Scan barcode
jomjom's review
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Infidelity
Moderate: Alcohol, Medical trauma, Medical content, Child death, Toxic friendship, Car accident, Cursing, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, and Misogyny
miilk's review
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity and Death of parent
Moderate: Child death, Alcohol, Car accident, Cursing, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Misogyny, and Toxic friendship
The characters started off okay and then got pretty annoying. But lots of drama and emotional Infidelity which was too be expected and for what it was did keep the story entertainingjanetteb12's review
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? N/A
3.5
I was more interested in the plot than the characters until about page 100. And then after that, every missed connection between Laurie and Jack felt like another knife to the heart, with how invested I’d become in them. You definitely root for them to finally connect, and the journey along the way can be a little frustrating at times.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Death, Child death, Death of parent, Grief, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Pregnancy, Car accident, and Infidelity
Minor: Car accident, Infidelity, and Pregnancy
writtenbydnicole's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
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
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing
Moderate: Alcohol, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Infidelity, Medical content, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Car accident, and Sexual content
xx_coco's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I wanted a cute winter read, and after loving The Two Lives of Lydia Bird, I wanted to give this book by Josie Silver a chance too. I went into this one with high expectations and ended up a bit let down.
Laurie doesn't really believe in love at first sight, then one day as she's sitting on the bus home from work, she locks eyes with a handsome stranger at the bus stop outside. There's a momentary, inexplicable spark between them, and then the bus drives away. Laurie spends the next year scanning the streets of London in the hopes of finding her mystery man, but by an unfair turn of fate he ends up being her best friend Sarah's new boyfriend, Jack. What follows is ten years of friendship, growth, and plenty of ups and downs for the three friends as they navigate life in their twenties.
I'm all for far-fetched and fanciful romance, even the "fated soulmates" trope in contemporary love stories gets me right in the gut (can you tell I'm a romantic?). It was hard for me to connect with any of the characters in this story. It isn't that they were poorly written or awful people, well mostly they weren't, but I can't stand when characters make so many stupid decisions it gives you the desire to physically shake them. It's infuriating when missed opportunities are the product of two characters wanting to say something then refusing to do it over and over again. It felt like I should have been more sympathetic toward Laurie's pain when she finds out Sarah is dating Jack, but she literally knew nothing about him and was convinced they were meant to be together even after a year passes looking for him. All she needed to do was have one awkward conversation with Sarah about Jack being the same man from the bus stop and she would have saved herself a lot of trouble.
I felt like all of the characters were lying to themselves at many points throughout the book. None of them seemed overwhelmingly happy with their lives, maybe they were even a bit out of touch with themselves, and the dissatisfaction builds up to some crushing moments for Laurie, Sarah, and Jack. I commend this story for how it handles the loss of a loved one, relationships, and feeling adrift in your twenties. There's a lot of focus on the intricacies of relationships and how complicated it can be to maintain them. I wish this would have been more about Laurie and Sarah's friendship as they grow through their twenties together, instead of revolving around the brief interaction between Laurie and Jack at the beginning fo the story. There were too many plot points that felt forced, and this particular love triangle, if you want to call it that, wasn't thrilling or exciting. It just ended up hurting a lot of people.
This one was a miss for me. It had promise in the beginning, but I think the change in POV from chapter to chapter was a bit overwhelming and the love story didn't feel believable in the end.
Laurie doesn't really believe in love at first sight, then one day as she's sitting on the bus home from work, she locks eyes with a handsome stranger at the bus stop outside. There's a momentary, inexplicable spark between them, and then the bus drives away. Laurie spends the next year scanning the streets of London in the hopes of finding her mystery man, but by an unfair turn of fate he ends up being her best friend Sarah's new boyfriend, Jack. What follows is ten years of friendship, growth, and plenty of ups and downs for the three friends as they navigate life in their twenties.
I'm all for far-fetched and fanciful romance, even the "fated soulmates" trope in contemporary love stories gets me right in the gut (can you tell I'm a romantic?). It was hard for me to connect with any of the characters in this story. It isn't that they were poorly written or awful people, well mostly they weren't, but I can't stand when characters make so many stupid decisions it gives you the desire to physically shake them. It's infuriating when missed opportunities are the product of two characters wanting to say something then refusing to do it over and over again. It felt like I should have been more sympathetic toward Laurie's pain when she finds out Sarah is dating Jack, but she literally knew nothing about him and was convinced they were meant to be together even after a year passes looking for him. All she needed to do was have one awkward conversation with Sarah about Jack being the same man from the bus stop and she would have saved herself a lot of trouble.
I felt like all of the characters were lying to themselves at many points throughout the book. None of them seemed overwhelmingly happy with their lives, maybe they were even a bit out of touch with themselves, and the dissatisfaction builds up to some crushing moments for Laurie, Sarah, and Jack. I commend this story for how it handles the loss of a loved one, relationships, and feeling adrift in your twenties. There's a lot of focus on the intricacies of relationships and how complicated it can be to maintain them. I wish this would have been more about Laurie and Sarah's friendship as they grow through their twenties together, instead of revolving around the brief interaction between Laurie and Jack at the beginning fo the story. There were too many plot points that felt forced, and this particular love triangle, if you want to call it that, wasn't thrilling or exciting. It just ended up hurting a lot of people.
This one was a miss for me. It had promise in the beginning, but I think the change in POV from chapter to chapter was a bit overwhelming and the love story didn't feel believable in the end.
Content Warnings
Minor: Cancer, Death, Medical trauma, Child death, and Grief
More...