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Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'
Make My Wish Come True by Alyson Derrick, Rachael Lippincott
12 reviews
urfavestemme's review against another edition
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- 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
2.75
What I am realizing is how much I hate books which take place in high school and/or is about high schoolers/kids/anyone 21 or younger. However, the famous girl fake dating regular girl trope was super cute. I am an Arden stan. This book also needed to be at least fifteen chapters longer, too quickly paced for my liking.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment
Moderate: Child abuse
gray's review
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
I love this as a cutesy sapphic romance read for Christmas. The plot is not overly complicated and I'm glad they skipped the miscommunication trope altogether. The characters are very lovable (basically I only disliked Lillian here let's be real). There were some inconsistencies that I noticed with the pronouns used for people for example (maybe the editor missed this) but it's not too big of an error that it can just go over my head.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment
Minor: Drug use
amberlfaris's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-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? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment and Alcohol
alexkris's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship and Abandonment
Moderate: Alcohol
mishale1's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-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
3.5
Caroline and Arden were best friends, but Arden left at 14 for Hollywood and hasn’t come back since. She also hasn’t even contacted Caroline in the past 4 years.
It hurt Caroline even more because she was just starting to realize her feelings for Arden before she left.
Arden has hit it big in Hollywood but she’s had to put on a bit of a mask and pretend to be a party girl. That reputation became real after awhile and now the bad girl image is potentially costing her the movie she is dreaming of starring in.
Her agent suggests that Arden is in fact a girl from a small hometown just like the main character. In fact it’s the type of town that’s like a Hallmark movie and goes all out for Christmas. She also claims that Arden is going home to see her former best friend now girlfriend.
Now Arden is stuck going home for the holidays and begging Caroline to pretend to be her girlfriend. Whats in it for Caroline though? She will get to write an article for a magazine about their twelve holiday themed dates. And writing professionally is Caroline’s dream.
At first things are frigid between them but soon they start feeling like long lost friends and the feelings start coming back too.
I enjoyed this book but there wasn’t as much of a focus on the twelve Friday dates as I’d have liked. It also delves into something I hadn’t thought about at first: Caroline pretending to be Arden’s girlfriend isn’t just a cute way for them to potentially fall in love, it is also massively life changing because now Caroline is someone the paparazzi cares about. She can’t ever just be a normal 18 year old after this herself and she never chose to be famous.
It hurt Caroline even more because she was just starting to realize her feelings for Arden before she left.
Arden has hit it big in Hollywood but she’s had to put on a bit of a mask and pretend to be a party girl. That reputation became real after awhile and now the bad girl image is potentially costing her the movie she is dreaming of starring in.
Her agent suggests that Arden is in fact a girl from a small hometown just like the main character. In fact it’s the type of town that’s like a Hallmark movie and goes all out for Christmas. She also claims that Arden is going home to see her former best friend now girlfriend.
Now Arden is stuck going home for the holidays and begging Caroline to pretend to be her girlfriend. Whats in it for Caroline though? She will get to write an article for a magazine about their twelve holiday themed dates. And writing professionally is Caroline’s dream.
At first things are frigid between them but soon they start feeling like long lost friends and the feelings start coming back too.
I enjoyed this book but there wasn’t as much of a focus on the twelve Friday dates as I’d have liked. It also delves into something I hadn’t thought about at first: Caroline pretending to be Arden’s girlfriend isn’t just a cute way for them to potentially fall in love, it is also massively life changing because now Caroline is someone the paparazzi cares about. She can’t ever just be a normal 18 year old after this herself and she never chose to be famous.
Content Warnings
Minor: Abandonment
bookish_hollyx's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment
mangofraiche's review
emotional
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-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
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Drug use, and Abandonment
imstephtacular's review
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug use, Grief, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Minor: Bullying, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
bookcheshirecat's review
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
4.0
„I want you, Arden. That’s all I’ve ever wanted. Can’t you see that?”
I love you, I want to say. I have always loved you.“
➽ This was the perfect swoony Holiday Romance for me! Make My Wish Come True follows teen actress Arden who has to improve her image to land her dream role and ends up fake dating her ex-best friend Caroline. Arden left her hometown behind years ago without a proper Goodbye and Caroline has been trying to move on from her childhood friend and secret crush ever since. She's not thrilled about the fake dating scheme, but agrees to it in the end, as she'll get to write the article. As an aspiring journalist, this might just be the big piece that'll boost her application to Columbia!
➽ The story explores the downside of Hollywood and how Arden had to contort herself into someone she's not. I felt so sorry for her, as she was lonely and apart from her manager, and all the money couldn't give her a loving family. Her parents abandoned her after she got emancipated and was no longer willing to fund their holidays. Now, she's only got her work and even though Arden enjoys acting, she has to pretend to be someone else. Her 'bad girl' image unfortunately became a reality but for her dream role, Arden has to fix her reputation. Being a small-town girl with a cute girlfriend might convince the director to give her the role that could turn around her career! I loved seeing how Arden found herself again in her hometown, surrounded by people who truly loved her. Her grandmother in particular was so precious and I loved her relationship with Arden!
➽ Caroline still hasn't gotten over her first crush. Arden's move to LA gutted her, as she was left behind so easily, despite all their shared experiences. Just when she thinks she'll be able to move on with cute Cheerleader Taylor, Arden comes crashing back into her life. Caroline's passion for journalism prompts her to go along with the fake dating in exchange for being allowed to write the big article about Arden. She's still hurt and hesitant to trust Arden again. However, Caroline slowly begins to see the Arden she knew again, instead of the image she projects to the public!
➽ I loved the romance, it was so cute! I'm not normally super into celebrity romances and fake dating, but here it worked for well. Both characters have a reason to agree to the scheme and I love that they used to be childhood friends that had a secret crush on each other. It almost feels like a second chance romance, even though they never confessed their feelings back in the day! Caroline and Arden go on festive fake dates for the 12 days she's here, but slowly the attraction between them turns real. I was rooting for them, as you could tell the unresolved feelings were coming to light again. After reading this book I found out that the author cowrote it with her wife and you can tell how much care they put into the story!
➽ Despite the festive vibes of the story, this wasn't super Christmas-focused, so it's perfect if you're looking for a more lowkey festive Romance! Caroline even talks about feeling out of place in a Christmas-obsessed small town as she's Jewish and wishes there was a more diverse selection of holiday events!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment
Minor: Drug use, Sexual content, and Alcohol
grace_b_3's review
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
I loved She Gets the Girl, but this one didn’t have the same charm that that one had.
I think this would have been better if the characters were a little older, and more believable that way. The high school angle didn’t mesh well with the celebrity angle.
Also, the fake dating in this was both too much and not enough.Everyone around them knows they’re fake dating, which deflates the tension of fake dating.
There were some interesting plot lines, but they weren’t the romance. I foundArden reconnecting with her grandmother and Caroline reckoning with being Jewish in a Christmas town to be more compelling.
Also,Taylor deserved better.
I think this would have been better if the characters were a little older, and more believable that way. The high school angle didn’t mesh well with the celebrity angle.
Also, the fake dating in this was both too much and not enough.
There were some interesting plot lines, but they weren’t the romance. I found
Also,
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment
Minor: Alcoholism