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grace_b_3's review
I tried to power through this for the sapphic, but I just couldn't. I really disliked the writing style. The character work was also pretty weak, and I didn't care about anyone in the story. The chemistry was also lacking. There wasn't any build-up in the romance. From the get-go, both of the leads thinks the other is hot, and their feelings don't seem to really change over the course of the story. The two leads also have horrible communication, which adds to the lack of chemistry. Overall, they don't seem to click as people, but more so find each other attractive, and as such the feeling of romance is really missing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Minor: Homophobia
alexalily's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
fast-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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Biphobia, Abandonment, Terminal illness, Cancer, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, and Blood
shaples's review
Content Warnings
Graphic: Biphobia, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Alcohol and Injury/Injury detail
angelfireeast24's review
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Homophobia, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, and Sexual content
Moderate: Bullying, Blood, and Alcohol
amford's review against another edition
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Biphobia and Sexual content
Moderate: Outing and Cancer
Minor: Injury/Injury detail
wardenred's review
emotional
hopeful
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
3.5
Rule number one of fucking your business partner is not to catch feelings.
I think my one problem with this book is that it never seemed to be able to decide what kind of story it wanted to be, so to speak. There are plenty of common romcom tropes and conventions here. At the same time, there are a lot of heavier, more serious themes, such as Sophie figuring out her bisexuality and dealing with the aftermath of her break-up, and even more prominently so, Amy's continued grief for her mother and her attempts to reconnect with her Dad. Now, it's fully possible to balance romcom tropes and heavier topics, but I don't feel like the author reached the right balance here. For me, the book constantly swung back and forth between a couple of very different moods. One moment, I'd be reading a fairly lighthearted melodrama; then I would turn the page and find myself plunged into something far more emotionally bruising.
For what it's worth, I feel like the author did an excellent job portraying all those heavy feelings and experiences. I'd love to read some less romcommy books from her, perhaps some angsty, hurt/comfort-ish contemporary romance with a real focus on the hard feelings. I think she'd be amazing at that! But this book was marketed as a romcom and tried to actually be a romcom half the time, so. Yeah.
I did very much like both leads and their relationship. Even through all of the misunderstandings, they have the kind of connection where they both lift each other up. Amy helps Sophie restore her confidence. Sophie helps Amy learn to accept help. It's so clear how they make each other's lives better and more complete, and I really, really shipped them. I guess Amy's arc resonated with me more—I have a soft spot for characters who have no idea how to deal with feelings, so they decide they're Just Not Empathetic and spring into action instead of making connections while feeling entirely too much under the surface. But Sophie was also a really interesting character with a full personality and a logical arc. I loved her relationship with her mother: rocky yet accepting. And her relationship with cooking, too—how she felt like now that it was her job, not just her passion, she wasn't good enough, and how she rekindled the "passion" part over the course of the story.
My other favorite parts involved Amy's relationship with her twin and all the moments focused on the restaurant: all the day-to-day in the kitchen, the glimpses of the staff's interactions, and of course all the tv show parts. I wish there was more focus on all of that, tbh!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Grief
Moderate: Biphobia and Death of parent
Minor: Cancer and Misogyny
soficool5's review
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
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? It's complicated
3.5
This was a cute book! And the spicy scenes were *spicy* indeed, which was great.
The plot just kind of bored me, I had to take breaks and read something else in the middle.
It was not bad, and the writing was good, just maybe not so much for me…
The plot just kind of bored me, I had to take breaks and read something else in the middle.
It was not bad, and the writing was good, just maybe not so much for me…
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Emotional abuse
Minor: Death of parent and Biphobia
offbrandclubsoda's review
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Minor: Biphobia
amandalorianxo's review
hopeful
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
So I think what made this book not go the way I originally thought was that the characters Amy & Sophie already knew each other. So that took away from the character building, for me. I also didn’t find them to be enemies persay just two people who got annoyed easily but were still able to work together. I think it was formulaic instant lovey and it got too mushy too quickly. Also where was the reality show they hinted at it? The plot didn’t seem like it existed, just a day / month in the life of these characters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
sage_alexandra's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content