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4.09 AVERAGE
4.09 AVERAGE
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Violence
emotional
hopeful
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Took a star off because this book is much longer than it should be. Trim down some of the internal monologues (there are a LOT and they get a little repetitive) and this book would be one of my favorites.
The connection happens really fast and the relationship solidifies fast as well, but there is conflict outside of the relationship that impacts it which I really love, and you get tension from that instead of from the romance plot. It wasn’t just the difficulty of being teammates or being gay (which is a really common theme in MM sports romance, obvi), but there was trauma that had to be dealt with in order to move forward with the relationship. I love the nitty gritty emotional stuff in books, it makes the characters deeper and more real imo and this book definitely ticks those boxes.
The connection happens really fast and the relationship solidifies fast as well, but there is conflict outside of the relationship that impacts it which I really love, and you get tension from that instead of from the romance plot. It wasn’t just the difficulty of being teammates or being gay (which is a really common theme in MM sports romance, obvi), but there was trauma that had to be dealt with in order to move forward with the relationship. I love the nitty gritty emotional stuff in books, it makes the characters deeper and more real imo and this book definitely ticks those boxes.
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
this was actually much deeper and more emotional than I expected, it was long but it was very sweet and I would lay down my life for julien that angel baby 🥺🥺
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
I'm getting out the bad first. This I would guess is a common critique - the book is way, way, waaay too long for the story being told and it's to its detriment.
Another thing that bugged me is how, at least on Isaac's side, this is a several years long crush, yet from the reader's perspective there is very little tension build-up and little reason given for any meaningful connection between the two, it's pretty much straight to dating.
There's also parts that are so idealistic that immersion was impossible for me - from how the main conflict unfolds (re consequences and reactions) to the crowd at a sporting event actually going "awwww".
Now, there are cool things of course - like dodging the cliche with the hot, successful and experienced MC being the dom, and to me it didn't feel like subverting the expectations for the sake of it, I thought it was done quite well.
The main conflict was front and center, not drama for the sake of drama and not just slapped on as a plot device.
Another thing that bugged me is how, at least on Isaac's side, this is a several years long crush, yet from the reader's perspective there is very little tension build-up and little reason given for any meaningful connection between the two, it's pretty much straight to dating.
There's also parts that are so idealistic that immersion was impossible for me - from how the main conflict unfolds (re consequences and reactions) to the crowd at a sporting event actually going "awwww".
Now, there are cool things of course - like dodging the cliche with the hot, successful and experienced MC being the dom, and to me it didn't feel like subverting the expectations for the sake of it, I thought it was done quite well.
The main conflict was front and center, not drama for the sake of drama and not just slapped on as a plot device.
challenging
emotional
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
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
This was a torture to read, i thought it would never end. Fuck. The author just babbles on and on about nothing, just get to the fucking point already