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lethaltea's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
That’s the best way I can describe this book.
Please please please read the TW before you pick this one up. It really caught me off guard.
Graphic: Ableism, Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Cancer, Infertility, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Emotional abuse
sunfalls's review against another edition
- 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
I think I appreciate the fact that Helen Hoang attempted to write romance books featuring autistic characters because there is a sad stereotype that infantilizes autistic people, even adults, and it's important to have representation that shows that autistic people are adults and fully capable of having love and romance, not babies that need to be cooed over and pitied. However, I feel like the first two books fall woefully flat, despite good intentions. If anything, the first book enforces really harmful stereotypes, where with the "right" man, an autistic woman's symptoms will change, or that her autism is just "quirks" of her personality, like she is just an eccentric choosing to not follow the norm. The second book makes it worse, since autistic men are more often accommodated and diagnosed properly than autistic women are, and the second book reinforces the first book's failings by showing a relationship where an autistic man is accepted and loved as he is. Khai's treatment is a direct antithesis to Stella's treatment, since Esme changes her behavior and interactions with him to accommodate his needs, while Michael seems to make Stella's behaviors change to override her needs. I am not an expert or anything, so all of this might just be an incorrect reading of these books; however, I feel like while the representation was good, there were other lacking things in those first two books.
Now on to the things I enjoyed in this book, entirely separate from how it compares to the first two books in this series: I really liked Anna's journey, not only through her relationship with Quan, but with her relationship with herself as well as with her family. This felt like a very personal thing to read about, but it really resonated with me because of how similar certain elements are to my own experiences. I really admire the way that Anna managed, both with the help of her therapist and her diagnosis and especially Quan, to work on healing herself and breaking herself out of the traps that her family's strict expectations placed on her. I like how real everyone in this book was, as well as how both Anna and Quan had their own separate issues to deal with, and by trusting in each other, they were able to make steps that they hadn't been able to make earlier in their lives. Of course, their relationship and trust with one another wasn't all that it took to get them to make those changes and improve their self love and self confidence, as well as their lives, and that was great to read about too. That both Quan and Anna managed to make changes and process things together and on their own was amazing to read about. It would have been easy for them to become co-dependent on each other, but they didn't. They made progress and changes, together and alone. I can't think of a single reason why I would dislike this book. It might not have been perfect, but life never is. I really like the way this book doesn't treat any of their problems as one and done either; most people don't have one giant crisis in their lives that they fix and then live happily ever after. I like that the ending of this book ended with them making great strides and progress to live in a better manner towards themselves than they had been, but the ending of the book doesn't try creating any delusions towards a happy ever after ending. I appreciate that realness. I also like the ending for Quan and MLA as being more of a beginning, since after the acquisition with LVMH, there would presumably be more work for Quan to do. I like that he got an outcome with the company that would be good for the company and Quan as well, remaining on as CEO. Overall, I liked this book in a lot of ways. Well worth the read, and much much better than the first two.
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Gaslighting
cup_of_rosie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I really did want to love this book but for some reason it just really didn’t do it for me.
Moderate: Ableism, Cancer, and Emotional abuse
stardust_heidi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
It was harder to read than I expected just due to the content, mentally challenging, that is. It’s very intense. So if you’re looking for a feel-good, less emotionally intense romance, I’d probably find something else.
Graphic: Ableism, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Gaslighting
sarah_chapman's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Ableism, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, and Gaslighting
instalovewithbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
thefatpaperback's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Ableism, Cancer, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
skydelks's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Ableism, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, and Gaslighting
aesantiago's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Grief, Medical trauma, and Death of parent
Moderate: Cancer and Suicidal thoughts
bookwormbullet's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Ableism, Cancer, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Death of parent, and Gaslighting