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natraf_reads's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, and Medical content
cassielaj's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
I forgot how sweet and hilarious this one is. Nik and Carlos are fantastic characters and an entertaining couple to follow. I love how JG gives her characters believable backgrounds and storylines outside of their relationship… that’s what makes a good romance novel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Grief, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Death of parent and Toxic relationship
thenovelmaura's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
I had to read several reviews before I could put my finger on what bothered me about this book, but I figured it out! This romance has no plot and no stakes. The main characters refused to date because... they wanted to keep it casual, or something? But yes, the most action in this book takes place during the initial meet cute scene, and the rest is just snippets of Nik's life strung together. There's no real conflict here and nothing keeping the leads apart besides their own stubbornness. Of course we love two POC leads and a diverse friend group, but this one was otherwise disappointing since Guillory is such a popular author.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Death of parent
Minor: Stalking and Racism
bzliz's review against another edition
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
I previously read The Wedding Date and it was pretty average but enjoyable enough that I wanted to read more from Jasmine Guillory. Unfortunately, I think this book has killed that desire in me. I thought I was in for a very similar experience until I hit about 75% through the book and it took a sharp turn downward.
The premise was intriguing to me- a woman gets proposed to publicly by a man she was barely “dating” and she’s rushed out of the bad situation by our MMC Carlos and his sister- but the characters fell so flat. They all speak with a lack of maturity that does not fit their ages. Our FMC Nik at least has friends she talks to in this book- which is more than some romance characters get- but their only function is to orbit around her and childishly echo events that we as readers just saw transpire. Carlos is a caricature of a hyper masculine guy but he listens to women. Nik is supposed to be super independent and motivated but we don’t get to see her be great at her job and she regularly wastes her time with subpar dudes for no reason.
Guillory seems to favor a “tell, don’t show” approach to writing that doesn’t leave anything to the imagination, except the spicy scenes which fade-to-black and are pretty bland. To borrow a phrase from comedian Lou Wilson-that’s a salsa everyone at the table can enjoy. She also makes a few weird assertions that don’t line up with my life experience, such as insisting women are bombarded with messages about hiding money and purchases from their partners like it’s a normal thing to do. It reads like an out of touch boomer (which she is not) trying to relate to younger generations.
Much like The Wedding Date, Nik and Carlos spend most of their on page time eating or about to get steamy but I didn’t feel any chemistry between them. I was fine with that but once we hit the third actand Carlos has his realization and makes his declaration that he’s in love with Nik, he expects her to immediately jump into a full relationship with him despite their clearly defined desires to stay casual at the beginning of their tryst. She was right to be mad about it and he starts slinging pretty harsh accusations at her right away, such as suggesting she gets off on making men fall in love with her then leaving them. He ends up being pretty shitty to her and I don’t know how anyone could possibly forgive and move forward in a relationship with that person like Nik does once she realizes she’s also in love with Carlos.
I was prepared to give this another perfectly average rating but the ending really tanked it for me. Maybe I’ll give Guillory another shot in the future but for now I’m going to steer clear.
Content warnings:
Sexual content (on/off page):Mostly fade to black, mostly contains breast touching. No vulgar language used.
Pregnancy, medical content (on/off page):A pregnant side character has pre-eclampsia and is put of bed rest. Lots of page space is used discussing how she is doing and Carlos’ worry for her. She goes to the hospital and has an emergency c-section. Both she and the baby are fine but if you are triggered by discussion of difficult pregnancies, do not read.
Alcohol (on page):These people drink a lot for every occasion. I’m not sure they’ve heard it’s okay to have water.
Death of parent, grief (off page):Carlos’ dad passes prior to the start of the book and he still experiences grief from that. He does not handle his feelings or express them typically thanks to his alpha male mentality of needing to provide for his family. He needs therapy.
Body shaming, emotional abuse, toxic relationship, biphobia, miscarriage (off page):Nik interviews Natalie for a potential article and Natalie discusses wanting to start her gym because her ex-husband became emotionally abusive: he made her quit her job as a trainer because he didn’t want her touching anyone else, he isolated her from her friends and family, and when she miscarried he immediately demanded she lose the weight she had gained and monitored her physical activity on a fitness watch.
Racism (on page):A few minor mentions. Nik and Carlos are in a broken down car and she mentions that people who look like them aren’t necessarily safe while waiting for assistance to arrive. Nik’s ex tells her people “like her” are lucky when they get to be with people like him, aka white.
The premise was intriguing to me- a woman gets proposed to publicly by a man she was barely “dating” and she’s rushed out of the bad situation by our MMC Carlos and his sister- but the characters fell so flat. They all speak with a lack of maturity that does not fit their ages. Our FMC Nik at least has friends she talks to in this book- which is more than some romance characters get- but their only function is to orbit around her and childishly echo events that we as readers just saw transpire. Carlos is a caricature of a hyper masculine guy but he listens to women. Nik is supposed to be super independent and motivated but we don’t get to see her be great at her job and she regularly wastes her time with subpar dudes for no reason.
Guillory seems to favor a “tell, don’t show” approach to writing that doesn’t leave anything to the imagination, except the spicy scenes which fade-to-black and are pretty bland. To borrow a phrase from comedian Lou Wilson-that’s a salsa everyone at the table can enjoy. She also makes a few weird assertions that don’t line up with my life experience, such as insisting women are bombarded with messages about hiding money and purchases from their partners like it’s a normal thing to do. It reads like an out of touch boomer (which she is not) trying to relate to younger generations.
Much like The Wedding Date, Nik and Carlos spend most of their on page time eating or about to get steamy but I didn’t feel any chemistry between them. I was fine with that but once we hit the third act
I was prepared to give this another perfectly average rating but the ending really tanked it for me. Maybe I’ll give Guillory another shot in the future but for now I’m going to steer clear.
Content warnings:
Sexual content (on/off page):
Pregnancy, medical content (on/off page):
Alcohol (on page):
Death of parent, grief (off page):
Body shaming, emotional abuse, toxic relationship, biphobia, miscarriage (off page):
Racism (on page):
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content, Pregnancy, and Sexual content
Moderate: Body shaming, Death of parent, Grief, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, and Biphobia
Minor: Racism
acas29's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Death of parent
laurenlimabean'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
4.25
Content Warnings
Minor: Medical content, Death of parent, and Emotional abuse
tiredfangirl's review against another edition
emotional
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Death of parent
hunkydory's review against another edition
emotional
funny
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Racism, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, Violence, and Death of parent
kaitlinlovesbooks'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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Medical content, Pregnancy, Sexual content, and Grief
Minor: Racism, Biphobia, Fatphobia, and Xenophobia
lesseraliterary's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.75
1.75 purely for the diverse cast
you ever read a book and you realize that the characters are better off not being together? yeah.. this is it. the book was utterly boring. the author wrote carlos in a way that made him grate on my nerves in special a genderflip of NLOG. don’t tell his sister that he likes rosé but not because it’s a girly drink but because his sister can’t be right. also he bought his sister a tool kit for her apartment and while putting a bookcase together, THAT SHE DIDNT ASK FOR, was like “hmm her screwdriver sucks… i should get her an electric one for christmas.” DOES SHE EVEN USE IT??? ugh i just couldn’t with carlos… nik seemed immature and didn’t really learn anything by the end of the book about growing and being able to trust your emotions. i mean carlos was immature too he fucking stormed out during a fight. they didn’t seem to grow by the end of the book and i feel like they would be the type of couple that would fight all the time.
you ever read a book and you realize that the characters are better off not being together? yeah.. this is it. the book was utterly boring. the author wrote carlos in a way that made him grate on my nerves in special a genderflip of NLOG. don’t tell his sister that he likes rosé but not because it’s a girly drink but because his sister can’t be right. also he bought his sister a tool kit for her apartment and while putting a bookcase together, THAT SHE DIDNT ASK FOR, was like “hmm her screwdriver sucks… i should get her an electric one for christmas.” DOES SHE EVEN USE IT??? ugh i just couldn’t with carlos… nik seemed immature and didn’t really learn anything by the end of the book about growing and being able to trust your emotions. i mean carlos was immature too he fucking stormed out during a fight. they didn’t seem to grow by the end of the book and i feel like they would be the type of couple that would fight all the time.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Pregnancy and Death of parent