Reviews with content warning for Homophobia - Love & Other Natural Disasters

Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

Love & Other Natural Disasters by Misa Sugiura

29 reviews

stephlo's review against another edition

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medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

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bookishmillennial's review against another edition

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lighthearted reflective fast-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

disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews. I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me here: https://linktr.ee/bookishmillennial

I read this on the plane ride over to Pittsburgh about a week ago & even though it’s messy, I feel like it embodies the awkward, chaotic & conflict avoidant tendencies of sapphic teens 😂

I appreciated the representation of elder generations in the SF Bay Area not being as accepting as the rest of the world thinks we are? Does that make sense? I feel like so many people think that everyone in SF must be extremely liberal and welcoming when it comes to marginalized folks, especially the queer community. However, it’s just not true. Many of us still have family members or people around us that do not support, or approve of our existence. Nozomi wasn’t close to her to begin with & then had to grapple with if she felt it was even important enough to bring up!

Overall, I recognize that Nozomi was a bit selfish, naive, sheltered & acted out of fear/shame but I still loved her & rooted for her, as I knew she’d eventually own up to everything & make better decisions haha.

Lastly, I loved learning about Japanese culture, especially the Tanabata festival also known as the star festival 🫶🏽

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stacy837's review against another edition

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Beginning is too focused on homophobic plot to be enjoyable enough to continue

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sapphicreader_'s review against another edition

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emotional 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

4.5

LET ME JUST SAY FAKE DATING TROPE ANDDDDD A SAPPHIC QUADRUPLE WHERE NONE OF THEM ARE WHITE WITH MY FAVOURITE BOOK COVER EVER? Wow I don’t know what it’s like to lose. I actually fucking adored this book so so much. The plot twist left me shook, the angst was on another level it worked so so well. All the plot lines were amazingly written from Nozomi’s character development and self reflection to her family relationships and the romantic plot lines I was seriously having the time of my life. This book is absolutely amazing and I will cherish it forever. In fact it’s so amazing that I was certain I was gonna give it 5 stars…BUT without spoiling details the couple first getting together at the very end really really left me wanting more. If this book was ever to have a sequel - I would give this one an immediate 5 stars. And it’s not that the payoff wasn’t rewarding because it really really was it’s just that I have this flaw whereby I really want at least a sprinkle of what happens after the two love interests get together and I just hate not knowing haha.
But despite that I thoroughly enjoyed all the sapphic messiness the romantic tension between the characters and the fact that all 4 of them were openly out sapphic women just gave me so much life.
I am so in love with the plot and the sapphic relationship in its book because it really gave me all the buzz - that I need it to become a tv series because there is just so much to explore. I have certain books that I hold dear to my heart but don’t want a media adaptation of. But this is definetly not one of them because imagine how amazing the different scenes would look on screen.
Misa Sugiura I could kiss you this book is everything and more!!! Also having not one but 2 main sapphic couples is everything!!!

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innerspacewaffle's review

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challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Multiple times through this book I closed this book due to how unbearably bad the romance was to almost immediately open it back up to see what happens 10/10

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teddy_books's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing 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? Yes

3.5

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ashbcgc's review

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lighthearted relaxing 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

3.5

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cranewife's review

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective fast-paced

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

2.75

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_eleanorgreen8_'s review

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emotional hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

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

3.5

having read quite a few books by misa sugiura, this one was not my favourite. despite the book being lighthearted and entertaining, the protagonist annoyed me and I felt that the storyline was pretty unrealistic. the whole focus of the book was how the main character romanticised everything and wanted her love life to be like a rom-com, which was quite clichéd.

Nozomi's sudden change of heart when she decided that she and Dela were destined to be together felt quite random and uncalled for as their relationship had barely evolved over the course of the book. it just didn't make much sense to have the whole book be about willow and then suddenly at the very end it's about someone else.

however, the protagonist's reflections and descriptions of her home lfie and problems were interesting and thought provoking. overall, this book was a good holiday read but felt pretty unremarkable and a bit cringe.

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thenovelmaura's review

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funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

4.5

If you're looking for a good sapphic rom-com, then look no further! Our main character, Nozomi, decides that the best way to get a girl to fall for her and change up her wallflower image is to agree to her fake-dating scheme. After all, it works in the movies, right? Unfortunately, Willow is only dating Nozomi to make her ex jealous... and Willow's ex has a new girlfriend who already hates Nozomi's guts... If it sounds like a chaotic mess, that's because it is! But it's also a really fun one.

In between these dating shenanigans, Sugiura weaves in tough topics like dealing with the fallout of a messy divorce and navigating a relationship with an older, homophobic relative. I didn't always agree with Nozomi's actions and you have to be patient in understanding that she has a lot of growing up to do. But if you believe that love conquers all, then she'll steal your heart as quickly as she did mine.

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