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tessisreading2's review
3.0
I really love how Lohmann tackles controversial/unusual (in Romancelandia) situations in her books but I often have difficulty connecting emotionally with her characters and this is another one of those books. Mina, who is living with HIV, was well-drawn and sympathetic, but Levi has so much going on - his wife’s suicide, some sort of traumatic mine accident, his possibly-alcoholic brother-in-law and his enmeshed relationship with his sister’s family - and further issues brought up by his relationship with Mina - she’s a college professor, he’s a contractor; he’s ten years older than she is - that the focus on Mina and her HIV just feels unbalanced. The only thing Levi really deals with is his feelings about his wife’s chronic illness (depression) and what that means for a potential relationship with someone else with chronic illness. Everything else warrants maybe a paragraph or two, and then is dropped; Levi’s focus, and the book’s focus, is Mina’s HIV.
In terms of the romance pacing, too, it just… moves too quickly. They’ve barely started dating before Mina’s getting super sick and Levi is taking care of her on a really basic level (like he has to break into her house and she’s not capable of calling an ambulance basic). Other characters are mostly set up as unsupportive of Mina, and it can’t avoid looking like they’re set up that way to make Levi look better by comparison - even though, e.g., his terrible sister only knows about Mina’s HIV because Levi TOLD her about it (without Mina’s permission and knowing that Brook is horrible).
Over all, the tone of the book just got too didactic for me. It felt like Brook (and other characters) were set up as Ignorant Reader Stand-Ins, so they can say things like "What about Tom Hanks's character in Philadelphia?" and Mina can respond with a list of movies that have more positive portrayals of characters living with HIV. It felt discomfiting in a way, like Lohmann didn't trust her readers to engage with Mina's HIV on Mina's terms; and in turn that can feel a little offensive, like when I'm reading a book that pauses the narrative to explain in detail what Rosh Hashana is rather than moving forward with how the character engages with Rosh Hashana (because even if we've never heard of Rosh Hashana, we all have Google, so breaking something down Wikipedia-style just isn't necessary). So, like, I'm glad this book exists - and I'm pleased that Harlequin published it - but I just don't think it has much staying power.
In terms of the romance pacing, too, it just… moves too quickly. They’ve barely started dating before Mina’s getting super sick and Levi is taking care of her on a really basic level (like he has to break into her house and she’s not capable of calling an ambulance basic). Other characters are mostly set up as unsupportive of Mina, and it can’t avoid looking like they’re set up that way to make Levi look better by comparison - even though, e.g., his terrible sister only knows about Mina’s HIV because Levi TOLD her about it (without Mina’s permission and knowing that Brook is horrible).
Over all, the tone of the book just got too didactic for me. It felt like Brook (and other characters) were set up as Ignorant Reader Stand-Ins, so they can say things like "What about Tom Hanks's character in Philadelphia?" and Mina can respond with a list of movies that have more positive portrayals of characters living with HIV. It felt discomfiting in a way, like Lohmann didn't trust her readers to engage with Mina's HIV on Mina's terms; and in turn that can feel a little offensive, like when I'm reading a book that pauses the narrative to explain in detail what Rosh Hashana is rather than moving forward with how the character engages with Rosh Hashana (because even if we've never heard of Rosh Hashana, we all have Google, so breaking something down Wikipedia-style just isn't necessary). So, like, I'm glad this book exists - and I'm pleased that Harlequin published it - but I just don't think it has much staying power.
sunflower87's review
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
sonny's review
4.0
I assumed I had read some of this Author's work previously while checking out her SuperRomance imprint stash, but mmm, maybe not like I had thought.
This one perked me up because I'm not certain I've ever read about any MCs being HIV+ and their stories being weaved into a romantic one. That was half my interest, the other half is that I just adore HQ's SR imprint.
We have two neighbors, our MCs. The male MC is a 37yr old widower who had married a younger woman and he lost her as she battled depression [for 10yrs] and ended up committing suicide.
The female MC is a 27yr old Russian Lit professor [part-time] and the other part-time thing she does is teach graphic novel artwork; she is also a graphic novelist.
At first, he was leery of making any kind of "nice-n-friendly" to his new neighbor, until she came over and introduced herself to him.
Plus, every time she tried doing things for herself in her yard, he would secretly watch her from a window and frustratingly worry about her all day long.
That is truly all this book was about but there were other minor instances of other family members butting into their relationship, but it also dealt extremely well with the MCs current situations as they lived their lives together and how to have real hard & difficult conversations so that faith in each other can grow and trust can build.
Also, there was a level of difficulty that the female MC hadn't faced with her HIV+ diagnoses and how people finding out about her secret would make her feel and cope.
I would've given this 5-stars or at least a half-star more but some things advanced way-too fast for my liking which, of course, caused some much unneeded drama/angst.
I wasn't upset with them being sexual but simply put...just like with any other romantic couple the MCs take no time to get to learn or know one another before hopping into bed.
I'm an old-school romantic so f*ckin' sue me.
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