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dianaschmidty's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
sad
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
3.5
I really liked the romance. The moments between just Eli and Leah gave me butterflies and had the perfect build up before their tension finally broke! I loved their friendship and watching it grow into more was cute. I also liked how Eli learned the difference between his feelings for Victoria and his feelings for Leah. I also enjoyed the addition of Leah’s history in the foster system, something that is not often featured in romance books.
Everything else about the book was a little lackluster. I liked the friends and I liked the possible continuation of a series for Delia and Gray, but the friends were a little too much sometimes, especially Jenna. I think that they meant well with the “makeover,” but that it went too far to the point of decreasing my enjoyment of the book.
Overall, I enjoyed this book and am looking forward to reading more books by this author in the future!
Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Griffin, and Jayne Denker for providing me access to this book.
Everything else about the book was a little lackluster. I liked the friends and I liked the possible continuation of a series for Delia and Gray, but the friends were a little too much sometimes, especially Jenna. I think that they meant well with the “makeover,” but that it went too far to the point of decreasing my enjoyment of the book.
Overall, I enjoyed this book and am looking forward to reading more books by this author in the future!
Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Griffin, and Jayne Denker for providing me access to this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting, Death of parent, Abandonment, Cancer, and Grief
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Child abuse, and Emotional abuse
hrtlss_grl's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-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
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Abandonment, Cancer, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Terminal illness, and Bullying
Moderate: Cancer, Bullying, Death of parent, Grief, Medical content, Emotional abuse, Terminal illness, and Sexual content
Very cute fade to black romance with diverse characters and a plot straight out of a rom-com movie. A nod to all the greats. :) Narrator was a little slow, but otherwise great at making characters stand out from each other._bookstamandy_'s review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
slow-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Abandonment, Death of parent, Grief, and Mental illness
puria's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
It drew me in fast. I liked the plot, it was different then things I have read recently, the setting was unique.
It was well written, I often felt for Leah. There is LGBTQ characters, minority characters, strong female friendships. I liked the diverse group, like Leah it drew me in before Eli did.
It was well written, I often felt for Leah. There is LGBTQ characters, minority characters, strong female friendships. I liked the diverse group, like Leah it drew me in before Eli did.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Terminal illness and Cancer
Minor: Abandonment and Death of parent
emmas_bookshelf's review against another edition
hopeful
slow-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
4.0
The premise of the book was cute and it definitely has the comedy aspect of a rom-com. The love interest Eli is like a big teddy bear, he’s a hopeless romantic who loves kids and the outdoors. Leah is desperate for family and belonging, but also thinks she will never have it. Most of the book is waiting for the two of them to wake up and realize they should be together - but it is a fun read. It’s also low/no steam.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Mental illness
Minor: Alcohol
thesmutsister_emma's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This is an Advanced Review Copy I received to give an honest review
Shoulda Had Duckie
So for starters, this was a pretty decent book. With that being said, I have opinions.
The first 35-40% of the book felt very slow to me. We were consistently shown that Eli was trying to get his ex back and that his friends deemed he had to jump through all of these hoops to be able to do so. That chunk of this book was simply used to show us Eli doing these things. There of course were some interactions with Leah, but one of them felt substantial.
Around the 40% mark, things picked up to be more of my speed. We saw more one on one time with Leah and Eli and saw more of their interactions outside of the group and it was adorable. I flew through this part of the book. From here until about the 75% part, I loved the book. It was so much fun and was so cute.
Yet, around the 75% mark, it started getting stale again. We were having the same issues over and over as well as just feeling like the book was droning on. I also felt like Leah and Eli had a stronger bond than to be having the issues they were having at this point in the book.
The last 10% of the book was pretty solid despite all of this.
The Final Verdict
I feel like this is a pretty decent book for the most part and I will definitely be recommending it to people who I know like these types of tropes within a book.
Shoulda Had Duckie
So for starters, this was a pretty decent book. With that being said, I have opinions.
The first 35-40% of the book felt very slow to me. We were consistently shown that Eli was trying to get his ex back and that his friends deemed he had to jump through all of these hoops to be able to do so. That chunk of this book was simply used to show us Eli doing these things. There of course were some interactions with Leah, but one of them felt substantial.
Around the 40% mark, things picked up to be more of my speed. We saw more one on one time with Leah and Eli and saw more of their interactions outside of the group and it was adorable. I flew through this part of the book. From here until about the 75% part, I loved the book. It was so much fun and was so cute.
Yet, around the 75% mark, it started getting stale again. We were having the same issues over and over as well as just feeling like the book was droning on. I also felt like Leah and Eli had a stronger bond than to be having the issues they were having at this point in the book.
The last 10% of the book was pretty solid despite all of this.
The Final Verdict
I feel like this is a pretty decent book for the most part and I will definitely be recommending it to people who I know like these types of tropes within a book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Abandonment, Cancer, and Death of parent
cover2covertx's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
This was a sweet book with small town drama and heart. I felt like it was an early 2000s WB show in book form and I loved it.
The storyline is bittersweet but has a lot of fun, quirky moments mixed with a slow burn love story and a happily ever after worthy of the many rom coms referenced throughout the book. (LOVED that)
This one does handle some bigger topics such as death of a loved one, abandonment, foster care, mental health, & cancer but the author handled all of this issues very well and with respect.
Worth the read!
The storyline is bittersweet but has a lot of fun, quirky moments mixed with a slow burn love story and a happily ever after worthy of the many rom coms referenced throughout the book. (LOVED that)
This one does handle some bigger topics such as death of a loved one, abandonment, foster care, mental health, & cancer but the author handled all of this issues very well and with respect.
Worth the read!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Cancer and Abandonment
Minor: Mental illness
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