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ccassidy98's review against another edition
hopeful
sad
medium-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? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Terminal illness and Grief
Moderate: Infidelity, Alcohol, Car accident, Death, and Alcoholism
painandpages's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
drishti_loves_stories's review against another edition
Very slow... nothing is happening
scottishlindsay's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-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
4.0
allenfarm's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Only Love Can Hurt Like This touches on some really heavy topics without any TWs:
Depression
Alcoholism
Possibility of Suicide
Parental rejection
Cheating
Blended Families
Parental alienation
Morally Grey Choices
Wren is preoccupied with getting over her breakup with Scott by immediately latching on to Anders, the next unavailable male she meets. Anders gives her very little in the way of encouragement, and with few words spoken she is all in. When the twist happens, my first though was that the author had run out of reasons to keep them apart and needed to throw in this very specific type of unnecessary drama, which was not handled well at all. This actually took a personal turn because I have witnessed Anders "loss" in real life within my own family, and I saw first hand how a spouse should be treated in this situation. The rules of the marriage change, but that doesn't mean the love or obligation does. Kelly, in her pain, was a real piece of work- putting unreasonable expectations on Anders, and by default Wren. Still, Anders and Wren each respectively handled their part very poorly. Until the end when everything is wrapped in a neat bow.
This is the kind of book that will play out better in the Hallmark/Lifetime movie. In book form, none of the characters are likeable much. I won't go over all my reasoning for the entire cast of characters, but I think Scott was the only truly decent person in the book.
Depression
Alcoholism
Possibility of Suicide
Parental rejection
Cheating
Blended Families
Parental alienation
Morally Grey Choices
Wren is preoccupied with getting over her breakup with Scott by immediately latching on to Anders, the next unavailable male she meets. Anders gives her very little in the way of encouragement, and with few words spoken she is all in. When the twist happens, my first though was that the author had run out of reasons to keep them apart and needed to throw in this very specific type of unnecessary drama, which was not handled well at all. This actually took a personal turn because I have witnessed Anders "loss" in real life within my own family, and I saw first hand how a spouse should be treated in this situation. The rules of the marriage change, but that doesn't mean the love or obligation does. Kelly, in her pain, was a real piece of work- putting unreasonable expectations on Anders, and by default Wren. Still, Anders and Wren each respectively handled their part very poorly. Until the end when everything is wrapped in a neat bow.
This is the kind of book that will play out better in the Hallmark/Lifetime movie. In book form, none of the characters are likeable much. I won't go over all my reasoning for the entire cast of characters, but I think Scott was the only truly decent person in the book.
aholderman's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
safusername15's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
janaebeaver's review against another edition
Not much happening and didn’t feel authentic
sportyprincess8's review against another edition
emotional
slow-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
3.5
It’s cute. It’s SLOW for about the first 200 pages. Back and forth and back and forth and then A FREAKING TWIST THAT CAME OUT OF NOWHERE?! It bumped it up for me a little, gave me a little more understanding, and the love story finally came together.