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kitheminges's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
An absolutely adorable romance in a genre that I never thought my closeted self could enjoy. It’s all sweetness and fluff. I loved this book and cannot wait for Astrid’s story. Just everything with both Clare and Delilah but also the resentment between siblings and loneliness and neglect all struck a note deeper than I thought it would in the best possible way. I’m so thankful my inner teen has these to read over the hetero romances I forced myself to like.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Moderate: Sexual harassment
pey333'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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Alcohol
Minor: Infidelity and Misogyny
lady_escapism's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- 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? It's complicated
4.25
I was obsessed with this book from the beginning. I love the representation of different sexualities and how believable the story it. The characters aren't reduced down to their sexuality, but have other things going on in their loves as well. It is a great sapphic read where the spice is fairly vanilla if you're just getting started same-sex romances.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, and Abandonment
lewnie's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
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
3.75
Delilah Green only came back to her small hometown of Bright Falls, Oregon to photograph her stepsister Astrid’s wedding and head back to Brooklyn $15,000 richer. She’s not interested in re-living any of the bad memories here or playing nice with Astrid and her two best friends, Claire and Iris. But when the focus turns from bridesmaid's activities to sabotaging Astrid’s relationship with her terrible fiancé, Claire and Delilah realize there might be something sparking between them. As their tension-filled flirting turns into more, Claire and Delilah have to face the reality of their situation: single-mother Claire isn’t interested in casual relationships but Delilah has a blossoming photography career waiting for her in New York.
The good: I was excited about the prospect of a f/f rom-com, particularly with such strong bisexual representation. I think that Blake really shines in her portrayal of bisexual women, and I personally felt very connected to her characters. I also appreciated the growth that both Astrid and Delilah show throughout the course of the book. They have each suffered their own childhood traumas that they are clearly continuing to work through and I enjoyed the way that Blake develops that growth without trying to jump to an immediate conclusion.
The female relationships, good and bad, are front and center here. I loved the exploration of female friendship, sisterhood, and the different iterations of mother-daughter relationships. While there is pain and toxicity in some of these relationships, there is also beauty, growth, empowerment, and love.
The female relationships, good and bad, are front and center here. I loved the exploration of female friendship, sisterhood, and the different iterations of mother-daughter relationships. While there is pain and toxicity in some of these relationships, there is also beauty, growth, empowerment, and love.
The bad: Astrid, Claire, and Iris clearly filled the role of the high school mean girls. However, Blake’s attempt to rehabilitate them fell a little flat for me. Claire’s obvious guilt for her role in bullying Delilah felt forced in her flashbacks, and I think Delilah let it go too quickly for how deeply it affected her life.
(For me personally, I couldn’t get past the setting. Being from this area of Oregon myself, I want to believe that this quaint little town could exist. However the reality of it really drew me out of the story. For anyone else, I am sure that this would not be an issue but I really struggled with it.)
Overall: This checks all of my rom-com boxes. I loved the relationships and the representations of the queer characters. I think the relationship between Delilah and Claire’s daughter Ruby was very sweet and an excellent addition. I enjoyed the growth of Delilah and Claire’s relationship as well as the relationship between Delilah and Astrid. I also think the healing process Delilah grows through is powerful and lends the overall story a little more heft than a typical rom-com. While I may harbor some resentment for the past actions of Astrid’s mean-girl clique, I don’t think it detracts from the story in a negative way. Overall, I think this is a heartwarming comfort-read. While I probably won’t read this again, I absolutely see its value in the romance canon and would recommend it to anyone looking for a great Sapphic rom-com.
For fans of Alexandra Bellefleur, Casey McQuiston, and Tessa Bailey.
Rep.: f/f relationship; lesbian mc; bi mc; bi sc.
CW: sexual content, death of a parent, grief, toxic relationship, abandonment, alcohol, bullying, misogyny.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Moderate: Misogyny, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Cancer, Infidelity, Sexism, Pregnancy, and Classism
melaniereadsbooks's review against another edition
hopeful
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
4.75
Wow, what an absolutely amazing and adorable adult romance book! Delilah is an absolutely amazing character and I both love her and envy her because she is BA. I also really love Claire and how empathetic she is towards others. This was super adorable and I loved it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Bullying, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Minor: Infidelity, Gaslighting, and Classism
ecn's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Would I ever read it again? Did I like the characters? Did I care about the the characters? Do we learn enough about the characters? Was the ending NOT flat? All answers are a no. But I did enjoy the story and was moderately entertained. Some parts were spicy which is a fun sexy time but also… sounded boring? (maybe bc of the emotionality? Maybe bc it’s not necessarily what I would do? I dunno).
A lot of parts of the story needed more time spent on it and some parts dragged on. Maybe that’s to be expected in a book centered on romance, but it would be nice to have rounded characters and stories.
I also really hated the way it was written. Nothing wrapped me in - it felt more like I was being talked at rather than drawn into the story. Additionally, there was a lottttttt of writing about “cis straight white man,” which, don’t get me wrong, I’m not a fan. However, all main characters and most side characters? Were? Cis white people, and *two* trans+ characters, all presumably white? It felt like the author was just throwing around girl boss feminist phrases. Additionally, to always include “women and nonbinary” people as a monolith felt gross. I know it wasn’t the intent, and YES you can be a lesbian and be attracted to women and non-men, but as a non-cis person, the phrasing (always saying “women and nonbinary people” or “women and femmes” felt washy, shallow/careless, and white feminism. Just say non-men.
A lot of parts of the story needed more time spent on it and some parts dragged on. Maybe that’s to be expected in a book centered on romance, but it would be nice to have rounded characters and stories.
I also really hated the way it was written. Nothing wrapped me in - it felt more like I was being talked at rather than drawn into the story. Additionally, there was a lottttttt of writing about “cis straight white man,” which, don’t get me wrong, I’m not a fan. However, all main characters and most side characters? Were? Cis white people, and *two* trans+ characters, all presumably white? It felt like the author was just throwing around girl boss feminist phrases. Additionally, to always include “women and nonbinary” people as a monolith felt gross. I know it wasn’t the intent, and YES you can be a lesbian and be attracted to women and non-men, but as a non-cis person, the phrasing (always saying “women and nonbinary people” or “women and femmes” felt washy, shallow/careless, and white feminism. Just say non-men.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Death, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, Abandonment, and Alcohol
readandfindout's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Style/writing: 3 stars
Themes: 4.5 stars
Characters: 4 stars
Plot: 3.5 stars
Themes: 4.5 stars
Characters: 4 stars
Plot: 3.5 stars
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Minor: Cancer, Infidelity, and Blood
toffishay's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I really enjoyed this book! Delilah is a fun snarky character and I enjoyed her relationship with Claire. I was also surprised by the depth of the exploration into Astrid's character. The characters are a little much, but in the most fun way; they aren't caricatures and you want to see them succeed and get to their happy endings.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic relationship, and Gaslighting
Minor: Grief and Death of parent
hellowildflower's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
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: Sexual content
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Minor: Infidelity, Misogyny, and Sexism
applejacksbooks's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny
Minor: Death of parent