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yoitsabelina's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
linnea_tornblom's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-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? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Sexism
Minor: Death
thedaydreamreader's review against another edition
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
This book might have piqued your interest because of its enemies-to-lovers plot, but imo, don't expect a lot from it. The bare bones were given to the characters. The circumstance that brought them together could have been explored more. Wanted to DNF this while reading, but I hoped for a redemption in the end. Sadly, there wasn't any.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
moonbin's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-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? No
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Misogyny, Cursing, and Sexism
Minor: Rape
souris_de_bibliotheque's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
danileah07's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Bullying
Minor: Sexism
nina_av's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
This is my favorite of the Ali Hazelwood STEMinist Novellas. It’s very domestic, cozy, and is a very satisfying example of the enemies to lovers trope. I also love how the heroines from the other STEMinist novellas are Mara’s best friends; having read Under One Roof last, it was satisfying to see the series come full circle.
One thing that I’m not really loving, though, about Hazelwood’s formula is that the Lead female characters seems to suffer from a lot of self-doubt when it comes to their own attractiveness. They’re all like, “Wow, this man is giving me so many signs he likes me, but there’s no way he could be attracted to ME!!!” Can we normalize self-confidence in our looks and hyping ourselves up?
One thing that I’m not really loving, though, about Hazelwood’s formula is that the Lead female characters seems to suffer from a lot of self-doubt when it comes to their own attractiveness. They’re all like, “Wow, this man is giving me so many signs he likes me, but there’s no way he could be attracted to ME!!!” Can we normalize self-confidence in our looks and hyping ourselves up?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Minor: Sexism
thatswhatshanread's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
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? It's complicated
3.0
WELL……????
Ali Hazelwood is back at it again with an overly quirky, fast talking, soft tiny human FMC and a pensive, brooding, closed-off giant broad MMC—as is her default. I don’t take fault with that, for the most part. Because I am often attracted to that aforementioned type of man. And I was attracted to Liam. But at what cost?? The ending scene was awkward and kinda weird, which was really disappointing because the potential was very nearly achieved.
There were things I really did like about this novella, but in the end it was more in a “checking it off my list” kinda way. The buildup was pretty good, as far as Mara and Liam’s chemistry, but there needed to be more tension, more pining. More moments of intensity, passion. Also, less stereotypical steminist propaganda which kinda defeats the purpose of a steminist story in the first place.
It was cute, though. And Ali’s writing is always funny and a breeze to get through. I just hoped for more overall story development and more variety in the characters from book to book.
Ali Hazelwood is back at it again with an overly quirky, fast talking, soft tiny human FMC and a pensive, brooding, closed-off giant broad MMC—as is her default. I don’t take fault with that, for the most part. Because I am often attracted to that aforementioned type of man. And I was attracted to Liam. But at what cost?? The ending scene was awkward and kinda weird, which was really disappointing because the potential was very nearly achieved.
There were things I really did like about this novella, but in the end it was more in a “checking it off my list” kinda way. The buildup was pretty good, as far as Mara and Liam’s chemistry, but there needed to be more tension, more pining. More moments of intensity, passion. Also, less stereotypical steminist propaganda which kinda defeats the purpose of a steminist story in the first place.
It was cute, though. And Ali’s writing is always funny and a breeze to get through. I just hoped for more overall story development and more variety in the characters from book to book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting, Misogyny, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Alcohol, Cursing, Death, and Sexism
ruthypoo2's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This is a cute romcom novella with a resentful roommates to lovers trope. I really did enjoy the female main character, Mara. She's a woman finishing up education for a doctoral degree in engineering and starting to find her way in the industry of science. Mara does a nice job representing nerdy women everywhere who are just starting to come into their own while dealing with the burden put on them by years of higher education: financial debt, finding a job in your chosen profession, and a new separation of distance from university friends who've become a highly valued emotional support system over the past few years.
The author, Ali Hazelwood, writes fun, and sometimes self-deprecating, internal dialogue for the MC, with lots of playful and snarky banter between Mara and her roommate/love interest, Liam, as well as friends chatter with her university besties, Sadie and Hannah. I wish that Mara had been written as a more confident women seeing as she's someone who's described as having excelled in her educational pursuits and is at the point of having earned her doctorate. This kind of accomplishment is not made by a scatterbrained, overwrought individual, or at least that's not how I'd like an intelligent, successful female to be portrayed.
The set up of the story is done well and for the most part doesn't require too much of a stretch of what could happen in the real world, and the semi-slow burn of the romance was pretty cute. With that said, the description of sexual encounters is explicit and very often I just skipped forward because it doesn't bring value to the story of Mara and Liam's relationship other than to let you know they're very horny. But as a couple, they could be very cute when hanging out together and getting to know each other.
I listened to the audiobook version and enjoyed the narrator, Emma Wilder.
NOTE: After reading the entire STEMinist romcom series, all the female main characters are small-framed, petite women, and their love interests are wealthy, educated, professionally successful men that stand over 6 feet tall, are described as intensely attractive, and have extremely large penises. It would've been nice if there'd been some physical and ethnic diversity amongst all the characters because by the third book it starts feeling like the same couple in a different setting, with only the last book in the series, Below Zero, offering a serious and introspective look into the STEM-related education and career of the female main character, and the hard work she had to do in order to achieve her educational and career goals. In the first two books, the STEM field was more so a component of the FMC's background, a commonality with her best friends, and perhaps a bridge to explain how she meets or gets to know her future love interest.
The author, Ali Hazelwood, writes fun, and sometimes self-deprecating, internal dialogue for the MC, with lots of playful and snarky banter between Mara and her roommate/love interest, Liam, as well as friends chatter with her university besties, Sadie and Hannah. I wish that Mara had been written as a more confident women seeing as she's someone who's described as having excelled in her educational pursuits and is at the point of having earned her doctorate. This kind of accomplishment is not made by a scatterbrained, overwrought individual, or at least that's not how I'd like an intelligent, successful female to be portrayed.
The set up of the story is done well and for the most part doesn't require too much of a stretch of what could happen in the real world, and the semi-slow burn of the romance was pretty cute. With that said, the description of sexual encounters is explicit and very often I just skipped forward because it doesn't bring value to the story of Mara and Liam's relationship other than to let you know they're very horny. But as a couple, they could be very cute when hanging out together and getting to know each other.
I listened to the audiobook version and enjoyed the narrator, Emma Wilder.
NOTE: After reading the entire STEMinist romcom series, all the female main characters are small-framed, petite women, and their love interests are wealthy, educated, professionally successful men that stand over 6 feet tall, are described as intensely attractive, and have extremely large penises. It would've been nice if there'd been some physical and ethnic diversity amongst all the characters because by the third book it starts feeling like the same couple in a different setting, with only the last book in the series, Below Zero, offering a serious and introspective look into the STEM-related education and career of the female main character, and the hard work she had to do in order to achieve her educational and career goals. In the first two books, the STEM field was more so a component of the FMC's background, a commonality with her best friends, and perhaps a bridge to explain how she meets or gets to know her future love interest.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
vael's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
2.75
It’s a good story, It’s a fast and not a serious novel, It was funny and cute…but
I’m getting tired of the author putting serious conversations between sex scenes.
That hole thing about “I don’t really like sex” is something that should be talk about before, also I’m assuming (because she also talks about it in her other books) it’s a discussion about asexuality, and yeah aces enjoy sex, but it’s a serious topic to talk between Partners and the author never even bothers to finish the conversation or give it a name.
I don’t know, the story was really interesting but I’m also tired of the confessions been just “look I’m hard of course I want you”
I’m getting tired of the author putting serious conversations between sex scenes.
I don’t know, the story was really interesting but I’m also tired of the confessions been just “look I’m hard of course I want you”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Grief