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lillicoulson's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
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? Yes
4.25
I have been in SUCH a romance book lull recently — everything is boring me and I haven’t really been rooting for any of the characters I’ve been introduced to. this is such a breath of fresh air: lily and lo (not a fan of lo’s name but I’ll get past it) make it so difficult to not be in their corner throughout this book. I actually did not cringe ONCE reading this!! I’ve never read about addiction in such a well-approached manner. it’s confronting but not jarring, easy to read while opening my mind to new (at least to me!) struggles and complexities. I’m invested in all of the characters’ storylines and there isn’t an authorial decision so far that I’ve questioned or disagreed with. it’s so rare for me to be connected to a character-driven storyline and I’m loving it!
genuinely very excited for the rest of the series!
genuinely very excited for the rest of the series!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Addiction, and Vomit
Moderate: Eating disorder, Sexual assault, and Rape
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Drug abuse, Abortion, and Violence
graceheartsbooks's review
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
4.0
I didn’t think I’d like this book as much as I did. For context: I’m asexual and don’t like sex myself I worried reading about a sex addict wouldn’t be my cup of tea lol
But I kept playing reviews for this series on YouTube in the background so I got curious. I also finished it in two days so clearly it had an affect over me.
(Though piece of advice for anyone getting into this series: maybe get it digitally first to protect your wallet, haha)
This is my first Krista and Becca Richie and I think I will definitely be continuing this series.
Despite its premise of a sex addict and an alcoholic getting together, it’s not as bad as it sounds.
Lily and Loren are childhood friends and have been pretending to be dating for three years while in college as to hide their addictions from their wealthy families (mostly Lily’s as her sisters are the other MCs). And despite it being a slippery slope to portray this kind of thing as it can easily be romanticized but in my opinion this book doesn’t do that.
In her narration, Lily knows both she and Loren have a problem but feels that if they tell anyone else about their addictions that they’ll just get hate for it. Lily also has some troubling views on what her addictions makes her and that she’s sending the ‘wrong signals’ after a certain incident but other the course of the book she slowly realizes that these thought patterns are damaging.
Ultimately what I love about this book is the acknowledgment that despite the assumption many people have: love doesn’t fix everything. When Loren and Lily officially became a couple, they start to realize that their addictions do in fact harm other people, including each other, despite not telling anyone, and that they need to accept that they both need professional help. It’s going to be hard but I think they can make it (at least I assume they do as there’s a trilogy spanning their love story in this series)
Also I appreciate that there’s a line about Lily going to a clinic every few months to make sure she doesn’t have STDs or a pregnancy scare from all the sex she’s having. I don’t know how much it would have bothered others but it would’ve bothered me as not mentioning that would’ve been unrealistic.
(And as a comic book geek, the references are noted and appreciated lol)
And lastly, a spoiler:
On a less serious note: the reveal that Loren and Ryke are half-brothers made my jaw drop. Talk about a plot twist😱
But I kept playing reviews for this series on YouTube in the background so I got curious. I also finished it in two days so clearly it had an affect over me.
(Though piece of advice for anyone getting into this series: maybe get it digitally first to protect your wallet, haha)
This is my first Krista and Becca Richie and I think I will definitely be continuing this series.
Despite its premise of a sex addict and an alcoholic getting together, it’s not as bad as it sounds.
Lily and Loren are childhood friends and have been pretending to be dating for three years while in college as to hide their addictions from their wealthy families (mostly Lily’s as her sisters are the other MCs). And despite it being a slippery slope to portray this kind of thing as it can easily be romanticized but in my opinion this book doesn’t do that.
In her narration, Lily knows both she and Loren have a problem but feels that if they tell anyone else about their addictions that they’ll just get hate for it. Lily also has some troubling views on what her addictions makes her and that she’s sending the ‘wrong signals’ after a certain incident but other the course of the book she slowly realizes that these thought patterns are damaging.
Ultimately what I love about this book is the acknowledgment that despite the assumption many people have: love doesn’t fix everything. When Loren and Lily officially became a couple, they start to realize that their addictions do in fact harm other people, including each other, despite not telling anyone, and that they need to accept that they both need professional help. It’s going to be hard but I think they can make it (at least I assume they do as there’s a trilogy spanning their love story in this series)
Also I appreciate that there’s a line about Lily going to a clinic every few months to make sure she doesn’t have STDs or a pregnancy scare from all the sex she’s having. I don’t know how much it would have bothered others but it would’ve bothered me as not mentioning that would’ve been unrealistic.
(And as a comic book geek, the references are noted and appreciated lol)
And lastly, a spoiler:
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Alcoholism
Moderate: Sexual assault
Minor: Cursing, Vomit, Abortion, and Misogyny
marianaribeiro's review
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism and Alcohol
Moderate: Sexual assault and Emotional abuse
Minor: Abortion
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