Reviews with content warning for Drug use - Dear Ava

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Dear Ava by Ilsa Madden-Mills

18 reviews

sienasummerrreads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

Sometimes the loneliest place on earth is in the midst of a crowd. But that’s okay. I’m here and that means something.

This follows Ava who has a brother she needs to keep an eye on and care for. Abandoned by her mother at a young age and always felt like a second choice. After a high school party that changed everything she is back eight months later with a new look and attitude face to face with the voices who call her names and a liar. Will the truth of that night be revealed?

Loved this new adult stand-alone. It is an emotional read that deals with some heavy topics so be mindful going in. Ava comes from a broken home, she has had to mature young to take care of her special needs brother and will do anything for him. She is strong, resilient and has a point to prove. I loved Ava’s vibe. Knox is the shark and quarterback of the school, he may look rich and family put together on the outside but once you get to know him he is dealing with a lot of guilt but also taking on responsibility. The things this man did in the background for her and helping her without her knowing was beautiful. He may be hiding his feelings but towards her, he has his heart on his sleeve. Enjoyed the storyline, plot and characters. Recommend if you want something more emotional and deep and darker themes.

Audiobook was fantastic love Savannah’s and Zachary’s work.

If you love:

🔹Enemies To Lovers
🔹Sports (NFL)
🔹Opposites Attract
🔹Slow Burn
🔹High School
🔹Chemistry and Intimate Spice

Genre/Type: New Adult & College Romance 18+
APK: Kindle / Audiobook
Pages: 351
Audiobook Length: 10hrs 3mins
Narrators: Savannah Peachwood and Zachary Webber - Dual
Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟
Spice: 🌶️
Series or Stand Alone: Stand Alone
Tropes or Themes: Small Town, Enemies To Lovers, Sports (NFL), Opposites Attract, Slow Burn, High School, College, Chemistry, Guardian, Alcohol, Letters, Vomit, Violence, Blacked Out, Grief, Intimate Tattoo, Sexual Assault, Rape, Suicidal Thoughts, Mental Health and Sexual Content
Mentions: Death Of Parent, Suicide, Drugged Situation and Abandonment
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Content Warnings

monakersch's review against another edition

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dark emotional fast-paced

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

2.5

Content Warnings

domnicmtz's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad 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

Content Warnings

poupimali's review against another edition

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dark emotional lighthearted medium-paced

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

3.5

This was absolutely not what I was expected.
This is not just a light and smooth story about texts and letters exchanged with a secret admirer.
Yes you have that and this is cute
BUT
This talks about serious triggers warning (rape, drugs and intoxication, mental health issues, suicide).
There is a HEA. This is a college romance but there are really heavy subjects all along.

Content Warnings

mallorym8's review against another edition

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3.5

I absolutely loved Dane. He was my favorite and I definitely didn’t expect to cry during a heartbreaking scene with him and Knox. I loved Knox’s and Dane’s sibling relationship and I love how supportive Knox was of Dane. I liked Knox and Ava but I honestly think Dane was one my favorite characters in the book and I wish that we got more of him. This book was predictable but it was still good and I enjoyed reading it. I really wish Dane had his own book tho. I also felt really dumb because it took me way longer than it should’ve to realize out that it was Knox at the end of the book and not some random guy. I also really did like Knox and I liked how under his cold exterior, he was just a kid who had been through more than he should’ve been and he was just trying to help his brother, Ava, and himself. Ava was an extremely strong character, especially after all that she had been through. I also loved Tyler and I loved that Ava was such a great sister (basically a mother) to him. Also loved Wyatt and Piper.

Content Warnings

tyates22's review against another edition

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emotional 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? It's complicated

5.0

Content Warnings

kjenae's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-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? Yes

4.0

wow.
Enchanted- taylor swift (their song)

Ava and Knox’s relationship from the very beginning was very heartbreaking and complex. from the first moment i got to see them interact, i could tell that the chemistry was there. they were truly bound to fall in love. i truly believe that they’d meet and fall in love in every book universe.

• what happened to Ava that tragic night was absolutely heartbreaking and it was extremely infuriating to see the response that she got back from what she went through. no one really knows unless they’ve been in her position, but for Ava to be so strong and come back with a vengeance was so inspiring. and the way she cares so deeply for her brother, Tyler…she’s a great character

• Knox is also a very complex character. him, his brother and his dad have been through HELL. family means everything to him and it was beautiful to read about (although it was still heartbreaking w/ Dane and all). He desperately needed someone else in his corner, that being Ava. He was finally able to express how he felt about her even though he was scared because of what was happening with him and his family.

they were both broken and found something within each other, came back stronger individually and together

Content Warnings

baileyt2424's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad 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? It's complicated

3.5

Content Warnings

romancejunkie's review against another edition

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mysterious sad slow-paced

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

1.0

Welp, I’m mad I finished this book. Especially when I didn’t click with Mills’ storytelling (emphasis on the telling) style. “He said this and then I said that and then he said this and I replied with this other thing and then we walked over here and he opened the door and then we sat down and then he asked me about something dumb and I replied with something even dumber and then we ate our food and then…”

LEGITIMATELY that is how a solid 30% of this book went. Grates on my damn nerves.

Also grating on my nerves is the bait and switch of an “enemies to lovers” where they’re actually not enemies at all. I missed the banter and the fun back and forth. And MY GOD, the amount of ridiculous mean girl shit in this was, well, ridiculous. The pacing was off—the secrets coming out too early and too late. And then the random shit thrown in for no other reason than drama??

Specifically, his dad buying her off to leave and her mom showing up for money. SERIOUSLY. What was the point of her mom???? Absofuckinglutely nothing. And Knox keeping shit from her just to kick off that uncertainty?

Manufactured drama.

And THEN, let’s move forward two years and suddenly both of them are unrecognizable?! HE HAS A SCAR ON HIS FACE and suddenly you don’t know who he is?

This wasn’t a romance. This focused way too fucking much on her assault and finding the attacker, and if as much emphasis had been placed on the actual love story between Ava and Knox, this may have been redeemable. And though I initially rated this two stars, I got more irritated as I wrote this review, so down you go.

Content Warnings

culzean's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense 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? It's complicated

4.25

Content Warnings

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