Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Dear Ava by Ilsa Madden-Mills

9 reviews

sienasummerrreads's review against another edition

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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
Check Triggers ⚠️ 💫 

All Round Romance Reader 
Sienasummerrreads 💕📚
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lore_1703's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0

Overall: This book leaves me with some ‘what ifs’. There were a couple of amazing storylines and cute moments between the mmc & fmc, which made me enjoy this book. Other times I questioned the actions and motives of the main characters. The 13 reasons why vibe is strong with this one. I do enjoy a bit more dark or angsty high school story but this one was just not it for me. 

Reasons to bump this up your TBR: This book is for you if you don’t mind reading an angsty high school romance book. The love aspect of the story is enjoyable and I did like the honesty between the main characters. There was no miscommunication for example, which is a huge plus for me. 

Knox is a great mmc. He’s in my opinion a golden retriever boy wearing the ‘bad boy’ mask. He is very patient towards Ava and gives her all the respect and empathy she needs. 

Reasons to bump this down your TBR: With the title Dear Ava I expected many more letters and secret admirer cuteness. I would have loved to see more poems or texts where Ava and her secret-love interest talk, trust each other and feed their friendship. 

Some of the dialogue between Ava and Knox feels very ‘young’. 

The ending and epilogues felt rushed. The story is  slow paced and the tempo picks up a bit too much in the last 15% of the book. One epilogue would have been enough for me. 



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sophiejo_'s review against another edition

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challenging emotional 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? Yes

5.0

[ spoilers at the bottom ] y’all THIS BOOK omg i was in a slump and i think this put me back in one 😭😭

i’ve never read romance this well WRITTENNNN i mean maybe i have but it was overwhelmingly good. like knox was making me SWOON and i loved all the characters w my whole heart (esp. tyler and dane and wyatt they deserve hugs omg but esp. dane bc i love him. can i have a sequel about dane pls? pls?)

anyways i’ve realized recently that i can only ADORE a romance when i like both the main characters which makes sense but so frequently a character annoys me. like a bouncy happy girl i want to punch or a guy that’s a dick that i also want to punch. but ava was such a badass omg and knox’s vulnerable side (the best side of any guy character btw) made me want to scream and cry and throw up. soooooo

the very minuscule bad:
• a little too many all caps
• a little too many epilogues (but i can overlook it bc they were soo heartwarming which is surprising bc babies showed up which i usually hâte but i couldnt this time)
• the “plot reveal” was LAME

✨ best non romance quote ✨ “Ignore them. Testosterone-addled morons,” Wyatt murmurs next to me and tosses an arm over my shoulder, and I lean into him, needing reassurance. “Do you have any clue how much I adore you? If you weren’t gay, I’d kiss you.”

⚠️ spoilers ⚠️ but to elaborate, i wanted dean to be the one that did it. it would be sooo well done if he did it but liam made him and maybe drugged him..? or drank him into a stupor..? it’d be difficult to read but that’s how i would write it. by having liam do it (an obvious villain from the start) it felt a little expected and underdeveloped. but i can’t argue too much bc it was still fantastic, i just would’ve written it differently. [ spoilers over ]

tbh if they finished w that plot it would’ve been 6 stars but ig they’ll have to suffer w 5 lmaoo. i NEED to read others by this author bc she wrote the romance so well and full of good lines and angst but not too much sex or pda ugh it was so good. anyways i’ll stop ranting. read the triggers !! but if you can handle it, this book is the most underrated AGHHHJDIRJDK. 

⚠️ triggers ⚠️
sexual assault and rape, sexual content, violence, drugs and alcohol abuse, abusive parents and relationships, abandonment, foul language and slurs

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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


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am193's review against another edition

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emotional medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

So this book isn’t “good” when you look at it from a literature point of view. The dialogue is pretty terrible, the plot is clunky, and it’s generally a bit cringeworthy. But it’s a book you can read and enjoy almost as a palate cleanser. It’s enjoyable in the same way as fanfiction on Wattpad or AO3. Lots of potentially triggering content though so check content warnings. 

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lilli0311's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad slow-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

4.75


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readingismyonlytalent's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

 TW abuse, r*pe, drug use/abuse; this book is one of my favorites I love Ava and Knox’s relationship and I loved watching their love for each other grow 

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ashleycmms's review against another edition

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dark emotional medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5


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lisbongirl_reads's review against another edition

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dark emotional fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

 "Dear Ava" is a new adult romance novel that tackles very serious and difficult topics such as drug abuse, child abandonment, and sexual assault.
Our main character Ava is a strong-willed heroine that refuses to break despite all the horrible things that have happened to her. Both Ava and Knox, the love interest, are fighters, an admirable trade that makes it impossible not to root for them.
The characters are the focal point of this novel. The development of their relationship is really good and you can feel the tension between them from moment one, which is something I love. My only gripe is that I didn’t believe the final conflict. It felt unnecessary to me, though it didn’t affect my enjoyment of the book immensely.
If you’re a romance reader, I would recommend giving this book a try.



 

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