Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

Love Redesigned by Lauren Asher

9 reviews

finnickdeservedbetter's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective sad tense 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

Tropes & Themes

Small town
Billionaire romance
Childhood rivals to lovers
Friends with benefits
Second chance
Carpenter x interior designer
One bed
Witty banter
Mexican-American FMC & MMC
Infertility/genetic illness struggles
Mental health rep (anxiety & depression)
Dead dad trauma

Spice:
Medium (4+ explict scenes)

My Thoughts:
To absolutely no one's shock, I loved yet another Lauren Asher book.

I took me a second to warm up the Dahlia but I ended up loving her. I really liked seeing not only anxiety and depression representation that was realistic and non-stigmatizing, but also infertility/genetic illness talked about. That's not super common in contemporary romance. I really admired her strength in healing from what Oliver did to her, as well as accepting that she'll always struggle with mental illness. Sometimes it iz what it iz. Anxiety and major depression gang ✌🏻😘

I also loved Julian of course. I too, am a petty and spiteful asshole. I loved seeing his growth and journey learning to be emotionally vulnerable. I also really appreciated seeing a MMC that was adamant about adopting and that adoptive kids are no less part of their family (although conversations about the adoption industry are also very important).

That being said, I'm very excited for Rafe and Ellie's book. Fingers crossed book three will be Lorenzo and Lily 🤞🏻

Favourite Quote:

“Turns out I’d rather build a home with you than a thousand houses by myself.”

Content Warnings

poupimali's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted slow-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

Hi!
I would like to order a Julian. To go.
Thank you.

Beside that, it is a slow burn, friends to enemies to lovers, a lot of beautiful declarations, a lot of struggles for the MC (grief, depression), diverses characters (mexicans), billionaire MMC and successful FMC.

Content Warnings

raesreadingrealm_'s review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted 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

5.0

It had been so long since I read from a physical book as opposed to an e-book, I'm glad Love Redesigned broke my dry spell and took my annotating virginity. This read was an easy 5 stars.
Lauren is one of the few authors that got better with popularity. This book perfectly balanced everything, including the cameos and intricate themes, it was just chef's kiss. I loved the banter, how I felt the chemistry when they did little touches or held eye contact for too long, and the tension was felt throughout the book. Julian was so patient, so gruff, so certain ugh he was a MAN. I loved that she didn't miraculously heal Dahlia and that Julian was so firm in his beliefs - she normalized not normalizing a stereotypical family and shed much light on something that many women suffer with. I felt all the emotions in this book and I especially loved every detail she put into it - it was all perfect. I can't wait for Rafa and Ellie's book. Lake Wisteria now has a piece of my heart <3.

Content Warnings

herbookarchives's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

Content Warnings

cassiereadsbooks_'s review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny inspiring lighthearted 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

deluna's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Content Warnings

cielosiluminado's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective 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

rent. was. due. and lauren delivered.

the moment i started this book, i couldn't put it down. i really didn't want it to end. one of my favorite reads this year.

julian lopez junior, el hombre que tu eres. julian literally had me blushing and swooning at so many times. seeing his pure love and adoration for dahlia made me so emotional. he'd do anything for her. adding him to my top tier book boyfriends.

dahlia isabella muñoz, mi niña preciosa. after everything dahlia endured, she came out stronger and braver on the other side and that made me love her so much more. she truly is a queen, talented, smart, funny, and she deserves the whole world.

“You made my wish come true without me realizing it.”

dahlia and julian have a beautiful, yet tragic history together. these two going from childhood rivals to lovers seemed inevitable. in the end though, it's obvious that they were made to not only challenge, but, love each other as well.

i also really enjoyed the nosey, meddling family and it often felt like i was reading my own family at times. pleasantly surprised.

usually i'm not a big fan of books where there's dialogue in other languages because it can be cringey or not translated well. but as someone who also comes from a mexican background like the main characters, i was delighted that the sociocultural norms and traditions the characters and their families partook in were written well. also very glad the (mexican) spanish, specifically the dialogue, in the book wasn't cringey.

the (free) extended epilogue from lauren's website had me swooning even more! i cannot wait for the second book to be released summer 2024.

Content Warnings

dianaschmidty's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny lighthearted relaxing 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

4.75

I think this is Lauren Asher’s most romantic book. Dahlia and Julian truly felt made for each other. I think that’s true for most academic rivals to lovers stories, but few make the transition from adversaries to partners as well as these two did.

This book was also truly funny! Their pranks on each other made me laugh so much, but nothing was better than Julian’s masterful prank on Oliver!

This is also the perfect time to read it since it heavily features Thanksgiving and Christmas and really got me ready to read more Christmas books!

Content Warnings

kat7794's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted 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

4.0

Content Warnings

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