Scan barcode
mirandap442's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, and Misogyny
Moderate: Alcohol, Cancer, Eating disorder, Grief, Bullying, and Cursing
Minor: Death of parent, Medical content, and Pregnancy
chloelj27's review against another edition
emotional
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
5.0
I have heard all about this book, especially one character in particular - Mr Aaron Blackford. To everyone who hyped this man up - I could not agree with you all more! What. A. Man. I adored him! I loved his moody persona, his calming and caring ways, his romantic lines and all the spice he bought to the book! I could talk about this man FOREVER!
I adored Catalina and her whole family! She was such a strong woman who just needed someone in her corner to bring out all her fire! Her relationship with Aaron was perfect. We all love an enemies to lovers romance, right? I loved how it wasn’t rushed and we saw her questioning a lot if this was part of the charade or if things were infact real.
The sexual tension and spice in this book was unreal! There were only couple of spicy scenes, but they made that slow burn romance worth every minute! Even in the spicy scenes though, you still felt the love and romance between the two of them. The stolen glances and innocent touches added so much too!
I really liked the plot (probably because it had a lot of my favourite tropes in - enemies to lovers, fake dating, one bed to name a few), but the message behind it that your partner and your gender (in this case) does not define and build your career - you do through hard work and sheer resilience and determination. I loved learning more about both of Aaron and Catalina’s pasts. A lot came as a surprise and it was interesting to see why their characters were the way they were.
I adored Catalina and her whole family! She was such a strong woman who just needed someone in her corner to bring out all her fire! Her relationship with Aaron was perfect. We all love an enemies to lovers romance, right? I loved how it wasn’t rushed and we saw her questioning a lot if this was part of the charade or if things were infact real.
The sexual tension and spice in this book was unreal! There were only couple of spicy scenes, but they made that slow burn romance worth every minute! Even in the spicy scenes though, you still felt the love and romance between the two of them. The stolen glances and innocent touches added so much too!
I really liked the plot (probably because it had a lot of my favourite tropes in - enemies to lovers, fake dating, one bed to name a few), but the message behind it that your partner and your gender (in this case) does not define and build your career - you do through hard work and sheer resilience and determination. I loved learning more about both of Aaron and Catalina’s pasts. A lot came as a surprise and it was interesting to see why their characters were the way they were.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Alcohol, Cancer, Death of parent, Bullying, and Terminal illness
booking_along's review against another edition
slow-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? It's complicated
4.25
this was fun and overall a nice slow romance.
there were a few things that didn’t work perfectly for me on this book:
- the “hate” changed very suddenly to love. this book is pretty long for a romance and more than half of this book is very focus on how very dislikable the main male is and it felt like it tried a little too hard to make sure the reader understands how dislikable he really is, even though most of the stuff if not all are very easily explained and his behavior makes sense if the reader thinks about it even for a few seconds.
- it felt a little too long and sometimes a bit stilted and almost as if it got stuck a little before getting moving again.
-i do not understand why the sexist horrible coworker had to be in there? it’s realistic to have stupid male “i get away with being a sexist pig” kind of coworker, but did that have to be in it? what actual purpose did the guy actually have because everything could have been exactly the same without the guy.
- i found the start too slow and too dragged out until the couple finally gets started. Again my biggest thing about the slowness was mostly that i didn’t really see the sense in it? for example the entire thing about this day long event that needs to be planned, why was that included? nothing would have changed if it would have not been in the story.
things that bothered me a little bit:
- this entire story builds up to the main females sisters wedding. that’s the whole reason this emote story starts.
and than there is not even really any wedding in the book. there is what maybe two pages -if even that- at the reception but that’s it? and that’s not even about the wedding itself!
now i normally don’t have anything against skipping a wedding BUT if an entire book is all about going to that wedding and what’s needed to do that and than not even getting a chapter of that? mhm.
- the ending felt very rushed. there was all this build up to the couple they finally get there and that’s it. i honestly would have liked to get a few more pages or a whole chapter of the couple actually being together instead of a very small scene of them getting together and than a time jump and no real actual relationship scenes.
what i enjoyed:
- the main characters
i can’t even explain but i just enjoyed them. they where very awkward in many ways and i do enjoy a character that doesn’t really know how to behave in situations.
sure it tried to make it more funny than it was and the humor sometimes was as awkward as the characters themselves, but it somehow worked for me anyways.
- that the male wanted the relationship from the start and i am sorry if you think that’s a spoiler but i found that way to obvious with all the “hints” and ways the guy behaves from the second he is introduced basically two sentences into the book.
but i do like it if a man is the one working for the romance a little more and is already sure where it’s going to go and tries to make an actual relationship happen and make it real and serious.
i just enjoy it if the women aren’t always the one begging the men to love them.
- the family members are pretty funny. which is one i do the reasons i wish we would have gotten actual wedding stuff, since i think that would have been incredibly fun moments to read about. but at that point the story started to rush a bit and sadly i feel a little bit cheated if not having gotten enough from the crazy family.
all in all? it’s a fun story.
if you like slow burn and moving romance and any of the things i already mentioned in this review?
i would recommend it.
if you want sex very early on and fast moving storyline or dislike a lot of fuzzy story around the romance plot? not the book for you!
there were a few things that didn’t work perfectly for me on this book:
- the “hate” changed very suddenly to love. this book is pretty long for a romance and more than half of this book is very focus on how very dislikable the main male is and it felt like it tried a little too hard to make sure the reader understands how dislikable he really is, even though most of the stuff if not all are very easily explained and his behavior makes sense if the reader thinks about it even for a few seconds.
- it felt a little too long and sometimes a bit stilted and almost as if it got stuck a little before getting moving again.
-i do not understand why the sexist horrible coworker had to be in there? it’s realistic to have stupid male “i get away with being a sexist pig” kind of coworker, but did that have to be in it? what actual purpose did the guy actually have because everything could have been exactly the same without the guy.
- i found the start too slow and too dragged out until the couple finally gets started. Again my biggest thing about the slowness was mostly that i didn’t really see the sense in it? for example the entire thing about this day long event that needs to be planned, why was that included? nothing would have changed if it would have not been in the story.
things that bothered me a little bit:
- this entire story builds up to the main females sisters wedding. that’s the whole reason this emote story starts.
and than there is not even really any wedding in the book. there is what maybe two pages -if even that- at the reception but that’s it? and that’s not even about the wedding itself!
now i normally don’t have anything against skipping a wedding BUT if an entire book is all about going to that wedding and what’s needed to do that and than not even getting a chapter of that? mhm.
- the ending felt very rushed.
what i enjoyed:
- the main characters
i can’t even explain but i just enjoyed them. they where very awkward in many ways and i do enjoy a character that doesn’t really know how to behave in situations.
sure it tried to make it more funny than it was and the humor sometimes was as awkward as the characters themselves, but it somehow worked for me anyways.
- that the male wanted the relationship from the start and i am sorry if you think that’s a spoiler but i found that way to obvious with all the “hints” and ways the guy behaves from the second he is introduced basically two sentences into the book.
but i do like it if a man is the one working for the romance a little more and is already sure where it’s going to go and tries to make an actual relationship happen and make it real and serious.
i just enjoy it if the women aren’t always the one begging the men to love them.
- the family members are pretty funny. which is one i do the reasons i wish we would have gotten actual wedding stuff, since i think that would have been incredibly fun moments to read about. but at that point the story started to rush a bit and sadly i feel a little bit cheated if not having gotten enough from the crazy family.
all in all? it’s a fun story.
if you like slow burn and moving romance and any of the things i already mentioned in this review?
i would recommend it.
if you want sex very early on and fast moving storyline or dislike a lot of fuzzy story around the romance plot? not the book for you!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Sexism, Bullying, and Sexual content
katherine20's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Misogyny, Grief, and Sexism
culzean's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Abandonment, Grief, Alcohol, Cancer, Cursing, Death of parent, Eating disorder, Gaslighting, Medical content, Misogyny, Mental illness, Sexism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Pregnancy
laurenvoice's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
Too many questions were left unanswered. I wished this was in a double POV like the American Roommate Experiment. Nonetheless, I enjoyed reading Lina's love story unfolding.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexism, Bullying, Eating disorder, and Misogyny
Minor: Cancer and Death of parent
tysuckz's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Not at all what I expected. I understood the relationship between Aaron and Catalina would be a strong focus, but I'd not expected the actual wedding to pass by so rapidly. Nor did I expect it to be so ... steamy????
I found to plot to be incredibly simple but I enjoyed that it was simple. It was nice to not have to keep track of everything going on because it just flowed so easily.
I did find it to be very funny, warranting a few actual audible chuckles here and there... but only towards the beginning. Around the midway point the relationship got too intense for the humour, apparently. But that's also fine since I enjoyed the mood change!
However, a few things that did bother me and reduced it from 5☆ to 4.75☆ was that I was annoyed by Aaron's constant appearing whenever Lina was doing soemthing embarrassing, or talking to a friend about Aaron etc etc. Like how convenient??? Stop turning up. Its annoying.
And the other thing was that the description of Aaron's eyes being "ocean blue" rendered itself totally redundant with the amount of times it was said. Almost eye rollable with the amount of times it was said. Same with any similar synonyms, like .... blue eyes... deep blue eyes... etc etc etc etc. We get it, his eyes are blue and you're obsessed with them. Oh and also the random like 5 pages of Lina having disordered eating was weird.... suddenly her disorder is cured because Aaron fed her and told her she needs to eat, "I'll have 5 fish tacos please, my time of being silly with food is over". I wish it was that easy
I found to plot to be incredibly simple but I enjoyed that it was simple. It was nice to not have to keep track of everything going on because it just flowed so easily.
I did find it to be very funny, warranting a few actual audible chuckles here and there... but only towards the beginning. Around the midway point the relationship got too intense for the humour, apparently. But that's also fine since I enjoyed the mood change!
However, a few things that did bother me and reduced it from 5☆ to 4.75☆ was that I was annoyed by Aaron's constant appearing whenever Lina was doing soemthing embarrassing, or talking to a friend about Aaron etc etc. Like how convenient??? Stop turning up. Its annoying.
And the other thing was that the description of Aaron's eyes being "ocean blue" rendered itself totally redundant with the amount of times it was said. Almost eye rollable with the amount of times it was said. Same with any similar synonyms, like .... blue eyes... deep blue eyes... etc etc etc etc. We get it, his eyes are blue and you're obsessed with them. Oh and also the random like 5 pages of Lina having disordered eating was weird.... suddenly her disorder is cured because Aaron fed her and told her she needs to eat, "I'll have 5 fish tacos please, my time of being silly with food is over". I wish it was that easy
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Eating disorder, and Misogyny
Moderate: Cancer and Death of parent
Minor: Bullying
roadesntoades's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
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? It's complicated
5.0
This is one of the cutest romances I have read in a long time and does not deserve any of the hate it’s given. This is a book that doesn’t shy away from being a bit cliche. I mean it literally lays out the tropes on the back. It’s fake-dating, enemies to lovers, one bed. It doesn’t shy away from that it embraces it. Yeah there are some moments that are bit rinse and repeat but they are enjoyable. Plus I love that it’s made clear that Aaron has always been attracted to Catalina, or at least liked her. It wasn’t some sudden romance, or spontaneous declaration. We know how it will end and we know that Aaron wasn’t hiding it, just respecting Catalina’s boundaries. It’s honestly such a cute read, and really enjoyable
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Bullying, Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic relationship, and Sexual content
Moderate: Death of parent, Body shaming, Cancer, Abandonment, Chronic illness, and Death
Minor: Eating disorder
hanz's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This is at times a fun cheesy romance (and I had fun overall), but it had some issues to me that were never fully addressed. Being single means Catalina is "broken" is repeated throughout the book and it is resolved by Catalina being happy now that she has a boyfriend. To me, this is extremely damaging and not healthy, but perhaps I'm reading too much into a cheesy romance that isn't trying to make any grand points about society and relationships. Also didn't like how disordered eating was handled personally.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Eating disorder, Bullying, Sexism, and Sexual content
Moderate: Cancer, Death of parent, and Terminal illness
bruts_bane's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
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
4.0
This book was so good I can’t believe it’s the authors debut novel. It’s such a fun read I loved it so much. If you liked the love hypothesis then you’ll love this book too. The slow burn is SO slow but I swear it’s worth it. (I personally love a good slow burn). It had some slight enemies to lovers which we luv. Such a good book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying and Sexism