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noellegrace8's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Like I always say, Hazelwood suffers from the writer's equivalent of "same face syndrome" (which can be a valid thing that works just fine for some readers), but this one was a lot different. The MMC wasn't "impossible to read" or completely void of emotion until the one love confession that magically solves everything; they were both absolutely smitten with one another from the very beginning, which was fresh for Hazelwood and surprisingly well-written. Any amount of uncertainty of one of their feelings for the other was a reasonable misunderstanding, not inflated. And sometimes, Hazelwood's MMCs can be pretty flat, character-wise, but that wasn't the case with Erik.
I also tend to dislike or, at best, not see the point in Hazelwood's prologues & epilogues. But the way this story was formatted was perfect. I liked how short of a time frame we were looking at compared to her other books, or even the first novella. Short time period, short story - it just makes sense. I was interested in knowing what happened between them from the moment I started reading, and I liked the way it unfolded. They had plenty in common, so their immediate chemistry was also believable. I also liked that Sadie even has a self-doubt moment of "what in the world am I doing!?"
I don't love that Sadie is written as having OCD, but it's not addressed (this is very common of Hazelwood - not OCD in particular, but a lot of health/mental health issues or past traumas that her FMC's are written as having, but which go entirely unspoken/undiagnosed). I think that's a bit dangerous. On one hand, I liked seeing myself represented. On the other, it was written as just a silly "superstition" type of thing, which trivializes the problem. One other problem was the casual racism with Sadie thinking Erik was not an English speaker, wanting him to have "special" letters in his name... idk. It just came across as super cringey and gross, so I'm glad it was brief. Lastly, my constant Hazelwood complaint... the size trope. Every dude we ever meet in an Ali Hazelwood story is some giant otherworldly beast of a man - the homogeneous body type is kind of upsetting. Even her FMCs are always short. Annoying.
I give Meg Sylvan 5/5⭐️. I liked her MMC voice, which is rare. I thought the subtle accent was good, too.
I also tend to dislike or, at best, not see the point in Hazelwood's prologues & epilogues. But the way this story was formatted was perfect. I liked how short of a time frame we were looking at compared to her other books, or even the first novella. Short time period, short story - it just makes sense. I was interested in knowing what happened between them from the moment I started reading, and I liked the way it unfolded. They had plenty in common, so their immediate chemistry was also believable. I also liked that Sadie even has a self-doubt moment of "what in the world am I doing!?"
I don't love that Sadie is written as having OCD, but it's not addressed (this is very common of Hazelwood - not OCD in particular, but a lot of health/mental health issues or past traumas that her FMC's are written as having, but which go entirely unspoken/undiagnosed). I think that's a bit dangerous. On one hand, I liked seeing myself represented. On the other, it was written as just a silly "superstition" type of thing, which trivializes the problem. One other problem was the casual racism with Sadie thinking Erik was not an English speaker, wanting him to have "special" letters in his name... idk. It just came across as super cringey and gross, so I'm glad it was brief. Lastly, my constant Hazelwood complaint... the size trope. Every dude we ever meet in an Ali Hazelwood story is some giant otherworldly beast of a man - the homogeneous body type is kind of upsetting. Even her FMCs are always short. Annoying.
I give Meg Sylvan 5/5⭐️. I liked her MMC voice, which is rare. I thought the subtle accent was good, too.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing and Sexual content
Minor: Racism