Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Girl Gone Viral by Alisha Rai

8 reviews

wilybooklover's review

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emotional hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

5.0

There's nothing I love more than a cute romance between two kind, generous people, and that was this book to a tee. They had such a soft dynamic that really fit their sweet and caring personalities. Plus, the first half of the book has some top-tier mutual pining which is a trope I adore.

I really enjoyed the portrayal of mental health, anxiety/panic attacks, and trauma/PTSD. It was handled with such care and respect without taking away from the lightheartedness of the book. I also enjoyed that the book showcased such an amazing friendship between Katrina and her friends. I just love seeing strong female friendships in romance.

I did feel as though there were a tad too many side-plots that sort of took the spotlight away from the romance a bit. There was the original viral side-plot, then a side-plot with Jas's family, then a side-plot with his military past, then a side-plot with Katrina's dad... I would've preferred a little less of that and a bit more of the cute domestic scenes. But I loved the book regardless!
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cheypreston's review against another edition

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emotional funny 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? No

4.75

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noyastan's review against another edition

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medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
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this_momma_is_booked's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Thanks to a friend's suggestion, I decided to listen to this one rather than read it and I feel like it definitely elevated the story for me. The dialogue itself can be a bit trite at times and simplistic, but this actually works really well in an audiobook because the story is easy to follow along with.

I really loved the story behind Katrina and Jas's relationship and the reasons why they weren't together even though they were pining for each other made complete sense. I also love that Rai upped the level of dramatic elements in this book, weaving in talks of mental health, domestic abuse, kidnapping, shitty parents, etc.

Overall, I would recommend this only if listened to, not read, and I am looking forward to listening to the third book in the series!

CW: parental neglect, relationship abuse, mental health triggers, PTSD
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kylieqrada's review

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted sad 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

3.5 ⭐s. I really liked this! I loved Katrina in The Right Swipe, and I was excited to read her romance. I'm happy that I can add Alisha Rai to my small collection of body positive romance writers. Jas was such an adorable hero, and I loved his backstory and characterization. The whole secluded farmhouse with your bodyguard trope was 😍😍😍😍. Especially when Doodle arrived on the scene??? And Jas' family was precious. The peach jokes 😂😂😂. I also loved how realistic their sex scene was. 10/10 for first time in a long time realness. 
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lauren_the_bookworm's review

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emotional lighthearted 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

5.0

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stromjm's review

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring slow-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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earlgaytea711's review

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emotional inspiring reflective slow-paced
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

 I have some mixed feelings about this book. I really enjoyed it overall but it was rather slow paced. I love a good slow burn and mutual pining but also I feel like it dragged on. I’m not sure if I would have been able to finish this if I hadn’t listened to the audiobook instead of physically reading it. 

Onto what I did love! There’s so much. Obviously I did enjoy the tropes this book is based on. As someone who started reading romance as fanfiction, I really appreciated the tropes used here since they are mainstays in fanfiction. Mutual Pining and Slow Burn are just so good and I think pretty well done here despite the pacing.

I also loved Katrina. She was sweet but flawed and knew that. I loved the depiction of her anxiety. As someone with general anxiety disorder, it was interesting to read about how anxiety manifests differently for different people. I do think that if reading about panic attacks or if things that focus on anxiety trigger you, don’t pick this one up, but otherwise I really enjoyed seeing mental health displayed so openly and non-judgmentally.

Speaking of open mental health, I really loved watching Jas’s journey with his own mental health. It was so fun and heartwarming reading his journey. I’m not usually one for military/vet heroes but I think Rai approached this in a good way. Showing the issues vets have when they leave the military and how hard it is for them to adjust. Again, if you have issues reading about PTSD especially when related to war or the military sit this one out.

I also really loved how Jas and Katrina learn and grow from each other. Too often in romances, I’ve noticed only one person really grows from the ups and downs that take place in the novel and I think Rai did an excellent job of showing them growing together.

Now onto what didn’t vibe with me. Again, the pacing. It felt like nothing much happened until after the 60% mark. I get that for slow burn and pining there needs to be built up, but I think it could have a better balance between establishing the tropes and keeping the pace up so the story doesn’t get boring. I took a pretty big break in the middle of this book because the plot didn’t keep me interested until later in the book.

That being said, this book still drew out my emotions. (Warning vague spoilers ahead I think) I found myself cheering for Katrina and Jas out loud when they were able to defeat their personal demons. I teared up when they couldn’t. I laughed out loud at several situations. It was overall, a joy to read. Like I said, if panic attacks, anxiety talk, and PTSD talk trigger you, I’d sit this one out but otherwise it’s a great depiction of mental health, overcoming obstacles, and still being able to find love. 
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