Reviews

When We Were by Diana Elliot Graham

nicola_2310's review

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emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

hosborn96's review against another edition

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emotional sad 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

4.0

alysebold's review

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emotional funny hopeful 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? It's complicated

5.0

anothermoodreader's review against another edition

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5.0

I first heard about this book on TikTok set to that song Complex (demo) - you know, the one that utterly ripped the internet to shreds? Well, that video showed up on my FYP at the right moment - a few glasses of wine deep and DEFINITELY in my feels (about what? who knows, I'm happily married lol).

I immediately followed the author and willfully, hopefully, tipsily sent in a request to get an ARC and by some miracle I got one. And me, your girl, JUST finished it, so here are my honest thoughts and feelings (that are still as fresh as the tears I shed). [this will be spoiler free, mostly because I'm still processing it all, but also I hate spoilers].

I am typically very wary to give out 5 stars, especially for romance books and especially lately as the romance I have been reading have not been hitting the same... well THIS romance slapped me so hard in the face with feelings I'm pretty sure it left a mark.

This story was beautifully written - Funny in all the right places, shocking, and heartbreaking. The characters, at first seeming like part of any other romance novel, filled the roles as expected, actually turned out to be so utterly human, surprising and frustrating in all the good and bad ways. And because of that every guess I made about where the characters or plot would take me was so very wrong and I loved every second of it.

The book is such a rollercoaster, with familiar elements and a unique flair that will keep you on your toes (like the emotional whiplash of a Taylor Swift album). I seriously can't wait to get my hands on a physical copy so I can underline the crap out of it.

Oh and for the people who want to know - the spice... it's good. very good. lol

mlhickey27's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

sharsaunders12's review against another edition

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hopeful lighthearted sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

jamierz's review against another edition

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5.0

the ending BROKE MY HEART but omg i loved this book so so much. i will actually never recover this was so incredible and beautiful but so devastating i’m not ok omfg

jmyers1's review against another edition

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reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This book took turns I didn't expect, and I was pleasantly surpised!
there were times when I didn't like Ardens character, the scene where theute talking about his business classes felt a little bit too 'she's just good at everything', but while this is true, I did enjoy this book! I kept waiting for Reid to be the bad guy and Josh to save the say - how wrong I was! It certainly did not pan out how I expected, but I was certainly along for the ride! 

engehan's review against another edition

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emotional reflective 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

so_ireadthisbook's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Where do I even begin? Well for starters: 2007, first year college, living in the dorms, meeting your best fucking friends, and drinking your face off at the campus bar. The. Nostalgia. Is. Real. We’ve got dual timelines, him/her POV, the miscommunication trope but it’s not what you’re used to. I was blinded by my own millennial heart hanging onto memories that weren’t even mine!

Two things: 1: I don’t know if I love it or love to hate it. 2: I didn’t do either enough the first time around and will absolutely be rereading. After finishing this book, I immediately want to go over it with a fine-toothed comb and pull out all of the inner workings; study them, memorize them, celebrate this debut author and then do it all over again. This book is brilliant.

When We Were is easily one of my favourite reads so far this year.  I also KNOW some people are fully going to hate it and some will DNF. However, we all know that  not every book is meant for every person, and that’s why we are all here! If this book WAS for you, can we talk?!? 

Read it. Then reread it with me. Let me in on your annotations. Also reach out to @dianaelliotgraham in the DMs. Connecting with this author while reading has been my favourite part of the entire experience with this book. She even has links to playlists and an aftercare program set up in her bio