially when these characters are teenagers. Yes she was on the pill. Would it have been so hard to have him carry one around just in case? Or for her to have some hidden somewhere? It hindered my enjoyment. Especially when they did it again in the present day storyline. Where was the conversation about it?
I also find his explanation of what happened 11 years ago to be odd and very unsettling. Seems like he was raped and yet it gets glossed over. The revelation about it is quickly followed by her dad's death and we dont return to it other than for Macy to say she isn' mad about it.

This is angsty, full of pining and gets sad.

I found all the fascination with his zipper repetitive. It felt weird getting graphic sex scenes when they were 17.

It was annoying that they didnt communicate better as adults. I get that she's a busy paediatric resident at a hospital but surely they could've discussed the things that have kept them apart so long earlier. Especially somewhere that isn't his brother's wedding where there is both a potential audience and alcohol. But *drama*.

Overall I still really liked this book. It could've been a 5 star so I do leave it feeling a little disappointed.

Content Warnings

_issazeppa12's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful lighthearted sad fast-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? Yes

3.25

Content Warnings

kaitlinmarks's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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