Reviews with content warning for Rape - Dear Ava

I struggled a lot with this book. Certain aspects of the plot were handled really well, and I think the relationship was good - but so much of it just seemed creepy to me. And the last chapter was frustrating, but I guess it worked in context.

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bhopeu's review against another edition

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challenging 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

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areadingkit's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring mysterious reflective tense 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? Yes

4.25

This was such a good book that I enjoyed so much!

Please go into this having read the TWs because it has quite strong prevalence of SA discussions which I thought were done so well despite being such a difficult topic to cover.

Other than that, I really loved the romance which is kind of second chance romance but also enemies to lovers and it was so interesting to read about Knox and Ava though it was way too obvious from the get go that Knox was Ava’s secret admirer and I was sort of disappointed there wasn’t more of that anonymous pen pal trope.

Their actual relationship was so heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time and I loved their dynamics and chemistry, though I do feel like some of their interactions felt a bit too scripted and almost unnatural at times. Like the banter didn’t feel that genuine at times and the pacing of their relationship was a little all over the place for me.

The drama aspect I thought was very good and I loved how prevalent side characters ended up being to the story. But again, some of the writing was a bit weirdly paced and sometimes overly dramatic for the events happening.

I loved loved loved the epilogues and ending of this one though, it was so sweet after sort of breaking my heart with a time jump and I adore that the characters ended up being so family oriented and the end was just so comforting and homey which I think is not often done well enough at the end of romance novels!

Such a good read

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disneyworld2's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

1.0

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marie_thereadingotter's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

3.75

I've had this book on my radar for a while, I've heard some very good things about it, and when I saw it on sale through Kindle, I picked it up.
I can see, to a point, where the good things come from. A girl who doesn't "let" trauma control her. I can see how that would offer praise. But, at the same time, I can see how this could be slightly offensive to people who've lived that trauma. It's a nice message, but I don't think it was handled as well as it could have been. Especially with how quickly she was able to be intimate with someone else. I know healing is different for everybody but I also think that it should have been handled differently.
I liked the dual narrative, but I think it left the reveal of the secret admirer less mysterious. Though I don't think that was really anything more than a MacGuffin in the first place. It wasn't supposed to be a mystery, but then I wonder what the point was.
I liked how things were handled when it came out who did the crime, and how the characters made mature decisions. I dislike how in a lot of these books when things like this happen, the characters "deal with it themselves" when a crime is committed, rather than going to the cops the way they should. And they went to the cops and handled it the way it should be.
I liked that Ava and Lee took time apart after everything as well, it helped them both find their feet so to speak. But I wish Ava had a POV epilogue. It felt like after everything it was more about Lee than Ava.

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lottie_1111's review against another edition

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medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes

3.0

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