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baileyt2424's review against another edition
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
Graphic: Bullying, Sexual violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Addiction, Child abuse, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Suicide, Drug use, Toxic friendship, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Classism, Death of parent, and Sexism
romancejunkie's review against another edition
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.
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??
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
Moderate: Drug use, Rape, Suicide, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Panic attacks/disorders, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, and Abandonment
culzean's review against another edition
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
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Violence, Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Death of parent, Abandonment, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Blood, Child abuse, Classism, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts
bookingitwithbri's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
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
Premise: Ava has had a shitty life. She and her younger brother are orphans, given up by her drug-addicted mother and taken care of by a half-way home run by nuns. In her junior year of high school at a very prestigious (read: wealthy) school, she wants to fit in so that she's not known as the "charity case" of the school. So that's how she ends up a cheerleader at a kegger, partying with the football team. After the kegger is over, she (tw: sexual assault)
So she takes the rest of the school year off. When she comes back during her senior year, hoping to get into a good college so she can take care of her brother and give him the life that she could never have. However, after the kegger party and her assault, she went to the police. And now she's known as the "snitch" of the school for telling on their beloved football team.
That's really where our story kicks off here. Ava is back and she wants to show the school that she won't be bullied and beaten down by them. She also wants to figure out who assaulted her. Enter Knox, a football player who seems like an absolute douchebag on the outside but is actually kind of nice, and some forced proximity in the form of a class project and you have... Actually, a very surprising read for me.
Non-spoiler review:
The characters for me are really what made me enjoy reading this. In particular, I thought the character development was fabulous. (Though, just to be clear, the book doesn't attempt any character development of the person who assaulted Ava, which I appreciate.) The main characters of this book are all kind of shitty and flawed in the way we all are and also very endearing in the way that we all are. The boys in the book are kind of forced to confront all the ways in which they contribute to a misogynistic culture and need to figure out how they're going to deal with it going forward. But the book also doesn't attempt any unrealistic wrap-up that portrays things as "always working out in the end." Of course, things do work out in the end, but only after the necessary work and time that seems realistic to me.
As someone who doesn't read new adult (which I think this is considered) and really wanted to DNF at the very first scene, I'm happy that I kept with it. I think anyone who enjoys romance, new adult, and makes sure to check the trigger warnings first for this book will enjoy it.
Spoiler review:
Ava: she was a "strong female badass character" without being one-dimensional. I really appreciated how much guts she had. She was strong in a way that was realistic but also in a way that I could never be strong. I liked that her struggle to remain that strong was apparent. But I also liked that part of her journey as a character was to learn how to trust again and to have hope for the future.
Knox: Listen. I loved him. You think he's going to be such a dick, and he is, but in a way that's like acceptable compared to everyone else. He definitely bullies her in flashbacks and calls her "charity case" but I think his own struggle between how he feels as a person and what he's expected to be is compelling. And it's even realistic that for a very long time the way he's dealt with that struggle is to just ignore it and be the person he's expected to be because it's easier. I like, too, that it doesn't seem that Ava's trauma is the one to change him necessarily, but that them both learning to trust each other changes some fundamental thing about how they each navigate the world. This seems supported by the fact that they don't end up together at the end of the main story because they each need time to work on their own shit before they can be in a healthy relationship again. And when they do meet again, it was so cute.
Dane: I have a soft spot for Dane. I didn't expect to like him, but like most of these characters he has his unlikable qualities, but there's a real kindness there that isn't really at home in the world he lives in that causes a lot of problems for him. And I just liked him.
Chance: he was okay. I'm glad Ava didn't get back with him. He was a really shitty boyfriend and then when he started to believe Ava wanted her back again. So like he doesn't belong in jail but I don't want him in Ava's life either.
Spoiler
wakes up in the forest after being drugged and sexually assaulted, not able to remember what happened or who did it to her.So she takes the rest of the school year off. When she comes back during her senior year, hoping to get into a good college so she can take care of her brother and give him the life that she could never have. However, after the kegger party and her assault, she went to the police. And now she's known as the "snitch" of the school for telling on their beloved football team.
That's really where our story kicks off here. Ava is back and she wants to show the school that she won't be bullied and beaten down by them. She also wants to figure out who assaulted her. Enter Knox, a football player who seems like an absolute douchebag on the outside but is actually kind of nice, and some forced proximity in the form of a class project and you have... Actually, a very surprising read for me.
Non-spoiler review:
The characters for me are really what made me enjoy reading this. In particular, I thought the character development was fabulous. (Though, just to be clear, the book doesn't attempt any character development of the person who assaulted Ava, which I appreciate.) The main characters of this book are all kind of shitty and flawed in the way we all are and also very endearing in the way that we all are. The boys in the book are kind of forced to confront all the ways in which they contribute to a misogynistic culture and need to figure out how they're going to deal with it going forward. But the book also doesn't attempt any unrealistic wrap-up that portrays things as "always working out in the end." Of course, things do work out in the end, but only after the necessary work and time that seems realistic to me.
As someone who doesn't read new adult (which I think this is considered) and really wanted to DNF at the very first scene, I'm happy that I kept with it. I think anyone who enjoys romance, new adult, and makes sure to check the trigger warnings first for this book will enjoy it.
Spoiler review:
Spoiler
Ava: she was a "strong female badass character" without being one-dimensional. I really appreciated how much guts she had. She was strong in a way that was realistic but also in a way that I could never be strong. I liked that her struggle to remain that strong was apparent. But I also liked that part of her journey as a character was to learn how to trust again and to have hope for the future.
Knox: Listen. I loved him. You think he's going to be such a dick, and he is, but in a way that's like acceptable compared to everyone else. He definitely bullies her in flashbacks and calls her "charity case" but I think his own struggle between how he feels as a person and what he's expected to be is compelling. And it's even realistic that for a very long time the way he's dealt with that struggle is to just ignore it and be the person he's expected to be because it's easier. I like, too, that it doesn't seem that Ava's trauma is the one to change him necessarily, but that them both learning to trust each other changes some fundamental thing about how they each navigate the world. This seems supported by the fact that they don't end up together at the end of the main story because they each need time to work on their own shit before they can be in a healthy relationship again. And when they do meet again, it was so cute.
Dane: I have a soft spot for Dane. I didn't expect to like him, but like most of these characters he has his unlikable qualities, but there's a real kindness there that isn't really at home in the world he lives in that causes a lot of problems for him. And I just liked him.
Chance: he was okay. I'm glad Ava didn't get back with him. He was a really shitty boyfriend and then when he started to believe Ava wanted her back again. So like he doesn't belong in jail but I don't want him in Ava's life either.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness and Sexual assault
Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Misogyny, and Rape
Minor: Drug use
I have heavily tagged this because there are a lot of moments where this book could be triggering for a reader, however I would like to note that the book isn't (in my opinion) glorifying any of these things. The book is focusing more on how the main character has just had a really shitty life, but how she is strong enough to get through it and make something of herself. Regarding the sexual assault scene, please note that it is at the very very beginning and that while the assault doesn't happen on-page, the main character is very vividly describing how her body feels afterward. And it was uncomfortable for me to read.
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