Reviews with content warning for Toxic relationship - Built to Last

Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Built to Last by Erin Hahn

11 reviews

liciaaaaa's review against another edition

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funny hopeful relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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kelly_e's review against another edition

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funny hopeful lighthearted 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

3.5

Title: Built to Last
Author: Erin Hahn
Genre: Romance
Rating: 3.50
Pub Date: October 18, 2022

I received a complimentary eARC from St. Martin's Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. #Gifted #Ad

T H R E E • W O R D S

Sweet • Hospitable • Basic

📖 S Y N O P S I S

Shelby Springfield has spent the last ten years trying to overcome her past, sanding it away like the rough spots on the vintage furniture she makes over. But as a former child star, it’s hard to forget a widely documented meltdown and huge public break up with her former co-star Lyle Jessup. It’s also hard to forget her other co-star and childhood sweetheart, Cameron Riggs—the one who got away.

Anytime Shelby has called, Cameron has come running… And then he runs right off again to chase stories around the world by making documentaries, too scared to admit what he really wants. But when Lyle stirs the pot, getting the two back in the spotlight with a home renovation show, Cameron can't help but get on board.

There's something in it for everyone—almost. Cameron wants to set down some roots. Shelby wants to prove she's not the messy party girl anymore. And a jealous Lyle can’t help but try to get in the way. But for his two childhood friends who had more chemistry than he could ever dream of, nothing is getting in the way of their second chance at love.

💭 T H O U G H T S

I added Built to Last to my TBR based on the cute cover and the home renovation/reality TV show elements. I wasn't aware of Erin Hahn's previous books, but it makes sense she'd have a backlist of YA titles because I did find aspects of it in this adult romance.

Told in dual POVs, Shelby and Cameron's characters initially drew me into the story. They had good banter and it was clear to see how deeply they cared from one another despite everything. I was engaged with their story through the first half as I was getting to know them. Yet, by the second half the conflict has been resolved and not a whole lot happened from this point on. The ending wrapped up a little too nicely for my liking and made it less believable. There is a lot of backstory with this one, to the point it overtook the romance. Because of all of this, the characters felt one-dimensional.

I did really enjoy the house flipping, getting a behind the scenes look at show production, and the furniture hunting. The small town setting was portrayed realistically and some of the secondary characters were absolute gems.

Overall, Built to Last had a many solid parts, however, they ended up coming together in an underwhelming fashion. It certainly was a bad book, but rather a typical romance that won't stick in my mind. I'd read this author again if there was a book the piqued my interest and could see how readers who read a lot of rom-coms might like this one more than I did.

📚 R E A D • I F • Y O U • L I K E
• second chance romance
• childhood friends
• house flipping

⚠️ CW: sexual content, toxic relationship, toxic friendship, emotional abuse, child abuse, gaslighting, abandonment, infidelity, alcohol, mental illness, alcoholism, eating disorder, cursing

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"Child stars have this weird quirk where they're never really kids to begin with, but they never grow up either."

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nitya's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Second chance romance and friends to lovers in a Midwestern setting?? This book was made for me 🥺🥺

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theespressoedition's review

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4.0

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kalynaobyrne's review

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funny lighthearted 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

4.75

I really enjoyed this book! The book follows two former child stars that have a second chance romance when they team up to shoot a pilot for a home renovation show. I loved that the big conflict was more external than internal. I really liked that their former co-star was the villain. I thought it added an interesting aspect. I really liked that Shelby and Cameron sorted their stuff out individually and when they finally had their conversation, it was healthy and worked for them. By communicating clearly they were able to avoid the miscommunication mess that is in so many romance books.

I loved all the side characters! Based on some of the reviews I’ve read it seems like some of them may be getting spin-off books which I look forward to reading!

Overall, this was a 4.75 for me! Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s press for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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kfmcf's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I loved this book. I thought the characters were cute, the story was fun, and it was sexy in a very grounded way. I don't think it's perfect but I made me laugh and think and feel and escape reality for a bit.
I am a big fan of the really slice of life rom coms, which this very much is. Yes there's the added aspect of ex-child stars but they're adults.

could do with out the proposal trope but that's just me I think. I just don't think marriage is necessary all the time right away.

I also very much want to read Hahn's YA books now. And I'll pick up whatever her next adult romance is as well!

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culzean's review against another edition

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funny hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

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cakt1991's review against another edition

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funny hopeful 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

4.0

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.

Built to Last is Erin Hahn’s adult romance debut, after having gotten her start in YA, and I really enjoyed it. And I appreciate that she started with a childhood friends-to-lovers/second chance story, as I feel like her background allowed her to flesh out the backstory well.

One of the things that makes the story shine is the intimate focus on the characters. There’s a lot of history between them and some other major characters, and I love the way this was developed. Shelby in particular is easy to like and root for. She’s a former teen actress and singer, and while she’s not a one-to-one stand-in for anyone in particular, I couldn’t help but get vibes of Jennette McCurdy in Shelby’s toxic relationship with her mom, mixed with a bit of Britney Spears in how the paparazzi and press hounded her…not to mention the scumbag ex, Lyle, who continues to try to defame her, when he was the one who did her wrong. I appreciate how she’s trying to prove herself and how she’s changed in her time away with this new home renovation project, even if the press is notoriously misogynistic and unforgiving.

Cameron is Shelby’s other former co-star, in addition to Lyle, and while he and Shelby had feelings for each other which they explored a bit back then, it was always the wrong time, what with the public shipping her and Lyle, since they were the main couple on their show. As a contrast to the mega-douche Lyle, Cameron is literally the sweetest and would do pretty much anything for Shelby.

The pacing of the book is a bit odd at times, because there will be moments where very little happens, then a lot happens. It toes the line between being low-angst and being high on romantic tension…it’s very centered on “will-they, won’t-they.” But one plus is that once they do, it’s for good, as there is no third-act breakup, and they really are “built to last,” with a firm foundation beneath them.

My one complaint is that I feel Lyle should have gotten more of a comeuppance. He’s just allowed to continue in his producer role and profit off the show, even if he’s put in his place somewhat. While I could see it being a logistical nightmare on the production side of things, I feel he should have been given more consequences.

This is a charming, fairly lighthearted read, and one I’d recommend to anyone who enjoys friends to lovers, second chance, and/or celebrity romances.

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dianaschmidty's review against another edition

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adventurous funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted relaxing sad fast-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

4.25

Disney-like child stars meets HGTV meets second chance romance? And it’s dual POV?! Perfect premise!

Cam and Shelby just oozed chemistry and amazing dialogue. I loved how open and honest they were with each other after having dealt with years of miscommunication. It was super refreshing to read a romcom where the main characters aren’t torn apart by their dumb decisions, just torn by circumstances, which is very realistic.

I also thought Cam and Shelby’s respective friends added a lot to the book. Even though there were a lot of characters, each was fully fleshed out and added something to the story.

The song titles for the chapters was amazing! I even ended up making a Spotify playlist with all of the songs, because Erin Hahn clearly has great taste in music!

The novel did a great job at making me feel connected to Shelby and Cam from the first page, with me already being mad at Shelby on Cam’s behalf by page three! I felt that way the whole book.

While the writing felt a little off and clunky near the beginning, since this is an ARC, I’m hopeful those issues will be corrected with the published edition!

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Griffin, and Erin Hahn for providing me access to this book.

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izzyf16's review against another edition

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5.0

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