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kashrae99's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Grief
Moderate: Sexual content and Medical content
Minor: Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, Alcohol, and Mental illness
ktdakotareads's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Moderate: Death of parent and Grief
Minor: Medical content
merlesstorys's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
And these books always inject the tears in me during the last hundred pages, and I love it every time.
Both Nora and Charlie were amazing as themselves, but they felt like two parts of one scissor that belong to each other. And until the very last page I hoped for how this book ends. That they have each other in the way they want.
And I definitely love that Libby was there and his family and all of the weird - in German I would say schrullig - parts of Sunshine Falls.
And then Dusty. Now I want to know what’s up with her, how her life looks like etc (btw I loved the Easter egg of the January Andrews circus book).
Last but not least - the fact that there was no third act breakup, even though there did appear some external conflict that was lovely, in the end.
Moderate: Alcohol, Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, Medical content, and Sexual content
Minor: Car accident
Just wanted to add, there are some major parent issues in this book, including parentifiying of the FMC.savvyrosereads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Nora is the antithesis of a conventional romance heroine—she’s a shark of a literary agent who can’t imagine anything worse than living in a small town. But when her sister Libby convinces her to spend a month in Sunshine Falls, North Carolina, she comes face to face with brooding book editor Charlie Lastra, and they realize they may just be romance heroes after all.
I loved this book for so many reasons but Charlie Lastra is the top of that list. He’s the perfect book boyfriend, and just about every word out of his mouth made me laugh or tear up or swoon. His wholehearted acceptance of Nora and all her quirks and flaws and tendencies???? Men written by women are always better and men written by Emily Henry may be best of all.
Besides Charlie, though, I also thought this book was hilarious, and brilliant, and joyous, and fun. The inversion of traditional small town romance tropes was inspired, Nora was a fantastic heroine whether she knows it or not, and the full-throated love letter to books and stories at the core of this book had my heart from the first sentence. You probably don’t need *another* person telling you to hurry up and read this one if you haven’t yet…but I’m going to say it anyway.
CW: Death of parent/grief
Graphic: Pregnancy, Death of parent, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, and Medical content
nineinchnails's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
the pacing was really good here - i wasn't bored for even a second and ended up reading this is in one 4 hour sitting. it was pretty meta, which i'm not usually a fan of in romance since it ends up coming off juvenile, but it worked for this. the only gripes i have is it feeling a little corny at times (i did just finish 'young mungo' though) and the characters not seeming as fleshed out as her other mcs.
Graphic: Grief and Sexual content
Moderate: Abandonment, Pregnancy, and Medical content
Minor: Death of parent and Body shaming
andie_1504's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Minor: Medical content, Pregnancy, Death of parent, Alcohol, Car accident, Vomit, Bullying, and Cursing
edietz22's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Minor: Abandonment, Death of parent, Grief, Alcohol, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Panic attacks/disorders, and Medical content
bek_p87's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Sexual content and Death of parent
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Medical content
sestout's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Sexual content, Grief, Death of parent, Death, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Medical content
Minor: Abandonment
strawb3rrysugar's review against another edition
- 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
I didn't expect to like this book as much as I did. I don't typically like books only described by loosely-strung tropes and insert-template-here characters. However, beneath a story described as an enemies-to-lovers romance about a cold-hearted literary agent is an earnest, humorous, and emotional story about how grief and fear shapes a person, and learning to accept change and challenges as they come.
The characters of the book were the highlight for me. They felt fleshed out, real, and I could resonate with their desires and understand their actions. I actually liked Charlie! Usually, "dark and brooding" translates into most books as "abusive, boring jerk with no personality," but Charlie is a genuinely solid character with wishes and conflicts of his own, and god I appreciated that. I'm also very biased towards emotional storylines about sisterhood, and Nora and Libby's arc throughout the book made me laugh and pulled a few heartstrings.
My only cons are as follows:
1) I do not understand the trope of signing someone up for a dating app and setting them up on a date without their prior knowledge. It will always be an ick of mine, as it just kind of seems irresponsible and rude. (I guess it's the modern equivalent of a blind date? Maybe.)
2), there's a subplot of Nora having to read one of her client's books that's basically based off her, and she describes it like her client has written Infinite Jest. I found those passages to be very uninteresting and bland, but they were thankfully brief.
And 2.5) because it wasn't that big of an issue, but seriously Nora? Getting hot and heavy with a coworker in an office? That felt like such a "right in my salad?" moment, but that's very much a nitpick.
Do I think Emily Henry is reinventing the wheel of romantic literature? Not really. Is it cheesy and kind of corny sometimes? Very much so. But it's well written, with characters I could root for, and it's not afraid to just be a romance novel. It goes by quickly for almost 400 pages. If you're a big fan of romance novels, this would be a nice addition.
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Medical content and Vomit
There's a brief scene where Nora throws up during a run after a night of drinking.