Reviews tagging 'Racism'

This Close to Okay by Leesa Cross-Smith

43 reviews

vanesst's review

Go to review page

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

3.0


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

jg34's review against another edition

Go to review page

sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
I am so conflicted!!!!!! Mostly because of the ending so the rest of this will probably be spoiler city. 

I know this was not marketed as a romance and if the romance that was happening in most of the book were to come to fruition it would have been really problematic… but my romance loving heart is so sad!!!! their weekend together would not be a good start to a relationship and their dynamic was already bad and it’s not healthy to be in a relationship when your mental state is so fragile…. But couldn’t he have gotten better and then they get back together? I know that’s not how it works ok but I’m still so sad.
And NICO? We barely know anything about him why did she end up with him 😭😭😭 I liked that we got a brief scene of them together again and there is maybe a flicker of hope that he will come back to Louisville but it sounds like Tallie is 100% settled with damn Nico and there is no hope for her and Rye :((( just why did her and rye even get together is the first place if it wasn’t going to be end game ya know what I mean??


BUT this is real life and our mental health cannot depend on just one person I suppose so this was maybe the happiest ending. I am still sad tho. 

Other than the ending, this book was emotional and raw and real. I mean the whole premise is a tad unbelievable I guess but the relationships and interactions felt real and heartfelt. It is a bit mysterious too. Not lighthearted though! You might cry!!

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

thetaylatrese's review

Go to review page

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

april_98's review

Go to review page

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

kjofalltrades's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

3.75


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

cyndi1966's review

Go to review page

emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

ssinforshort's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

2.5

This was entertaining and problematic, like a Lifetime movie. There are secrets, romance, fires, secret identities, hospitals, and more. 

Cross-Smith writes well, but I feel like I was tricked into reading a Christian light novel. 

Also, the romance aspect should have been removed from the book. Tallie meets Emmett while he is attempting suicide and doesn't reveal that she is a therapist. Still, she uses therapy techniques in their conversations while also lusting after him. 

Lastly, there were so many art pieces referenced that I felt like I needed an art history course to keep up. I did a lot of googling while reading this. That may be just a me thing, though. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

jennastopreading's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I received this book in a giveaway shortly after it published and my biggest regret surrounding it was waiting so long to read it.

This book is mostly set in Louisville, KY, the city I spent the first 23 years of my life in, and this helped me connect to the story right out the gates, but the characters and their soul did the rest. Tallie has to be one of the most uniquely intriguing fictional women that I've ever read. She's emotionally intelligent, kind hearted, independent, and successful. In another life, maybe I could be more like her when I grew up. On a rainy night in October, she stops when she sees a man about to jump off a bridge into the Ohio River, and in turn, her world changes forever.

Instead of calling 9-1-1 or giving up, she brings the man she affectionately starts off referring to as "Bridge" into her home, and he makes his way into her heart. As a reader, this was a lyrical story of respect, connection, and mutual adoration unfolding between two strangers. As Tallie and Bridge get to know one another, and the layers of the onion of each of their stories are peeled back, I grew more and more attached to both of them.

A fantastic story by Leesa Cross-Smith that left me with goosebumps and a lump in my throat. I will absolutely be reading more of her work in the future!

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

kwurtzel3's review

Go to review page

dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

3.0


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

sarasbooklife's review

Go to review page

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I don't recall where I heard about this book but I'm so glad that I did! I will be looking at Cross-Smith's other books. 🙂. Definitely had me tear up a couple of times.
.
A rainy night brings Tallie and Emmett together at the right time for each of them. Tallie, a therapist recovering fom a devastating divorce, encounters Emmett at his lowest attempting to end his pain. Throughout the next 3 days, they experience a lot of emotions together.  But both of them are keeping secrets about who they are so they can be allowed the freedom of not being judged for their profession or their past.
.
A beautifully written journey about healing, taking up your own space and how to move forward. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings