Reviews with content warning for Chronic illness - In Five Years

First of all, to everyone who recommended this to me as a "Romance" category, I HATE Y'ALL. Fuvk you. You made me believe this is a fluffy cute romance book. Yes, I knew it was something about you seeing yourself in 5 years but I didn't know a lot more than that. I was so anxious that this would become a "cheating with your best friend’s boyfriend" thing. Mainly because I hate the "cheating" troupe. But THAT? Well, I didn't expect that at all. If this was about a cheating, I could've just hate the story and easily let it go. But how am I supposed to even do that when it's nothing like that? Yes I still can blame on that one kiss, or that one glimpse, but you know it's not something like that. So how the HELL am I supposed to survive this? I still am having a freshly cut deep wound because of this book. And it frustrates me that I can't even hate it because, GOD I love this story but I hate it for making me feel this way.

My best friend is my safe place and I have a huge soft spot for that person. She makes me a better person. She becomes the reason I can't give up on my dreams. She makes me feel loved and I can do anything and everything for her. She was there with me in my darkest times and I've been there with hers too. She can easily paint a smile on my face. She can poke a hole in a garbage bag and wear it, yet she's so perfect and so beautiful. We still have dreams to do so many things together. We don’t have to do anything. Just being there is enough. Just the presence is more than enough. As I think about that, we spend most of the time without doing anything. We just stay together without saying a single word, and that fills me up. Her mere presence is enough to make me feel good.

This book reminds me of her. She is always there for me, no matter what. And that's why I can relate to this book on a whole another level. Not the story itself, but the bond between best friends. And that may be why I can’t dislike this book. How can I do so, when it perfectly portrays everything? I met my bestie when we were 6 years old. Dannie and Bella met each other when they were 7. Yes I’m not 28 years old yet, but still I know how it feels. The feeling of having someone throughout your whole life, sharing the present with them, having history together and not being able to let go of each other.

Dannie fell asleep the day her boyfriend proposed her and sees a dream. A dream is when she’s with another man, a complete stranger and she’s living together with that man. Even though she doesn’t remember anything, she knows that this stranger is her partner. Not her boyfriend who proposed her. But she share the same bed with him, living with that man, who she doesn’t even know. The puzzle she has to solve is, who’s this man and how she ended up with him after a small nap. That’s when she notice that it was not the present she used to live in. It’s 5 years after the present she remembered. She doesn’t remember a single thing that happened in past 5 years, and it feels like she woke up from a coma without remembering a single minute. Then she actually wakes up, and she’s living in the present. Not in the future, she saw after 5 years. The real present. Yes it was a dream but she felt so real that she can’t believe it’s a dream. This makes her go to the psychiatric even. And she just accept the fact that it was “just a dream” no matter how real it felt. That’s how the story starts. Beautiful, isn’t it?

And Dannie lives in the present. The actual present she lives in. The present her boyfriend proposed her. The present she said “yes” to that proposal. With her boyfriend besides her instead of that stranger that she don’t even know of. And she slowly accepts that. That it might be actually a dream even though it felt real. The thing is she didn’t told her best friend about this ridiculous dream. She should have. But she didn’t. Why? Maybe it’s not that important. There’s nothing important about a dream you saw. And I still think, she missed the point. That’s the whole point of this story. And I know it’s that she forgot to tell Bella, that this became the story. It’s the reason this story flowed the way it did.

To Dannie’s boyfriend; I respect him. I respect him for being so patient. Not saying a word even though they didn’t get married for 4 years even after proposing her. For being the perfect match for Dannie. For being there for her every time she needs him. For understanding Dannie so well. For letting the Dannie the way she is. In my eyes, he is THE perfect boyfriend. The perfect boyfriend for Dannie. I feel sorry that he didn’t have enough time to spend with Dannie. Yet it’s so beautiful how makes the whole relationship do beautiful. He’s the reason that Dannie is the girl she is. His giving Dannie freedom is what made this so beautiful.

Bella; is the perfect best friend in the world. You cannot ask for someone else better than her. Yes, she falls in love so easily, but how beautiful that is.? To be able to give your heart to someone even though it was broken by so many people before. In my mind, she’s such a bubbly character. Such a strong character, who’s not afraid of being the real version of herself. I really admire how confident she is. I love how she pushes Dannie for being the best version of herself as well. She’s the perfect best friend anyone could ask for.

And lastly Dannie; I wanted to hate you. I really did. But I don’t hate you. Instead, I admire you. I admire you for taking every action you have to prevent happening the worst. For making hard decisions for her loved ones. I like her for doing everything in her power to make others feel better. It’s not easy to give up on your own self for someone else’s happiness. And I love how good a friend she is. (Except for that one small mistake, she is the perfect friend for Bella) I was supposed to hate you since the moment you woke up from that dream. Dannie gave me the worst anxiety with her dreams and reality. The way she bounce back from reality to her dreams is fascinating. And I don’t hate Dannie. I believe her small mistake she did because she wasn’t in the right headspace can be ignored with what she has done for her loved ones. Because she did her best to prevent the worst. And I love Dannie for that.

Lastly, I love this book. And I hate this book. I love it for how beautiful and perfect it is, and I hate it for making me feel things so deeply. And for the common question “Did you cry?”, the answer is no. But that doesn’t mean it’s bad. I’m an emotionless monster and I normally don’t cry over books. I don’t think I ever did. That’s why I didn’t shed tears. Not because this wasn’t emotional enough. However this broke my heart into pieces. It wrenched my heart and I have to pick all the broken pieces one by one because I’m weak now. If you like sad books, you might like this. But I recommend going through the trigger warnings first. And yes I love this book.

Content Warnings

ashlikes's review against another edition

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emotional 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? No

3.25

Content Warnings

amanda_reads13's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

jessfarrell's review against another edition

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reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Content Warnings

haylethal's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense 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? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

rexry's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad 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? Yes

4.5

Content Warnings

kyrstin_p1989's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

A beautiful story about love — different kinds, but the most important, certainly, the love of a girlfriend— a sister. My heart is broken — when I started reading this book I had no idea where it was going and I was not prepared for where it went. This book shows us the depths of love, the lengths people will go to prove it, and the ways that love changes our plans and alters the course of our existence. A reminder to live every day like it’s our last.

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