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piperclover's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
slow-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
3.75
I'm not sure how to rate this. If I could take out from the 15% mark to about the 35% or 40% mark I think this would have been a 4.5 or even 4.75 star. I feel like the first half of the book is just the same thing over and over again where we keep seeing their competition/rivalry and how sometimes it goes too far but how it also drives Allison which is good but we don't need to see it for that long. By the 15% mark, I understood exactly how the dynamic worked and every time these little confrontations happened I already knew how it was going to play out. It took until like 65% of the book to get to the lovers part which in my opinion is just way too long. Up until then I was genuinely wondering if this was even arrivals to lovers at all because there was nothing happening on a friends or lovers front.
Most of the time I really enjoyed Allison because I feel like she is very much like how I was in high scool but at certain points she felt like a caricature. At one point she was lamenting how she didn't understand why Ethan's laptop stickers were random places with no reasoning behind them. Really, she is so ridiculously logical she can't understand wanting laptop stickers? She also doesn't feel neurodivergent coded to me so this just made me grimace.
The other thing that really bothered me was that the 55% mark there was such a good build-up for a big argument or some kind of scene that would provide emotional catharsis for all of the anger that she had built up to that point and then it doesn't really happen. I was so ready for her to lay in the Ethan for doing this thing that I thought was an overstep of their rivalry but she doesn't call him out on the two things I really thought she should have. I understand why it works out the way it does but I just really wanted a great scene of Allison laying into him for this and Ethan being forced to realize the consequences of his actions. It also could've really benefited from dual povs so badly.
Most of the time I really enjoyed Allison because I feel like she is very much like how I was in high scool but at certain points she felt like a caricature. At one point she was lamenting how she didn't understand why Ethan's laptop stickers were random places with no reasoning behind them. Really, she is so ridiculously logical she can't understand wanting laptop stickers? She also doesn't feel neurodivergent coded to me so this just made me grimace.
The other thing that really bothered me was that the 55% mark there was such a good build-up for a big argument or some kind of scene that would provide emotional catharsis for all of the anger that she had built up to that point and then it doesn't really happen. I was so ready for her to lay in the Ethan for doing this thing that I thought was an overstep of their rivalry but she doesn't call him out on the two things I really thought she should have. I understand why it works out the way it does but I just really wanted a great scene of Allison laying into him for this and Ethan being forced to realize the consequences of his actions. It also could've really benefited from dual povs so badly.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Vomit and Medical content
fremzz's review
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Vomit
Minor: Sexual content and Alcohol
spearly's review
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
who do we need to bully to change this cover
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It’s odd to me now, how I’d considered every paragraph of high school only prologue while I wrote chapter upon chapter of newspaper productions and driving lessons, fights and fantasies and food poisoning. Under the lights, I feel grateful for the exhilaration of an unfinished story and the necessity of every page before this one.
Ugh. My heart.
This was dang cute. It lands perfectly in that place in the YA genre where I find I can really enjoy the book without having to view it as my high-school self. I didn't need to age myself down to understand the conflict, the drama, the friendships, the rivalry, because Wibberley toed that line between teens and young adults so well. The writing was cohesive and mature. The characters were 3-dimensional and well-rounded, and the story flowed perfectly.
I've seen this compared to Today Tonight Tomorrow. I've seen people rate this a little lower because of how it measures up. I haven't read Today, Tonight, Tomorrow yet, though it is on my TBR, but I will just say I'm grateful I read this first, because I got to enjoy it on its own merits. And I'm sure when I do eventually get to read Today, Tonight, Tomorrow, I'll enjoy it, too.
Also, lets put our hands together for a true enemies-to-lovers. How often in the trope does one of the lovers (usually the guy) admit he's really loved the other all along? That he's been pining since the moment they met? Don't get me wrong. I love the pining. It still gets my heart fluttering. But there is something refreshing about seeing our main couple come together into their feelings.
A solid YA. I think the only thing I would have liked more is if it was told in dual POV. And again.... LET'S GET A NEW COVER ON THIS BITCH, VIKING BOOKS!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Vomit and Toxic relationship
Minor: Cursing and Sexual content
themixedpages's review
DNF at 18%. The writing style is super cute, but the excessive use of vomiting in the first chapter was not great for me, and the characters were super unlikeable.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Vomit
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