Scan barcode
blackveilbeccy's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Alcohol, Grief, Sexual content, and Death of parent
Moderate: Misogyny and Panic attacks/disorders
beebowbabe's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, and Sexism
luna_lovelace's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I appreciated how the author didn't shy away from giving Dominic AND Shay flaws that they had to face.
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders and Death of parent
vj_thompson's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Sexual content, Grief, Alcohol, and Misogyny
Moderate: Cursing, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexism
Minor: Racism and Cancer
thewildmageslibrary's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Sexual content, Sexism, Grief, and Misogyny
Moderate: Death of parent, Cancer, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Death
bbygirl21's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I'd still recommend it. The plot was good, I loved the characters, and there were a lot of really funny moments scattered throughout.
Graphic: Grief, Misogyny, Cursing, Sexism, and Sexual content
Moderate: Alcohol, Death of parent, Racism, and Death
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders and Cancer
mirandap442's review against another edition
- 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
2.75
Graphic: Gaslighting, Sexual content, Panic attacks/disorders, Alcohol, Death of parent, and Sexism
Moderate: Cursing, Grief, and Misogyny
Minor: Mental illness and Cancer
cassielaj's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Cursing, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual content
kirareadssometimes's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Death of parent, Misogyny, and Sexism
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders
thatswhatshanread's review against another edition
- 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? No
3.25
The Ex Talk has everything you expect from a novel of this genre—it pretty much follows the romcom formula to a T. In my head I was checking off this list below as each thing happened, waiting for the next, knowing it would be coming.
* Enemies-to-lovers
* Fake dating
* Forced proximity/stuck together
* Workplace romance
* One bed
* Ridiculously petite MC and ridiculously tall male lead
* Age gap
* Several pivotal work crises
* The eureka moment of clarity and self-discovery
* The romantic grand gesture
In this way, relatedly, I was never super invested in the main couple. Everything felt a little too on the ball. There was some great banter and some great spice, but overall I never really got that empathetic-butterflies-in-your-stomach feeling while reading about them. Still, they were cute.
Miscommunication does run a little rampant at times, which sort-of stunts the flow of the story near the middle-end. Of course, this is common in an enemies-to-lovers fake dating novel, and I understand the reason for the easily avoidable conflicts that arose, though it did annoy me. JUST ADMIT YOU LIKE EACH OTHER. HOW CAN YOU BE THAT OBLIVIOUS??!
Anyway. This is not to single The Ex Talk out. Many romcoms do this. I think maybe I’ve just gotten to the point where I’ve read too many books with similar plots to this one, so it’s not as exciting anymore. And maybe also I will forever compare every one of them to Beach Read and/or The Love Hypothesis. Oops.
Graphic: Cursing, Grief, Sexual content, Death of parent, and Sexism
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders and Cancer
Minor: Vomit