Reviews with content warning for Infidelity - Before We Were Strangers

Already knew from the second chapter that this book would not be up my alley. Wanted to give it a fair chance but the characters really irritated me - only liked Matt’s mom and Ash. I think the characters were portrayed a bit too idealistically and there were a lot of things in their characters that I would have liked to see further developed - like Matt’s relationship with his family and how that affects his romantic relationships, and why Matt trivialised some of Grace’s valid concerns. Idk felt like everything was very surface level and mopey even in their internal dialogues. Similar miscommunication/wrong timing plot as Normal People but without the character’s self awareness and reflection lmao. I also really dislike Grace’s arc

- why did she marry Pornsake and have a kid with Matt? Surely there would have been better ways of developing the plot rather than perpetuating creepy student-teacher relationships. And I hate that Matt got to be the career guy and have a great career but Grace didn’t?

Overall, not a fan.

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bookswithbront's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I’m so conflicted about this book.

The characters drove me insane, and some of the story points didn’t work for me. But at the same time, I didn’t want to put it down.

The “before” parts of this book felt so real and true to what it’s like to fall in love in college. And yet I don’t understand why Matt’s character was so much more developed than Grace’s. Even when she was narrating, I felt like I was seeing her through Matt’s eyes. Matt was so much more nuanced and at times straight-up unlikeable, but I always understood what was going on with him. I think if we’d gotten the same for Grace it would have improved the book exponentially for me.

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lauren717's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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lindseybarnett's review against another edition

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dark emotional inspiring reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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martapsalvado's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

2.75

Meh. I enjoyed reading this for the most part and it's a really easy read. However, a lot of things were wrong with these characters and I didn't find myself really attached to them or their relationship. The plot was kind of repetitive and not that original.

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ivana's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted 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? N/A

3.0

I liked the main characters in this book and I thought the progression of their relationship was very realistic, at least when it comes to the chapters in the past. However, everything in the present seemed rushed and too convinient and unrealistic, especially the very end. This book once again prooves how much I hate miscommunication. I wasn't a big fan of the plot twist either, even though I saw it coming before it was revealed.

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