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skylover's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.25
Moderate: Death of parent and Child death
miilk's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Graphic: Infidelity and Death of parent
Moderate: Child death, Alcohol, Car accident, Cursing, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Misogyny, and Toxic friendship
The characters started off okay and then got pretty annoying. But lots of drama and emotional Infidelity which was too be expected and for what it was did keep the story entertainingabbeyroad1410's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Now to the actual plot of the book. The main characters, Laurie and Jack are absolutely despicable people, but not in a way that reading about them keeps you invested.
Laurie is a sad-sack who says she has ambitious but mostly complains about not achieving as much as she wants. In addition, for as ambitious as she claims she is in the journalism industry, we never truly see her succeed. She also happens to be the worst best friend ever. I would much rather read a book about the dynamic, forgiving, and caring, Sarah. She has trauma which she briefly discloses, but it mostly seems to work as an excuse to get with her best friend's boyfriend.
Jack, similarly, is terrible. He seems to sleep with anyone who will distract him from Laurie. Additionally, he likes to claim that he's doing the right thing for both of them, but that seems to be a way of preventing the development of a guilty conscience. I can't decide if I hate him more or less than Laurie, but I think I'm going to go with more for many reasons.
Overall, this book cannot overcome its despicable main characters. The main problem could've been solved three years into the decade long saga (if not sooner), and it would've saved a lot of characters a lot of hurt.
Moderate: Car accident, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Child death
abbykruth's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Moderate: Death of parent, Death, and Child death
miranda_is_reading's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Moderate: Alcohol
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Car accident, Child death, Death of parent, and Infidelity
thatswhatshanread's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Also, our MMC wasn’t especially charming or redeeming? It was hard to root for them getting together after reading all this build up of how he treated the other women in his life. Idk.
The writing was good and I liked the setting for the most part, I just really wish the characters were more developed and the plot lines more exciting and thought-provoking.
Graphic: Pregnancy, Death of parent, Death, Grief, Car accident, and Child death
Moderate: Infidelity, Sexual content, Cursing, Infertility, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Misogyny and Sexism
theonlybaillie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
The main characters in this book felt very real to me...in the sense that they had very annoying flaws that were, unfortunately, realistic IMO. Jack was emotionally immature and wanted to blame others and deflect any emotional pain or self-wrongdoing. Laurie was a pushover and bent to others wishes and plans until the end of the book where she finally decided that enough was enough and took ownership of her life (FINALLY!).
Relationships ebb and flow as seasons of life change, and I love that Jack, Sarah, and Laurie were still part of each others lives throughout their twenties. Lifelong friendships are a blessing, even though they can get quite messy over the years.
Overall, I enjoyed this one. It is not the light-hearted Christmas read that most people look for this time of year, but I appreciated the story that it told.
I also appreciated the phrase "kissed stardust into my mouth", because I have never heard it before and thought it was creative and funny. :)
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Sexual content, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Infidelity, Alcohol, and Car accident
elyhaumor's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Moderate: Infidelity and Death of parent
Minor: Child death
kfquarium's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Sexual content, Alcohol, and Infidelity
Moderate: Cursing, Grief, Death, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
Minor: Car accident and Child death
laurataylor's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Car accident, Child death, Grief, Toxic relationship, Death, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Death of parent, Infidelity, Sexual content, and Medical content