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mandaraffe's review against another edition
emotional
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Vomit, Toxic friendship, Ableism, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, and Alcohol
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Abandonment
Minor: Child abuse, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Xenophobia, and Fatphobia
macykey's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I don’t typically like books that center a couple that’ve already been established, but this one was done so well. I loved how realistic the conflict was and even though I don’t like miscommunication, it seemed more realistic. The side characters also seemed fleshed out even though they didn’t have lots of page time. The only things I’ll say about this book that I didn’t like was the fact that the guys went to such great lengths to keep the book club and the fact that they were reading romance books a secret. These guys were in an excellent position to legitimize romance books amongst cisgendered men, yet they fell into the same trap that they were talking about in the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Alcohol and Abandonment
Minor: Vomit
jamiejanae_6's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
inspiring
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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Bullying and Vomit
courtnoodles's review against another edition
funny
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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Bullying, Cursing, and Sexual content
Moderate: Vomit and Abandonment
Minor: Pregnancy
sinilukee's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
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
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Abandonment, Alcohol, Bullying, Cursing, Emotional abuse, and Vomit
notalightbulb's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Vomit
Minor: Miscarriage and Pregnancy
haley49's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
This was a fun and fast read. I loved how it tackled the rarely talked about topic of conflict post marriage and what it means to have a healthy, long-lasting love. I am sure that those themes will/do resonante with a lot of couples. I loved Gavin and his group of guy friends (we don’t see enough great bromances in literature!) I also liked the discussions on trauma (or backstory) and how it showed how both characters needed to unlearn some things and grow in order to better themselves and their marriage. I also appreciated the lisp representation with Gavin. Definitely would reccomend and I’m excited to read Mack’s book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Pregnancy, Vomit, and Ableism
tacoshark's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
There were things I liked about this book - it’s unusual, in my experience, for romances to be set in an existing marriage, so that was a nice change of pace. The main concept of the book is interesting - but the execution is … not great. I could pick this book apart in a hundred ways (exactly how old are those girls supposed to be? Bc according to the plot, it’s like 3, max, and they’re written as, like, 5? 6? It makes no sense) but overall I’ll just say that this was at best okay and at worst, somewhat creepy and offensive. At least it was brief?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Vomit and Ableism
Moderate: Abandonment
folded_between_pages_of_books's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, Sexual content, and Vomit
Minor: Alcohol
katsbooks's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
inspiring
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
4.0
“That’s why fiction resonates with people. It speaks to universal truths.”
"Backstory is everything."
I enjoyed this book way more than I expected to. I was hesitant because I wasn't sure I'd enjoy a romance about a married couple but turns out, it's definitely for me. I liked how the book club allowed the book to make it's own commentary on itself without taking itself too seriously. I really liked the quote "Backstory is everything." I've recently started my journey with therapy and one of my goals is to unpack the things that make me who I am and how it affects how I show up in my relationships. While this was quite oversimplified in the book, getting to know each of the characters through that lens was really intriguing. I also really liked how both Thea and Gavin were not perfect. They definitely weren't realistically flawed, in my opinion, but their issues were a main focal point of the book which was really nice.
I think my only critique is the grand gesture at the end. In general, I'm not a fan of the grand gesture, especially in contemporaries. Sometimes, fantasies and sci-fi can get away with it because stakes tend to be a lot higher in those types of stories (like the main character is saving the world kind of stakes) so it's easier to believe that the grand gesture was necessary. When the gesture is grand just to prove a point or make a declaration, it feels cringy. Maybe I just struggle to express my emotions but having something so personal on display for lots of people feels dreadful. Maybe I should work through that bit in therapy. Otherwise, this was a really fun romance. I will definitely be picking up the other novels in this series.
"Backstory is everything."
I enjoyed this book way more than I expected to. I was hesitant because I wasn't sure I'd enjoy a romance about a married couple but turns out, it's definitely for me. I liked how the book club allowed the book to make it's own commentary on itself without taking itself too seriously. I really liked the quote "Backstory is everything." I've recently started my journey with therapy and one of my goals is to unpack the things that make me who I am and how it affects how I show up in my relationships. While this was quite oversimplified in the book, getting to know each of the characters through that lens was really intriguing. I also really liked how both Thea and Gavin were not perfect. They definitely weren't realistically flawed, in my opinion, but their issues were a main focal point of the book which was really nice.
I think my only critique is the grand gesture at the end. In general, I'm not a fan of the grand gesture, especially in contemporaries. Sometimes, fantasies and sci-fi can get away with it because stakes tend to be a lot higher in those types of stories (like the main character is saving the world kind of stakes) so it's easier to believe that the grand gesture was necessary. When the gesture is grand just to prove a point or make a declaration, it feels cringy. Maybe I just struggle to express my emotions but having something so personal on display for lots of people feels dreadful. Maybe I should work through that bit in therapy. Otherwise, this was a really fun romance. I will definitely be picking up the other novels in this series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Vomit
Moderate: Alcohol, Cursing, Grief, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Miscarriage and Pregnancy