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mlottermoser's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
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
3.0
Spicy! Fake dating and sunshine vs grump tropes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Cursing, Sexual content, and Fatphobia
rachminick's review
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
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
I received this audiobook through NetGalley and though it too me a few months to come back to it- I really enjoyed the story and the characters. I wished for more of the relationship and felt the abrupt third act conflict came out of left field and felt rushed. Overall, I liked the story and felt the narration added to the experience nicely.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Fatphobia, and Sexual content
Moderate: Alcoholism and Child abuse
Minor: Addiction, Injury/Injury detail, and Death of parent
kshertz's review
funny
lighthearted
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
4.75
I read this book in 2 days! I love a plus sized character and I love when a person can’t resist them 😍. It was awesome to follow their journey of fake dating and watch them grow and make each other better. Smut was excellent but was at the VERY END so can’t give 5 stars. But highly recommend as a great romance book that hits all the tropes for a happy ever after
Content Warnings
Minor: Child abuse, Sexual content, Alcoholism, Alcohol, and Death of parent
susanpevensie's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
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? Yes
3.75
“You are lovely, Mabel. And not just lovely in your soul, neither. No, I mean lovely like a painting of someone important from a long time ago, reclining on some fancy thing with their thighs all soft and their shoulders all round and everything so plush it makes you ache to touch it. Lovely like the bit of moorland I used to go to near me, all wild and free, with that tangle of hair down your back and those eyes that sometimes seem brown and sometimes seem green and always, always feel like they see right into you. Sharp as a knife, but so soft you hardly care if it goes in. You want it to go in. You say thank you when it does. Because Lord, it feels so good.”
alfie made me wish that men were real.
anyway, it’s been a while since i last picked up a charlotte stein book. to my best recollection, her books were always considerably dark. so when i found out she was releasing a romcom, i simply had to pick it up. and i’m glad i did because i enjoyed it a whole lot.
alfie can be a bit bizarre at times; the things that comes out of his mouth get me shaking my head in laughter. not to worry though because mabel is just as bizarre as her. together, they make the perfect pair. they simply clicked and it’s fun to see how their brain works—especially their banter and all their back and forth. i thought to myself, “god they’re crazy because who says that??!”but of course alfie and mabel would.
at some point, i’ll admit i got frustrated with the both of them because goddamn, these two yap so much. just two yappers in love. i almost wanted to slap their mouth to make them have sex because it was taking way too long! they talked so much! and this is saying something considering i’m a slow-burn, yearning kinda girl.
but overall i enjoyed the book and would recommend it to the people who enjoy grumpyxsunshine romance (of course), intelligent banters, and occasional unhinged leads.
alfie made me wish that men were real.
anyway, it’s been a while since i last picked up a charlotte stein book. to my best recollection, her books were always considerably dark. so when i found out she was releasing a romcom, i simply had to pick it up. and i’m glad i did because i enjoyed it a whole lot.
alfie can be a bit bizarre at times; the things that comes out of his mouth get me shaking my head in laughter. not to worry though because mabel is just as bizarre as her. together, they make the perfect pair. they simply clicked and it’s fun to see how their brain works—especially their banter and all their back and forth. i thought to myself, “god they’re crazy because who says that??!”but of course alfie and mabel would.
at some point, i’ll admit i got frustrated with the both of them because goddamn, these two yap so much. just two yappers in love. i almost wanted to slap their mouth to make them have sex because it was taking way too long! they talked so much! and this is saying something considering i’m a slow-burn, yearning kinda girl.
but overall i enjoyed the book and would recommend it to the people who enjoy grumpyxsunshine romance (of course), intelligent banters, and occasional unhinged leads.
Content Warnings
Minor: Alcoholism, Child abuse, and Fatphobia
katelynnelawson's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
slow-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
While the first half is slow, the banter is ON POINT and once things pick up, they pick up 🥵 Mabel is a sunshiney ghost writer working on Alfie’s memoirs. Alfie is a grumpy former footballer who has his guard up, but it ends up he has a lot in common with Mabel. The two end up fake dating to hide the real reason they’re meeting, but the chemistry is unreal and it turns out Alfie is a talented writer who just needed someone to see that in him.
The first half feels slow as Mabel is very in her head, but the banter kept me going. However, that dialogue grew tiresome in the finale. While the steamy scenes and the eventual slow burn resolution are amazing, the Mabel and Alfie have pages of dialogue in the finale that sure, THEY needed to have, but contain information the reader is aware of. (Yes, y’all were idiots, now kids already!!) Definitely could’ve been shaved down.
Overall, this is a swoon-worthy, steamy, cheeky romantic read!
The first half feels slow as Mabel is very in her head, but the banter kept me going. However, that dialogue grew tiresome in the finale. While the steamy scenes and the eventual slow burn resolution are amazing, the Mabel and Alfie have pages of dialogue in the finale that sure, THEY needed to have, but contain information the reader is aware of. (Yes, y’all were idiots, now kids already!!) Definitely could’ve been shaved down.
Overall, this is a swoon-worthy, steamy, cheeky romantic read!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body shaming and Fatphobia
Minor: Child abuse and Alcoholism
bookshelves_by_kezia's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
People raved about this as “chocolate cake”—an indulgence for romantics. While I do see where they are coming from, the indulgence, to me, is a heavy lean on sexual tension and romcom tropes without much else. I did like the characters, despite how one dimensional they were.
My best description is that this feels like polished fan fiction (not sure of what, maybe of romcoms in general). Could’ve used a good editor and stronger plotting; I was confused about plot points much of the time. Also, as I don’t read romance for the sex and generally skim those, the absence of an actual story was fairly blatant.
The banter between them was hilarious, however, and with better plotting/editing I think I would’ve really enjoyed these characters.
My best description is that this feels like polished fan fiction (not sure of what, maybe of romcoms in general). Could’ve used a good editor and stronger plotting; I was confused about plot points much of the time. Also, as I don’t read romance for the sex and generally skim those, the absence of an actual story was fairly blatant.
The banter between them was hilarious, however, and with better plotting/editing I think I would’ve really enjoyed these characters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Minor: Alcoholism
hazelgirl21's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
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? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Alcoholism and Abandonment
garbage_mcsmutly's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
4.0
Didn't love the narration, it was hard to tell who was talking when. And there were some points in the text that were almost too awkward to live through. But there was steamy stuff and decent jokes and fat positivity and a HEA.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia and Sexual content
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Classism, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Sexism, and Alcohol
Minor: Death of parent and Stalking
sariereads's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Fatphobia, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Addiction and Alcoholism
3readingcircus's review against another edition
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Loved the first 2/3 but the end was just not it for me
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia, Body shaming, and Sexual content
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Sexism, Alcoholism, and Child abuse
Minor: Death of parent and Sexual harassment
Includes Author’s CWs in beginning pages.