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marleens's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
This is a tough one to review, because I feel like I went in with the wrong expectations. I wasn’t expecting full-on romcom vibes, but I definitely think that the first 2 books of the series were a lot more lighthearted than this 3rd book. I did absolutely love Anna and Quan, both as separate characters as well as their relationship. Their characters and the romance could have made this a five star read. But the heavy plot was such a big part of the story that it became a very tough read. This is of course a good thing if that was the intention of the author, and I do think she did a great job writing this (and I’m glad I read the author’s note at the end). But this book just made me sad and angry so often, which is not the reading experience I’m looking for in this genre.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Emotional abuse, and Death of parent
Moderate: Cancer and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Infertility and Infidelity
scarroll178's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
This book taught me a lot about autistic burnout and caregiver burnout, and for that I really appreciate it.
It was also written painfully badly in some places. The author tackles a lot of really serious topics in this book, but the pure level of cheese with which she writes about those topics is —
Ugh.
I respect that some of the things she talks about come from her own experience, but here’s the thing: I’m not critiquing those parts of the book. At all. Anna’s sections of the book are much stronger and more grounded than Quan’s sections. For instance, during one very emotionally intense part of the book, Quan talks about his pain in the most embarrassing, edge lord way possible. I’m not gonna take the time to write the full quote, but he’s basically like “I want to break rules, break things, watch smoke blacken the sky. I crave the taste of pain. Nothing could rival this gaping sense of betrayal.” 💀💀💀 The sex scenes were also really boring, and normally that’s something I could force myself through, but in this book there’s a sex scene so bad it made me laugh out loud when I was reading it. Anna is trying to apologize to Quan, and she decides the best way to make up for agreeing to marry another dude is to strip and masturbate for him, to show him how much she trusts him I guess??? Not what they were fighting about btw, there was never any question that Anna trusted Quan. The issue was that HE couldn’t trust HER anymore because SHE AGREED TO MARRY ANOTHER DUDE. The author delivers this scene without a hint of humor or irony. It’s all very serious and earnest, and that just makes it funnier tbh
Yeah… I just couldn’t take this book seriously. I really liked it at first, but it just got worse and worse as it went on. This is the first book in a really long time that I wish I had just put down without finishing, cause the beginning is so much better than the end.
It was also written painfully badly in some places. The author tackles a lot of really serious topics in this book, but the pure level of cheese with which she writes about those topics is —
Ugh.
I respect that some of the things she talks about come from her own experience, but here’s the thing: I’m not critiquing those parts of the book. At all. Anna’s sections of the book are much stronger and more grounded than Quan’s sections. For instance, during one very emotionally intense part of the book, Quan talks about his pain in the most embarrassing, edge lord way possible.
Yeah… I just couldn’t take this book seriously. I really liked it at first, but it just got worse and worse as it went on. This is the first book in a really long time that I wish I had just put down without finishing, cause the beginning is so much better than the end.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism and Suicidal thoughts
ffionjohnson's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
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
5.0
I LOVED THIS SO MUCH. My first ever five star romance! The neurodiversity rep was amazing - there were a couple of outdated terms bUT THEN THE BOOK EXPLAINED THAT “this term isn’t actually used anymore and here’s why” so it was just amazing!!!!! There were only two tiny ick moments for me which is barely ANYTHING for me in a romance and they were very quickly redeemed. So so impressed with this book - I just loved it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Ableism
xandriaisreading's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I found my way back to this series and I'm glad I did. I connected so much with Anna and her journey. It's not far off from the journey I'm currently on.
While her actions can be frustrating, they're understandable. Masking to the point that you lose yourself and sense of control. To get so low to the point she got before she really started to make a change, my heart ached for her. Especially during the conversations with her sister.
I really enjoyed this book just as I have the others. I wish we got to see more interactions with the previous main characters. To have Anna and Stella interact and have someone who more closely understands her struggle would've been interesting to read.
While her actions can be frustrating, they're understandable. Masking to the point that you lose yourself and sense of control. To get so low to the point she got before she really started to make a change, my heart ached for her. Especially during the conversations with her sister.
I really enjoyed this book just as I have the others. I wish we got to see more interactions with the previous main characters. To have Anna and Stella interact and have someone who more closely understands her struggle would've been interesting to read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Death of parent
Minor: Infertility
kenzithereader's review against another edition
emotional
sad
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
3.0
The book wasn't bad, but it was my least favorite of the series. I loved the first two and their lighthearted good time romance with a sprinkle of issues. This third book felt more like it was about the characters struggle with family and autism and was really bleak for a lot of the book. The romance started to feel like the side plot and the story was much heavier than I'd anticipated.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Death of parent
Moderate: Ableism and Infertility
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
evidoe's review
emotional
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
5.0
This is packaged as a romance but I really wouldn’t class it as one. It has romance in it but it,, it deals with some heavy themes around carer burnout and the mental toll of masking neurodivergency that some readers might find a bit raw for a romance but they are the reason I loved this book:
I think that this was half fiction half memoir really shines in this book. As someone who is neurodivergent who masked most of my life AND had been/is a carer for family this book just spoke to my experiences, I don’t think I’ve ever felt so seen.
I think that this was half fiction half memoir really shines in this book. As someone who is neurodivergent who masked most of my life AND had been/is a carer for family this book just spoke to my experiences, I don’t think I’ve ever felt so seen.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Terminal illness, and Death of parent
Moderate: Ableism, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Gaslighting
Minor: Cancer
thebookishlibra_'s review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism and Death of parent
viireads's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
tense
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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Emotional abuse, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, and Death of parent
Moderate: Ableism, Panic attacks/disorders, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Body shaming, Blood, and Alcohol
anapsc's review against another edition
dark
emotional
inspiring
sad
tense
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, and Death of parent
library_kb's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
sad
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? It's complicated
5.0
I really loved this book--first off, Anna and Quan are fantastic characters--the way that they worked to get over their own hurdles together was so satisfying to read about. I would say Anna takes a more central role in the story--and there is definitely some tough stuff that goes down. The way the book was written puts you so close to the characters and their struggles and thoughts that it is important to check content warnings--however if you are at a time to handle the content, highly recommend this story, for some it will validate their own experiences and other it will open eyes to what navigating life as an autistic woman can feel like.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Panic attacks/disorders, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Cancer, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Death of parent