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kamrynkoble's review
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
This really didn’t work for me and I’m sad reading all of the great reviews . . . ugh. I just had to force myself to keep picking this up and could barely make myself read much of it in one go. I was really skimming by the end to just get it done.
I just didn’t connect with the characters. It didn’t even bother me that they were such a toxic mess, that’s fine. But I just didn’t find myself rooting for their relationship at all. It felt like a lot of random one-shot scenes about characters without much of an overarching plot. That’s fine when I really connect with the characters, but this one just fell short for me.
I also didn’t like all these random people conveniently swooping in to save the day for no reward in return. I called the one “twist” from a light year away because it just made absolutely no sense that it would be anything else.
I’m still open to giving these authors another go to see if I like a different title better. I don’t know. I really wanted to love this one and I wish I would’ve been hooked/emotionally invested like a lot of the other reviewers.
I just didn’t connect with the characters. It didn’t even bother me that they were such a toxic mess, that’s fine. But I just didn’t find myself rooting for their relationship at all. It felt like a lot of random one-shot scenes about characters without much of an overarching plot. That’s fine when I really connect with the characters, but this one just fell short for me.
I also didn’t like all these random people conveniently swooping in to save the day for no reward in return. I called the one “twist” from a light year away because it just made absolutely no sense that it would be anything else.
I’m still open to giving these authors another go to see if I like a different title better. I don’t know. I really wanted to love this one and I wish I would’ve been hooked/emotionally invested like a lot of the other reviewers.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Sexual content
Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexual harassment
Minor: Body shaming and Infidelity
debosmitathereader's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
The only reason I will continue the series because of Connor Cobalt. He will insult you and still make it sound nice and exotic. Man have me wrapped around his finger. Otherwise,Lily and Lo are two exhausting people to read about. I mean yes I am not against the journey but the two addicted people don't do for me. Can you imagine reading series because you are smitten with a side character(he gets his own book though)? I do very much.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Mental illness, Vomit, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, and Alcoholism
Minor: Infidelity
ephemeral_remi's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Body shaming, Child abuse, Vomit, Addiction, Alcoholism, Infidelity, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship
ariana_m's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
First of all I don't even know what this review is lol this is me trying to say a condensed version of a million thoughts I have going through my head rn. I don't think this review makes any sense but here we go.
I read this in less than 24 hours, more like less than 16 hours to be more exact. I finally got into it after consecutively avoiding for a year and a half. The gossip girl vibes are definitely present throughout this too. Anyways this was kind of rough for me to get into in the beginning. I read the first few chapters and went back and forth contemplating if I should dnf or not but I'm glad I pushed through. The writing style threw me off a bit because it's not the best in all honesty but it was still good for what it is.
First impressions of Lily and Lo in terms of likability is that I don't like them. It's hard to" like" them because of what they are doing to and for each other. I do have empathy for them. I know that everything will be okay eventually and I can see the potential they have but still. I believe in them though. I want to see them get through this. They are a very toxic couple but despite everything you see how much they care about each other which I loved.
I knew that this was going to be about addiction obviously but I didn't think it was going to be like THAT. Especially the last few chapters of the book. Those last few chapter made me feel emotional pain that I haven't felt in the longest time while reading lol. I love how everyone was introduced in the first book, I thought the rest of the characters would have been introduced as the series goes on but I was wrong. I already know Rose and Connor are going to be my favorites. Rose is my favorite so far. I love them already. How am I going to make it through 9 more books??
I will say, I can understand why people don't like this.
I have so much more to say but overall I think it was okay for what it is. I liked it mostly if you can even say that since it's two people battling addiction. I will be continuing with the rest of books.
I read this in less than 24 hours, more like less than 16 hours to be more exact. I finally got into it after consecutively avoiding for a year and a half. The gossip girl vibes are definitely present throughout this too. Anyways this was kind of rough for me to get into in the beginning. I read the first few chapters and went back and forth contemplating if I should dnf or not but I'm glad I pushed through. The writing style threw me off a bit because it's not the best in all honesty but it was still good for what it is.
First impressions of Lily and Lo in terms of likability is that I don't like them. It's hard to" like" them because of what they are doing to and for each other. I do have empathy for them. I know that everything will be okay eventually and I can see the potential they have but still. I believe in them though. I want to see them get through this. They are a very toxic couple but despite everything you see how much they care about each other which I loved.
I knew that this was going to be about addiction obviously but I didn't think it was going to be like THAT. Especially the last few chapters of the book. Those last few chapter made me feel emotional pain that I haven't felt in the longest time while reading lol. I love how everyone was introduced in the first book, I thought the rest of the characters would have been introduced as the series goes on but I was wrong. I already know Rose and Connor are going to be my favorites. Rose is my favorite so far. I love them already. How am I going to make it through 9 more books??
I will say, I can understand why people don't like this.
I have so much more to say but overall I think it was okay for what it is. I liked it mostly if you can even say that since it's two people battling addiction. I will be continuing with the rest of books.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction
Moderate: Infidelity and Sexual harassment
meeklovestoread's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I'm sorry in advance for how long this is.😅
Okay I'm really surprised by this book. I've been putting it off since I've heard about it on the book side of social media for about a year now. It has alot of popularity, but all the tropes I heard people listing weren't favorites of mine. Plus the main thing that made me put this book off for so long was that I heard it depicts a toxic relationship. And I personally loathe reading about toxic relationships.
However, I've finally conformed. It's been on my reading list for a while so I finally decided to pick it up and I can say that I'm pretty surprised on how much I enjoyed it.
Don't get me wrong the relationship between the main characters Lily and Lo is nothing to emulate your relationship after. But in my opinion their relationship is more so "dysfunctional" rather than flat out toxic. Throughout the book both parties have displayed on numerous occasions how much they care, love, and appreciate one another. (the shower scene) They have the potential for an honest, heartfelt, and healthy relationship.
However like I stated previously, their current relationship is nothing to emulate your romantic relationships on. They enable each other's addictions with knowledge that it's not gonna help them out in the long run. there's an scene in the book where Lily and Lo are at a Halloween party and Lo breaks into the owner's cabinet of expensive booze and she just let's him have at it. By the end of the night Lo almost gets into disastrous dibocal and then passes out leaving Lily to clean up his mess. And she's so desensitized to his problem that when Ryke and Connor (especially Ryke) are looking and Lo passed out in concern Lily sorts just brushes it off because "he's always like this". And she's always taking care of him when he goes over the limit. And I also think Lily can be too occupied with her own addiction to really realize that Lo is down bad. I hope we get more insight into how these addictions started.
Lo also becomes desensitized to Lily's actions as well. Up until he found her having sex with two guys at the same time and hooking up with random guys through random phone exchanges, and even considered Craigslist was when he decided to drop the ball on her. And urge her to dile it down. He was so desensitized that it was said that he'd often offer the men that come out if Lily's bed coffee.
Lo can be pretty nasty towards Lily especially when she tries to interfere with his drinking. And when they do start dating for real Lo literally expects Lily to cheat on him because Lily is constantly fighting her sexual compulsions in order to stay celibate/monogamous to Lo. Of course in a healthy relationship you shouldn' t have to constantly worry that your partner is being unfaithful. And the fact that Lo has a tendecy to be pretty hot and cold with Lily (one minute he's a sweetheart, the next a dickhead) is a big red flag. Also Lo's aggressive tendencies are not ideal either (he doesn't hit her at all; there is no physical abuse depicted in this book; he just always has a tendecies to pick up fights with other people). He's just very immature and lacks ambition. They both defintely have alot of growing and maturing to do before they can reach consummate and stability in their lives and relationship.
So dysfunctional and unhealthy. Like I said nothing to aspire to, but definitely not damaged beyond repair. Plus they do seem to be trying to fix themsleves towards the end of the book. And I think that maybe what the writers' objectives are. To showcase the ugly parts of their relationship so they can commence on the journey towards healing. At least that's what I hope the other books are about.😅
Also, I actually like how the authors depicted their addictions and them as characters. Lily being all shy and introverted with a sex addiciton and Loren battling his was really well depicted. And her inner dialogue that she has with herself where she talks about on herself for having her addiction, her social anxiety, and her friendship with Lo, and their background was very entertaining to read about. I was really it was dual POV.
Oh and we also got to meet the future characters of this book series which was cool. So here are my first impressions:
Connor - superficial privileged prick who says out of pocket and insensitive comments and thinks he's above everyone else due to his wealth and intelligence, but deep down has a decent, loving heart (he's okay but certainly my least favorite out of the bunch)
Rose - superficial mean judgmental privileged girl, but the way she scares about Lily and her family warms my heart (also I have to admire how unapologetically smart she is)
Ryke - nosy, but really means well; I liked him and I admired how much he stood up for girls (didn't appreciate him the comment he made about Lily's weight though) so far he's my favorite guy I saw the twist of him being Loren's brother a mile away, but it sure it make the book more emotional
I'm more into plot driven books so it took me a while to get through this because a whole lot of nothing was happening. So this is definitely a character based book. I think when it was around the 70-80% mark was when I started to feel it just a little bit (it was still entertaining though) and because I read this as in e-book it did take me quite a while to get through this, but I surprisingly enjoyed the read and will be continuing on with the second book.
Okay I'm really surprised by this book. I've been putting it off since I've heard about it on the book side of social media for about a year now. It has alot of popularity, but all the tropes I heard people listing weren't favorites of mine. Plus the main thing that made me put this book off for so long was that I heard it depicts a toxic relationship. And I personally loathe reading about toxic relationships.
However, I've finally conformed. It's been on my reading list for a while so I finally decided to pick it up and I can say that I'm pretty surprised on how much I enjoyed it.
Don't get me wrong the relationship between the main characters Lily and Lo is nothing to emulate your relationship after. But in my opinion their relationship is more so "dysfunctional" rather than flat out toxic. Throughout the book both parties have displayed on numerous occasions how much they care, love, and appreciate one another. (the shower scene) They have the potential for an honest, heartfelt, and healthy relationship.
However like I stated previously, their current relationship is nothing to emulate your romantic relationships on. They enable each other's addictions with knowledge that it's not gonna help them out in the long run.
Lo also becomes desensitized to Lily's actions as well.
Lo can be pretty nasty towards Lily especially when she tries to interfere with his drinking. And when they do start dating for real Lo literally expects Lily to cheat on him because Lily is constantly fighting her sexual compulsions in order to stay celibate/monogamous to Lo. Of course in a healthy relationship you shouldn' t have to constantly worry that your partner is being unfaithful. And the fact that Lo has a tendecy to be pretty hot and cold with Lily (one minute he's a sweetheart, the next a dickhead) is a big red flag. Also Lo's aggressive tendencies are not ideal either (he doesn't hit her at all; there is no physical abuse depicted in this book; he just always has a tendecies to pick up fights with other people). He's just very immature and lacks ambition. They both defintely have alot of growing and maturing to do before they can reach consummate and stability in their lives and relationship.
So dysfunctional and unhealthy. Like I said nothing to aspire to, but definitely not damaged beyond repair. Plus they do seem to be trying to fix themsleves towards the end of the book. And I think that maybe what the writers' objectives are. To showcase the ugly parts of their relationship so they can commence on the journey towards healing. At least that's what I hope the other books are about.😅
Also, I actually like how the authors depicted their addictions and them as characters. Lily being all shy and introverted with a sex addiciton and Loren battling his was really well depicted. And her inner dialogue that she has with herself where she talks about on herself for having her addiction, her social anxiety, and her friendship with Lo, and their background was very entertaining to read about. I was really it was dual POV.
Oh and we also got to meet the future characters of this book series which was cool. So here are my first impressions:
Connor - superficial privileged prick who says out of pocket and insensitive comments and thinks he's above everyone else due to his wealth and intelligence, but deep down has a decent, loving heart (he's okay but certainly my least favorite out of the bunch)
Rose - superficial mean judgmental privileged girl, but the way she scares about Lily and her family warms my heart (also I have to admire how unapologetically smart she is)
Ryke - nosy, but really means well; I liked him and I admired how much he stood up for girls (didn't appreciate him the comment he made about Lily's weight though) so far he's my favorite guy
I'm more into plot driven books so it took me a while to get through this because a whole lot of nothing was happening. So this is definitely a character based book. I think when it was around the 70-80% mark was when I started to feel it just a little bit (it was still entertaining though) and because I read this as in e-book it did take me quite a while to get through this, but I surprisingly enjoyed the read and will be continuing on with the second book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Abandonment, Sexual assault, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Vomit, and Sexual violence
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Infidelity, and Body shaming
ellasommers's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Panic attacks/disorders, Adult/minor relationship, Vomit, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Body shaming, Child abuse, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Toxic relationship
wickedgrumpy's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
What did I just read? Why did I even read it?
I don't know what I was expecting, but it definitely did not deliver. Also, the twist was obvious from a mile away.
I think I was swayed by those that said they loved the couple. I've read darker romances before and they've been meh to okay so I figured, maybe this is the one. It was not the one.
I don't know what I was expecting, but it definitely did not deliver. Also, the twist was obvious from a mile away.
I think I was swayed by those that said they loved the couple. I've read darker romances before and they've been meh to okay so I figured, maybe this is the one. It was not the one.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content, Addiction, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Addiction, Body shaming, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Classism, Eating disorder, Grief, Infidelity, Sexism, Abandonment, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Outing, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual violence
readwithmechey's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
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? Yes
3.75
I love Lily and Loren so much. Their friendship from the start screamed soul mates to me, even when they were suppose to be pretending, it was all too real. I love the side characters just as much (maybe not Ryke, I’m still mad at him), they were all so dynamic and beautifully written. The protectiveness of Rose of Lily touch something in my heart that I just knew if she were to confide in Rose (like she did) she would be accepted and without judgment.
I really don’t know how to formulate any consistent thoughts and feelings besides that I NEED to see where the rest of this story goes! What happens to Lo and Lily? What about Connor and Rose? What about their relationship now that Rose has to take care of Lily? I even care about Ryke! How is he doing now that he has a brother in his life that he’s having to take care of in a rehab facility because of their shitty father? I need the answers to these.
I will say the reason I gave this story a 4 stars out of 5 (sadly couldn’t give it a 4.75 like i wanted) was in the middle with the whole Ryke situation it started to lose track for me and I felt there was a lull but it instantly picked up and I devoured the last 150 or so pages nonstop.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Body shaming, Alcoholism, and Infidelity
smasson13's review against another edition
emotional
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? Yes
4.0
I originally read the sequels to this series first and am now returning to meet the parents.
I already loved Lily and Lo, so I'm glad that I still do! It's really neat to see how it all started.
The whole situation with Ryke though felt very random and unbelievable, there was probably a less abstract and more realistic way for him to wiggle into their lives.
The romance was not a spicy as their later books, the pace felt a little slow, but overall was still a great book. The best thing about this book over the sequels is that there are actual problems and real angst. Much appreciated.
I already loved Lily and Lo, so I'm glad that I still do! It's really neat to see how it all started.
The whole situation with Ryke though felt very random and unbelievable, there was probably a less abstract and more realistic way for him to wiggle into their lives.
The romance was not a spicy as their later books, the pace felt a little slow, but overall was still a great book. The best thing about this book over the sequels is that there are actual problems and real angst. Much appreciated.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Cursing, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Addiction
Moderate: Sexual assault
Minor: Drug use, Infidelity, Sexual violence, and Domestic abuse
tragicgloom's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Acephobia/Arophobia, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Classism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Child abuse and Infidelity
Minor: Adult/minor relationship