Reviews with content warning for Alcohol - Before We Were Strangers

Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

Before We Were Strangers by Renée Carlino

18 reviews

nzmerchant's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad medium-paced

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

1.0

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.

Content Warnings

mimo_'s review against another edition

Go to review page

medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

they should’ve stayed strangers 🥱

Content Warnings

readingwithmeredith's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional reflective medium-paced

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

3.0

Unpopular book opinion time: I know this a favorite of so many but I struggled to connect and really get into the story. The first part of the story I was sucked in and thought I could see why this book was so popular, but then when it flashed to the past it lost me. I kept pushing through but it just never grabbed me in the same way again. It felt like there was so much potential for the characters and connecting on more than physical attraction because of their backstories but I felt like it wasn’t capitalized on. There were glimpses of depth but I wanted more. I also felt like the twists and miscommunications were very predictable and I had guessed it was going to happen before the hallway point of the book. I can sort of see the appeal of this book, but it just fell flat for me. Maybe it just wasn’t the right book for me.

Content notes: I struggled with the use of drugs and alcohol in this book. Normally the use of drugs in a book is an automatic DNF for me but I decided to push through thinking it was going to be a steady theme, but it occurred in at least 4 scenes. This also is open door, which I knew going in, but there were 7 open door scenes scattered throughout the book- which was a lot for me and my taste. There also were a good amount of sensual dialog/jokes and language.

Content Warnings

julierambaeck's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

This is a no from me. Did not like the characters whatsoever, they were childish and they just kept on whining... I found the characters super toxic, and the relationship even more. The maincharacters did not grow at all they were the same throughout the whole story that spans over 15 years and NOTHING happened with them as characters.

Content Warnings

lauren717's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

Content Warnings

lindseybarnett's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

Content Warnings

martapsalvado's review against another edition

Go to review page

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.

Content Warnings

johannslauren15's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging emotional funny hopeful medium-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? It's complicated

4.5

This book was really fun and interesting to read, the relationship between Matt and Grace is pretty predictable although it is like a lot of other stories still find this one unique. Read this book if you like second chance romances or miscommunication tropes. I definitely still find this book underrated, cute, kind of light-hearted but I would say a little cheesy. Give this a chance since this what the book is about!

Content Warnings

More...