Reviews with content warning for Cursing - Book Lovers

PROS

✨ the January Andrews mentions are giving me life! my girl will be forever famous.

✨ the portrayal of Nora and Libby’s relationship as sisters is something that hits close to home. I loved that their conflict was not depicted as “pros and cons” to having a sister; it was shown that there are ups and downs they have to face together despite the strength of their bond and how they’re each other’s person.

✨ Sally and Clint’s short scene times (get it, screen time?) were still so wholesome. sure, I would’ve loved to see more of them together, but it didn’t feel like I didn’t know who they were and their relevance to Charlie’s life.

✨ I see no red flags in the hero, Charlie Lastra. his humor was the perfect blend of snark and wit. he was organized, orderly, and neat. he had sense of style and understood the love for impractical shoes. he had good communication skills and expressed what he wanted. he was understanding, loyal, and empathetic to a fault. as if if Emily Henry was god, she sent Charlie Lastra to apologize for the creation of other men.

✨ I found Nora Stephens relatable. always composes lists (especially color-coded ones), checks emails and answers calls after work hours, thorough with her makeup and skincare, also has fashion sense and in favor of wearing impractical shoes. but despite being perceived as this cold, relentless, workaholic, fastidious, emotionless bitch, she had a “sunny” side. she loves her nieces, goes great lengths to make her sister happy, is a softie, snorts at really good jokes (particularly Charlie’s), and is surprisingly capable of falling in love.

✨ Nora and Charlie’s banters either had me chuckling or uncontrollably smiling.

✨ the grumpy-grumpy here is SPECTACULAR. well, this is the first book i’ve read of that trope, but Book Lovers did it so well, especially with such an underused archetype.

✨ despite being grumpy-grumpy, Nora and Charlie weren’t remotely close to one-dimensional. there were so much more to their attributes and manners that went deeper than being thunderclouds. it is, after all, a reality that everyone is not just grumpy or not just sunshine, we are all a mix of both.

✨ the third act conflict was so nuanced and fleshed out. their situation was so realistic and it was actually high stakes.

✨ oh, to be in the shoes of someone who’s going to read this for the first time. I would love to be torn apart and put back together all over again.

✨ not to be that person but this book felt like a love letter to me

CONS

💫 did too much of an excellent job of raising my standards with men

CONCLUSION

💡 still at odds with deciding my top emily henry book, but this is 6 stars.

TRIGGER WARNINGS

⚠️

adoption, anxiety and panic attacks, bullying, child neglect, death of a parent (recounted), drug abuse (mentioned), divorce, estrangement, grief & loss depiction, overdose (mentioned), pregnancy, stroke (parent)

Content Warnings

hannalizzy's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful mysterious tense slow-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

4.5

SOOOOO CUTE made me giggle and squeal and geek, Charlie Lastra is my new book boyfriend frfr. I did feel like it was slowww getting into it, but the ending was sweet and so tender.

Content Warnings

hanreads__'s review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny inspiring relaxing slow-paced

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

4.0

This is the first book of Emily’s that I’ve read and it did not disappoint! I have so many feeling for now that I’ve finished the book and one of them is honestly just wanting to hug my kindle close to me until the happy swell in my heart settles.

The dynamic and chemistry between Nora and Charlie is perfect, and they deserve the absolute world. I love how they understood one another like no one else did, and I love that neither of them tried to change one another, both of them were good enough for one another, despite all their flaws and worries.

The tension between one another was excruciating and I was desperate for Charlie and Nora to finally say ‘fuck it’ but I’m also happy with how things progressed between one another and how their first time happened, it was beautiful and absolutely perfect.

Finally, I absolutely loved loved loved the dynamic between Libby and Nora! Their relationship is absolutely beautiful and it’s one I admire massively. They’re incredible sisters together and I’m glad they both got their happy endings.

Content Warnings

nialiversuch's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective sad 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

3.0

Content Warnings

meeklovestoread's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful informative lighthearted sad 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

3.5

I'm not gonna lie this wasn't my favorite Emily Henry book. I'm not sure if it was because I was extremely stressed, busy, and was feeling pretty slumpy, and read it in sporadic intervals when I read it or what, but it wasn't my favorite. I defintely enjoy her writing of course, but I think the storyline just wasn't for me or lack there of for that matter. I mostly prefer more plot oriented books and this book didn't really have one. It didn't have much direction, but it I understood what she was going for. The whole reverse hallmark movie small town romance thing. I liked her version of it and how the main character never hated on the city for the small town because I'm so tired of seeing that trope.

I liked the romance and the banter, but I honestly did get bored a couple times. And although I like the sisterhood dynamic I couldn't help but not like Libby that much. I felt like some of her actions were kind of manipulative toward Nora. And I couldn't help but scream at Nora because she always felt compelled to put her sister first above everything even herself which I know was apart of her character development and what not, but it still annoyed me. I also liked hearing about the editing process of how a book gets developed so I found that part pretty cool.

Overall, I found the book okay. I was originally gonna give a 3.5/5 but I like Emily so I bumped it up by 0.25, but it's not my favorite from her.

Update: I've had time to sit on it and I'm gonna give it the orginal rating that I wanted. I don't think I should alter my rating of a book just because of my feelings towards the author. So this book is a 3.5/5 for me.

Content Warnings

esophagus18's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful 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

5.0

not only does this book portray a beautiful romance, it also expertly portrays the nuisances and love of the relationship between sisters

Content Warnings

samreadssometimes's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted sad tense 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

5.0

i did not think i would like this book (i don't seem like it's primary audience), but i LOVED it. it was funny and sweet and made me cry and it was SO GOOD. i would recommend this to everyone.

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