Reviews with content warning for Abandonment - Dear Ava

Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

Dear Ava by Ilsa Madden-Mills

15 reviews

poupimali's review against another edition

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.

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madlove02's review against another edition

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emotional tense medium-paced

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? Yes

3.75

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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.

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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

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ellielot's review against another edition

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dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

3.25

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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.

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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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