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dreaming_ace's review against another edition
4.0
I received a free copy of this book through a Goodreads giveaway:
I don't know quite how to review this story.
Bits I really enjoyed: Exploring the challenges and joys of two women dealing with falling in love, the ending.
Bits I struggled with: Small conservative town politics/relationships/setting, The start which felt a little slow.
This was the type of book which I struggled to get into, but the longer I read the better it got. It also was an interesting take on the class story of romance and the story was cool because there were many different LGBTQ+ characters sprinkled throughout so the reader gets to read about a variety of LGBTQ+ experiences and a variety of responses from very supporting to very hateful. This diversity was the best part of the book
I don't know quite how to review this story.
Bits I really enjoyed: Exploring the challenges and joys of two women dealing with falling in love, the ending.
Bits I struggled with: Small conservative town politics/relationships/setting, The start which felt a little slow.
This was the type of book which I struggled to get into, but the longer I read the better it got. It also was an interesting take on the class story of romance and the story was cool because there were many different LGBTQ+ characters sprinkled throughout so the reader gets to read about a variety of LGBTQ+ experiences and a variety of responses from very supporting to very hateful. This diversity was the best part of the book
lexxx_xb's review
4.0
This book was excellent from the start, very enticing, and lots of drama in the beginning. I highly recommend to anyone who likes sapphic books, definitely one of my favourite sapphic books I have read so far. The only reason I give it a 4/5 is cause there was a bit of repetitiveness in the middle of the book and I was like get on with it already. And I wish they focussed more on the ending and expanded on the end of the book more. Overall an excellent read though.
chaptercharms's review against another edition
3.0
TW: homophobia, substance abuse
Thank you Mills & Boon and NetGalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.
I can't tell you how many times I sorted, checked out, and checked in Mills & Boon books when I worked at a library and wished that there was queer books in the collection. I think it is so important to have queer mainstream romance books and I hope lots of people have access to books like this.
I really wanted to like this, but I think the only reason I wanted to read this was because it was sapphic and the rest of the story is not the type of story that I usually read. It's about two women from a small town who fall in love and struggle with their feelings and with dealing with their sexuality when surrounded by so much homophobia. There was a lot of homophobia from almost everyone around them, something I think is important to write about, but it was a lot. For most of the book, it almost felt like they were portraying that the characters had no hope and that they would never be able to safely come out.
I also didn't like how cheating was such a core aspect of the story and all the central relationships. The relationships were all so unhealthy and the two main characters seemed to disregard others feelings. I understand that Sophie was struggling a lot with her sexuality and not feeling like she could come out at all, but even Nora who had supposedly moved away and moved on with someone else behaved the same.
Overall, it was an okay book and I think it is incredibly powerful and will be so important for people who can see themselves in the characters and find hope. It deals with a lot of darkness, but Nora and Sophie's relationship itself is definitely a beacon of light amidst it.
Thank you Mills & Boon and NetGalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.
I can't tell you how many times I sorted, checked out, and checked in Mills & Boon books when I worked at a library and wished that there was queer books in the collection. I think it is so important to have queer mainstream romance books and I hope lots of people have access to books like this.
I really wanted to like this, but I think the only reason I wanted to read this was because it was sapphic and the rest of the story is not the type of story that I usually read. It's about two women from a small town who fall in love and struggle with their feelings and with dealing with their sexuality when surrounded by so much homophobia. There was a lot of homophobia from almost everyone around them, something I think is important to write about, but it was a lot. For most of the book, it almost felt like they were portraying that the characters had no hope and that they would never be able to safely come out.
I also didn't like how cheating was such a core aspect of the story and all the central relationships. The relationships were all so unhealthy and the two main characters seemed to disregard others feelings. I understand that Sophie was struggling a lot with her sexuality and not feeling like she could come out at all, but even Nora who had supposedly moved away and moved on with someone else behaved the same.
Overall, it was an okay book and I think it is incredibly powerful and will be so important for people who can see themselves in the characters and find hope. It deals with a lot of darkness, but Nora and Sophie's relationship itself is definitely a beacon of light amidst it.
hilvansickle's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
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
jgolando's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism
Moderate: Homophobia
cloverminereads95's review against another edition
2.0
If I had known this was womens fiction, I would have skipped it.
jane_kelsey's review against another edition
2.0
This book was supposed to be that book that pulled me out of my reading funk and it had every premise in it that I should've loved, but unfortunately for me it fell flat. For starters, everyone is in this book was a cheater in one way or another. Then the actual part when Nora and Sophie restart their relationship did not feel like it was one that I could get behind due to their backwards and forwards between arguing and being friendly with each other - didn't feel healthy to me; it also didn't feel they managed to forgive each other. And then there were other issues towards the end that I had a massive issue with which did not work for me.
This may not be for me, but it may be for you! The writing style was good, Melissa has a good writing voice, but unfortunately this didn't work for me.
Merged review:
This book was supposed to be that book that pulled me out of my reading funk and it had every premise in it that I should've loved, but unfortunately for me it fell flat. For starters, everyone is in this book was a cheater in one way or another. Then the actual part when Nora and Sophie restart their relationship did not feel like it was one that I could get behind due to their backwards and forwards between arguing and being friendly with each other - didn't feel healthy to me; it also didn't feel they managed to forgive each other. And then there were other issues towards the end that I had a massive issue with which did not work for me.
This may not be for me, but it may be for you! The writing style was good, Melissa has a good writing voice, but unfortunately this didn't work for me.
This may not be for me, but it may be for you! The writing style was good, Melissa has a good writing voice, but unfortunately this didn't work for me.
Merged review:
This book was supposed to be that book that pulled me out of my reading funk and it had every premise in it that I should've loved, but unfortunately for me it fell flat. For starters, everyone is in this book was a cheater in one way or another. Then the actual part when Nora and Sophie restart their relationship did not feel like it was one that I could get behind due to their backwards and forwards between arguing and being friendly with each other - didn't feel healthy to me; it also didn't feel they managed to forgive each other. And then there were other issues towards the end that I had a massive issue with which did not work for me.
This may not be for me, but it may be for you! The writing style was good, Melissa has a good writing voice, but unfortunately this didn't work for me.
danireys's review against another edition
funny
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
scientistwhoreads's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- 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
2.5