Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Faça Chuva ou Faça Sol by Rachel Lynn Solomon

16 reviews

martachbc's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes

3.75

Solomon has carved herself a nice little niche of Seattle-based, media-centric workplace romances. The Ex Talk focused on radio, and with Weather Girl, we move into the exciting world of local news. 

𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕡𝕝𝕠𝕥:: Ari Abrams is a weather girl who tries to prevent anything from raining on her parade. Her always-cheerful attitude resulted in her being dumped for not being real enough, but it helps her survive her toxic workplace, where her two bosses, who happened to be exes, are constantly at each other’s throats. She teams up with sportscaster Russell to reunite the wayward lovers in the hopes of making their professional lives better. But when she starts spending more time with Russell, she starts to wonder if romance might be in the cards for her too.

𝕄𝕪 𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙𝕥𝕤: Don’t hate me for saying this, but Weather Girl just fell a little flat for me! I think I struggled to buy the extremely unprofessional Parent Trap-ping of the bosses - normally I can overlook goofy plotlines in a romance, but it didn’t click for me.

Overall everything just seemed a little nice but a little lackluster. It’s weird because that’s exactly what I did like about two other recent reads, The Suite Spot and Lease on Love. But I never felt drawn to pick up this book -  I was mostly reading it just to get through it.

I really do appreciate that Solomon brought into the mix a few elements we don’t often see in romance: depression (because it’s not sexy but it’s real!) and a male lead who wasn’t carved out of marble and who has his own body issues. Normalize it all! I think Solomon does a great job of normalizing these diverse elements without making it *the* story.

I would describe this as a good spring romance. It’s not necessarily a beach read, it’s not the most fun thing in the world, but it works well for a rainy day. Fittingly, I guess! 

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kdailyreads's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful 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

4.0


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arthur_ant18's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted 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? Yes

4.75


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hayleyw's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective 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


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katiehasanxiety's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing 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

5.0


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allisonwonderlandreads's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring 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? It's complicated

5.0

Ari's a meteorologist who revels in delivering a rainy day forecast, and that's only the first of many things I love about her. She's passionate about her work (women in STEM deserve everything), sees the best in people, and has a definite future in matchmaking. Her identity also boasts #ownvoices Jewish and depression representation.

Ari's experience struck a decidedly personal chord for me. I'm new to a depression diagnosis but long familiar with the reality. This was my first time picking up a book where I saw it on the page and knew I could put that name to my own life, too. I appreciate the trigger warning and the author's note about her personal connection at the beginning because I was deeply affected by the story. I thought it was raw, heartfelt, and relatable, and I found myself unexpectedly crying at one point as I saw myself in one of Ari's Dark Days.

This is a romantic comedy, so I don't mean to misrepresent it with my tears. I also laughed so many times while reading. Ari and Russell are cordial co-workers at the local news station until they decide to Parent Trap their two bosses, whose post-divorce antagonism spoils the office culture. As they scheme, something new and wonderful grows between them, an additional love story to the one they are plotting. It's an open door romance, but to me, it was the tender emotions as much as the spicy elements of their relationship that really made it special. Another note on stellar representation is that I think this is the first romance I've read with a fat hero, an area severely lacking in visibility and acceptance in terms of who is seen as desirable and attractive. Russell also co-parents his twelve-year-old daughter (LOVED her middle school energy, very true to real life) with his ex, and the story shows a loving mixed family environment.

The final standout element for me is the way all relationships have the time and space to grow throughout the story. Work camaraderie, friendships, romance (obviously), and deeply rooted family bonds all get attention on these pages. Especially moving was the new hope for Ari's relationship with her mom as she seeks help with her own depression for the first time.

This was a lovely, emotional read and an example of all that a romance novel can do to represent the human condition in all its mess, gifting us with a peek at the beautiful silver lining that Ari's always looking for. Thanks to Berkley Romance for my copy to read and review.

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