Reviews

All Aglow by Bryce Oakley

amandanemer's review

2.0

started so good but at 75% things got really unrealistic for an adult relationship.
had fun during the read tho.

lesbiyinzer's review

funny hopeful lighthearted slow-paced

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

4.75

rakhya's review

As much as I loved the synopsis, the book didn't really work for me. The plot structure felt disconnected, and that did not help the characters and their story arcs stand out.
I will probably try one of the author's longer works next time.

josb's review

funny hopeful lighthearted slow-paced

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

3.0

 Christmas romance that takes place over a 4 years. It was a little funny and offered that Christmas nostalgia, but when your acts take place a year apart for a couple days at a time it can be hard to squeeze in all the feelings of the romance. I felt like I only ever got a taste of the chemistry that the two leads had so when the angsty part hit I knew there was history that would push them through but I didn't really connect with it.

The execution was neat, most Christmas stories revolve around a couple days before Christmas, which can feel very insta-love. This one allowed us to see more of the slow burn and experience the joy of the holiday season multiple times, it just could have used a bit more between acts. 

megglettep's review

2.0

Hoo boy, it is good that this book is so short I could read it all at once because I did not like it very much at all.

I personally think the decision to spread the story out over 4 years was pretty detrimental to my enjoyment. Huge swathes of time pass between the short, 4-day intervals of actual story progression. Add to this that I don't think Stevie was very interesting or compelling beyond the slight mention that she is built and apparently hot. But she seems like a terrible communicator and we have basically no interactions between her and Cass though out the whole novel. The interiority of Cass' infatuation realllly bothered me because it made Stevie seem extremely remote and disinterested in her. I think some pacing and rearranging to have them make up around the NYE of the 2nd year, after they actually take that road trip which is advertised in the book synopsis, would have made for a much better story structure and also more likeable characters.

Also, side question/concern.

Spoiler

Eli smuggled in a shit ton of condoms to that first christmas and was super grumpy and I can only assume this means that he and Mia were cheating together?! Why add that and not give any other likely information. I just.... can't stand that. Eli then has basically no redeeming qualities and is basically a non-entity up to that point anyways. I also think the intermittent comments on their dad's absence really didn't add anything to the story and just was a weird red herring.

I dunno, my review is basically that I didn't like this book. Short as that.

mjburnison's review

funny lighthearted medium-paced

4.25

jmontg18's review

hopeful lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

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

3.0

heyspaghetti's review

emotional funny lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0