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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
vaguelyredhead's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
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? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement and Sexual content
Moderate: Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexism
Minor: Misogyny and Vomit
amris's review against another edition
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement and Sexual content
Minor: Sexual assault
pianokeys's review against another edition
emotional
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
sydcreads's review against another edition
lighthearted
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? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
blankaurban's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
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
3.75
This was such a cute novella! I liked it way more than the first one.
Sadie and Erik had amazing, undeniable chemistry and their banter was just to die for! Erik was so much better than Liam in the first novella. He was so caring and thoughtful, definitely one of my favourite book guys.
I liked the conflict of the novella because it felt realistic in a way and not too outlandish.
I loved seeing the friendship between Mara, Sadie and Hannah unfold whilst also learning more about them.
I would recommend reading this if you want a cute, easy read.
Sadie and Erik had amazing, undeniable chemistry and their banter was just to die for! Erik was so much better than Liam in the first novella. He was so caring and thoughtful, definitely one of my favourite book guys.
I liked the conflict of the novella because it felt realistic in a way and not too outlandish.
I loved seeing the friendship between Mara, Sadie and Hannah unfold whilst also learning more about them.
I would recommend reading this if you want a cute, easy read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
heartsfromjaney's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
cute short read
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
syazahaniss's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Not the best in the series but still good enough for me to finish the book within a day. Granted, it’s barely 150 pages.
I love this drabble/mini series thing the author has going on because sometimes I really don’t have the mental bandwidth to finish a whole book. This one was extremely fast-paced too which I appreciate.
That said, I felt like this instalment in particular I had more trouble following as easily as the other two. It moved a tad too fast (one night stand straight to angst then a relationship) that I forgot major details here and there. It doesn’t help that I am very bad at internalising non-linear narratives too.
I love this drabble/mini series thing the author has going on because sometimes I really don’t have the mental bandwidth to finish a whole book. This one was extremely fast-paced too which I appreciate.
That said, I felt like this instalment in particular I had more trouble following as easily as the other two. It moved a tad too fast (one night stand straight to angst then a relationship) that I forgot major details here and there. It doesn’t help that I am very bad at internalising non-linear narratives too.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
come_libros_'s review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
im_just_vidu's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
It's a nice short read. I like STEMinists. Ali Hazelwood does this really good job of portraying women on STEM fields & I just love it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content