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indianahat's review against another edition
2.0
Here is where I must be honest. I read this book after coming straight of an eight book fantasy series high that had controlled my life for the past two months, which may have deeply impacted the my take on the novel. Sooo... here is my best attempt at an unbiased review.
I'm not a big fan of the whole insta-love but for those who are coming into the romance world and are looking for a nice simple start I would go with that. Personally, I felt this book was very classical wattpad - and not in the good way either - but would be a great way to enter the book world.
Don't allow others to set this book up for you. The hype always ruins books. Think 'The Love Hypothesis' do not let others tell you this is like that book. Ali Hazelwood's work is amazing and in no way am I saying its a bad novel nor that this one is either but they are completely seperate. There is no similarity in plot, events or romance tropes found within the book, you are comparing grumpy cross sunshine with instant love. So please remove that rumour from your brain before you read either novel. It's extremely fast paced and a quick read if you are looking for it. There are plenty of cheesy romantic moments to spare that have you falling in love with Daniel. Harper definitely has her moments to being a really strong MC - Mazey's writing is really enjoyable.
So here is the reasoning for the two star rating. Personally as I have mentioned I am not a big fan of the insta-love trope, I just find it super unrealistic in terms of romance. I love it when they hate each other at first sight or they have some rivalry formed between them in the past. Trying to get past that was killing me, especially with how quickly they fell. I also had super hyped up expectations and coming in as someone who loved Ali's writing and had been told by numerous people that it was the exact same book I was throughly disappointed.
But I understand that my ability to enjoy this book was impacted, so read it and give it your own opinion.
I'm not a big fan of the whole insta-love but for those who are coming into the romance world and are looking for a nice simple start I would go with that. Personally, I felt this book was very classical wattpad - and not in the good way either - but would be a great way to enter the book world.
Don't allow others to set this book up for you. The hype always ruins books. Think 'The Love Hypothesis' do not let others tell you this is like that book. Ali Hazelwood's work is amazing and in no way am I saying its a bad novel nor that this one is either but they are completely seperate. There is no similarity in plot, events or romance tropes found within the book, you are comparing grumpy cross sunshine with instant love. So please remove that rumour from your brain before you read either novel. It's extremely fast paced and a quick read if you are looking for it. There are plenty of cheesy romantic moments to spare that have you falling in love with Daniel. Harper definitely has her moments to being a really strong MC - Mazey's writing is really enjoyable.
So here is the reasoning for the two star rating. Personally as I have mentioned I am not a big fan of the insta-love trope, I just find it super unrealistic in terms of romance. I love it when they hate each other at first sight or they have some rivalry formed between them in the past. Trying to get past that was killing me, especially with how quickly they fell. I also had super hyped up expectations and coming in as someone who loved Ali's writing and had been told by numerous people that it was the exact same book I was throughly disappointed.
But I understand that my ability to enjoy this book was impacted, so read it and give it your own opinion.
birt48's review against another edition
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
jessiepostshere's review against another edition
5.0
6/5 ⭐️
This book will go right on the shelf with all of my favorites. It’s funny to think that with all the millions of combinations of words that you can put together to form thoughts that somebody else could write something and describe something I’ve felt for a long time with scary accuracy.
This book was everything. It was funny. It was cute. It was honest. It was hurtful.
Amazing story telling. I imagine I’ll pick up anything she writes.
This book will go right on the shelf with all of my favorites. It’s funny to think that with all the millions of combinations of words that you can put together to form thoughts that somebody else could write something and describe something I’ve felt for a long time with scary accuracy.
This book was everything. It was funny. It was cute. It was honest. It was hurtful.
Amazing story telling. I imagine I’ll pick up anything she writes.
audra_christine's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
4.75
shes_book_obsessed's review against another edition
2.0
A Brush with Love
⭐️⭐️
dnf at 26% I couldn't get into it, nothing was interesting...
⭐️⭐️
dnf at 26% I couldn't get into it, nothing was interesting...
exquisite_tragedy's review against another edition
4.0
This was so stinking cute!!!!!! I’ve started drifting away from romantic comedies over the last few month, so I went into this with pretty low expectations. I didn’t have anything to worry about though, because this ended up being a new favorite of 2022 and made me fall back in love with this sub genre. This was a slowish burn friends-to-lovers romance between two dental students. Harper and Dawn were so freaking sweet together it could give me a cavity. My favorites heroes are the ones that are obsessed with the heroine and only have eyes for her, and Dan did not let me down. Front he moment of their adorable meet cute, Dan knew that Harper was the one for him and would do absolutely anything to be near here (even if he did have to compromise for friendship at times).
The author addressed a variety of serious topics in a very respectful and impactful way (ie. anxiety, panic attacks, loss of a loved one, academic and familial pressure). I really appreciated the author’s realistic depiction of the impact that mental illness can have on a person’s ability to form and maintain friendships/relationships (rather than glorify/glamorous it like other books I’ve read). As someone who has life-impairing anxiety, I related to Harper in SO many ways. Accurate representation is so so important, I’ve never felt more seen while reading a book in my life.
This is definitely a book I could see myself rereading and annotating in the future.
The author addressed a variety of serious topics in a very respectful and impactful way (ie. anxiety, panic attacks, loss of a loved one, academic and familial pressure). I really appreciated the author’s realistic depiction of the impact that mental illness can have on a person’s ability to form and maintain friendships/relationships (rather than glorify/glamorous it like other books I’ve read). As someone who has life-impairing anxiety, I related to Harper in SO many ways. Accurate representation is so so important, I’ve never felt more seen while reading a book in my life.
This is definitely a book I could see myself rereading and annotating in the future.
danielizabeth2608's review against another edition
3.0
This was a nice and easy rom com, it did have me laughing out loud a few times. I think what really hooked me was the main female lead having anxiety.
I'm sure a lot of us can relate, I wish the book had of covered more of her healing and dealing process.
I'm sure a lot of us can relate, I wish the book had of covered more of her healing and dealing process.
ginanle's review against another edition
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
kaulhilo's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars /
this could be a 4 star read so bad, i’m not exactly sure why it isn’t. it’s got everything going on for it? i adored the characters and the romance, i loved the dental school backdrop (so realistic, it kinda hurt) and the struggles (that managed to hurt more?). a lot of it was incredibly personal to me, to the point where i needed to close the book and reassess myself just to be able to pick it up again.
and the writing was so easy to get into! so this is essentially a 4/5 star book, except it’s not for me(?) because i’m insane like that (?) i can’t explain it exactly, i just felt like there was a certain *thing* missing, which made it harder for me to connect to the story. it could just be my fatigue though, so who knows.
thank you to st. martin’s griffin for the arc.
“who’s your favorite person?”
she leaned in, pressing a smiling, happy kiss to his lips before answering. “you.”
this could be a 4 star read so bad, i’m not exactly sure why it isn’t. it’s got everything going on for it? i adored the characters and the romance, i loved the dental school backdrop (so realistic, it kinda hurt) and the struggles (that managed to hurt more?). a lot of it was incredibly personal to me, to the point where i needed to close the book and reassess myself just to be able to pick it up again.
and the writing was so easy to get into! so this is essentially a 4/5 star book, except it’s not for me(?) because i’m insane like that (?) i can’t explain it exactly, i just felt like there was a certain *thing* missing, which made it harder for me to connect to the story. it could just be my fatigue though, so who knows.
thank you to st. martin’s griffin for the arc.
“who’s your favorite person?”
she leaned in, pressing a smiling, happy kiss to his lips before answering. “you.”