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natekka's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
toni7tess's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.25
The romance didn't work for me and - honestly - Jack is a real asshole for most of the book. Rude to everyone for no reason and very unlikeable. I have no idea why we should be expected to root for him and Laurie. I'm Team Oscar all the way; had the book ended halfway through, it would have been the perfect love story. The stars this book is getting from me are for the writing style which I mostly enjoyed (apart from when the internal monologuing got a bit much) and the very last bit of the book - the ending was cute! But other than that there wasn't really a love story between the two main characters and what little there was was cheating on their respective partners, so that's not fun. Plus, what was clearly marketed as a Christmas Romance has too little actual Christmas in it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Child death
emilywemily6's review against another edition
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
This one is hard to rate. I think this is not the romance for me. The bus stop moment at the very beginning and the very last scene both made my heart melt, but I didn’t really enjoy anything in the middle. It did not feel like a romance to me because the book spanned across 9-10 years and basically showcased defining moments in the lives of these characters. It felt more like a general fiction with a romance subplot. But even then, I did NOT like Jack as a person. He’s honestly terrible. And I wasn’t really a fan of Laurie either. This book felt like I was reading about realistic, messy people, but I didn’t care about these characters or connect with them. The tropes of fated mates/soul mates is not one I am on board with personally when it comes to romance. I didn’t see the chemistry between the characters either. Others have mentioned that there is a lot of emotional cheating and putting a toe across the boundary line and I was not ok with that. Jack was way worse at it than Laurie, who actually tried to build a life even though it was clear that Oscar and her were not living in the same world. This book had almost nothing I like in a romance. I also feel like it was lacking in holiday/December vibes. While I liked how everything was split up into years and dates, it made it hard to keep track of where we were in the timeline (i.e. how long so-and-so had been engaged, how many years it had been since the bus stop meeting, etc.)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Grief, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Classism
Moderate: Infertility, Car accident, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child death, Medical content, and Pregnancy
skylover's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.25
I needed a lighthearted read after getting into too many romantasy books and this story checked the box. While I enjoyed Sarah and Laurie's friendship, the rest of this plot was repetitive and dry. I really didn't like Jack. It didn't sound like he even knew or liked Laurie the first time he met her at the New Year's party. He was awful toward Oscar, in that "I'm the only one who can have her" mindset even though he himself was taken, him telling Laurie not to tell Sarah about their kids after he initiated it and acting like they were equally guilty when that was his fault, and how he never seemed to care for anyone - even Laurie!! - especially when it came to romance (that Amanda and Sarah both tensed as he tried to arouse them when he dated them respectively shows that he isn't as generous in bed as first believed) and only career-focused like Oscar as well. . While this is technically a "love at first sight" book, it felt dull at the end when they FINALLY got together but you don't get any of the reward about where they end up, especially after time jumps of TEN years, we can't get a 10 months later chapter?? Let alone, feel any chemistry between them?? Their romance seemed like the type that liked each other because they couldn't have each other, not because of their actual characteristics . This book also was a comedy to me with the amount of times Laurie said she wasn't religious but then went on to say "God knows" or "Only God would know" - like m'am, God doesn't know anything if you're not religious. Also the typos were the same amount of times alcohol these people consumed were mentioned.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death and Death of parent
heyitscin's review against another edition
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity and Death of parent
Moderate: Car accident
tiredfangirl's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Car accident, and Death of parent
miilk's review against another edition
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, Cursing, Infertility, Misogyny, Medical trauma, Car accident, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
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 entertainingreb_knits's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
relaxing
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? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Addiction and Car accident
abbeyroad1410's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
I'm going to start by saying the actual writing of this book was wonderful. The formatting was interesting and a unique concept that kept me engaged until the end, even though the rest of the story drove me absolutely nuts. Jumping between dates and years can be confusing and convoluted, but having them sectioned off was very creative.
Now to the actual plot of the book. The main characters, Laurie and Jack are absolutely despicable people, but not in a way that reading about them keeps you invested.
Laurie is a sad-sack who says she has ambitious but mostly complains about not achieving as much as she wants. In addition, for as ambitious as she claims she is in the journalism industry, we never truly see her succeed. She also happens to be the worst best friend ever. I would much rather read a book about the dynamic, forgiving, and caring, Sarah. She has trauma which she briefly discloses, but it mostly seems to work as an excuse to get with her best friend's boyfriend.
Jack, similarly, is terrible. He seems to sleep with anyone who will distract him from Laurie. Additionally, he likes to claim that he's doing the right thing for both of them, but that seems to be a way of preventing the development of a guilty conscience. I can't decide if I hate him more or less than Laurie, but I think I'm going to go with more for many reasons.
Overall, this book cannot overcome its despicable main characters. The main problem could've been solved three years into the decade long saga (if not sooner), and it would've saved a lot of characters a lot of hurt.
Now to the actual plot of the book. The main characters, Laurie and Jack are absolutely despicable people, but not in a way that reading about them keeps you invested.
Laurie is a sad-sack who says she has ambitious but mostly complains about not achieving as much as she wants. In addition, for as ambitious as she claims she is in the journalism industry, we never truly see her succeed. She also happens to be the worst best friend ever. I would much rather read a book about the dynamic, forgiving, and caring, Sarah. She has trauma which she briefly discloses, but it mostly seems to work as an excuse to get with her best friend's boyfriend.
Jack, similarly, is terrible. He seems to sleep with anyone who will distract him from Laurie. Additionally, he likes to claim that he's doing the right thing for both of them, but that seems to be a way of preventing the development of a guilty conscience. I can't decide if I hate him more or less than Laurie, but I think I'm going to go with more for many reasons.
Overall, this book cannot overcome its despicable main characters. The main problem could've been solved three years into the decade long saga (if not sooner), and it would've saved a lot of characters a lot of hurt.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Car accident, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Child death
conglomerationofchaos's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Death, and Death of parent