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now_booking's review
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
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? It's complicated
4.25
Wow. What an emotional rollercoaster. I ill-advisedly started this after midnight as a bedtime read. And have been unable to go to sleep until I finish. It is soooo compelling, so laugh-out-loud funny, so weirdly brilliant in parts that even though I’m not the hugest fan of the haphazard timeline in telling the story, I’ve been unable to put this down.
The premise is that Poppy and Alex are long-time friends from university who made a pact to go on vacation every year but who fell out over a much vaunted incident two years ago. Now, Poppy, missing her best friend with whom there’s always been a “frisson,” reaches out for one last chance to save their friendship, which unfortunately turns out to be a disaster vacation.
I liked this slow burn. Poppy and Alex as characters were witty and likeable and the author developed them with an authenticity and humanity that really made them multidimensional and imperfect but eminently likeable. Yes, Poppy has a hint of manic pixie dream girl about her but not to an extreme degree and she is eminently self-aware and would be the first to call herself out over it. Alex on the other hand is the straight shooter to Poppy’s free spirit but even he, is silly and funny and wise. The best thing about this book is the character development and the build up of the chemistry and tension and the romantic love between Alex and Poppy. It is absolutely adorable and sexy and really beautiful to watch develop across various periods in their history together. The epilogue is the most glorious thing. The descriptions of love and relationships and Alex and Poppy’s feelings for each other, gorgeous. I mean you read the last 10% of this book clutching at your heart because it’s so beautiful.
That said, for me, the haphazard piecing together of their story meant that certain elements linked to their getting together felt a bit abrupt in the present time. It kind of felt like the story didn’t really get started till about 70% in and that prior to that, all we had were scenes of context… nicely written context, but context nonetheless. There were also a lot of very contrived-feeling miscommunications to scupper the relationship in the final act that just felt out-of-place and a little silly in the context of how well these characters knew and understood each other. I think the author brought it back full circle and it was good to see seeking mental healthcare play a role in this story. I also found that the best part of this book, the “will-they/won’t-they” tension, is also the worst part of this book- in that as a reader, I admit to getting a little impatient with the constant hinting and alluding to events two years prior without much actual movement in the plot. And then when the events two years prior are finally revealed near the end, they were easily guessed and not as dramatic as matters arising. I guess I loved the story and the characters, but the format of the storytelling wasn’t my favourite and I feel like it made some of the really meaningful portions of this book feel a little throwaway and random and somewhat abrupt.
Overall, I enjoyed this. It felt like an eminently millennial book in a way. The struggle of being mid-career and having achieved some career goals but kind of going through the crisis of finding your purpose and meaning and pursuing contentment and challenge yet feeling stuck. As someone in that demographic, I definitely related to that struggle and I think this author did too as she wrote about it and wrote these characters with a great deal of empathy. This is my second book by this author after Beach Read, and I’m blown away by how good it is. I can’t recommend it enough!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Death of parent, Bullying, and Grief
Moderate: Toxic friendship and Toxic relationship
Minor: Misogyny and Sexism
diana_raquel's review
emotional
funny
lighthearted
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
3.5
“But most of us are too scared to even ask what we want, in case we can't have it.”
That's it!
Friends-to-lovers it's not my favorite prompt! And this book proves it! The only reason why I'm giving this book a 3.5 stars rating is that I liked the interaction between Poppy and Alex as friends. And I think that I'm being a little generous here. Look, I know that the end game of the book is romance, but do they have to be a couple? Why couldn't they reconnect and stayed friends?
I admit that, at first, even knowing that this was a friends-to-lovers story, I was having fun. I was entertained. I liked the writing style and I have to say that the characters are well-developed. Another thing that I really liked was the non-linear story because, that way, I felt like we were knowing more about the characters and kept the reason why Alex and Poppy were no longer friends a secret for a little more time. However, Alex's love for Poppy seemed a little on the obsessive side. Not to the point of being a red flag, but it's a little creepy. And that put me off.
So I would not recommend this book, but I'm willing to read Book Lovers. Maybe I'll like it!
That's it!
Friends-to-lovers it's not my favorite prompt! And this book proves it! The only reason why I'm giving this book a 3.5 stars rating is that I liked the interaction between Poppy and Alex as friends. And I think that I'm being a little generous here. Look, I know that the end game of the book is romance, but do they have to be a couple? Why couldn't they reconnect and stayed friends?
I admit that, at first, even knowing that this was a friends-to-lovers story, I was having fun. I was entertained. I liked the writing style and I have to say that the characters are well-developed. Another thing that I really liked was the non-linear story because, that way, I felt like we were knowing more about the characters and kept the reason why Alex and Poppy were no longer friends a secret for a little more time. However, Alex's love for Poppy seemed a little on the obsessive side. Not to the point of being a red flag, but it's a little creepy. And that put me off.
So I would not recommend this book, but I'm willing to read Book Lovers. Maybe I'll like it!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, and Alcohol
Moderate: Gaslighting, Car accident, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Bullying, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Sexism, Classism, Cancer, and Medical content
nehanaomi's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content, Alcohol, Death of parent, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Death, Mental illness, Grief, Pregnancy, Animal death, Bullying, and Injury/Injury detail
blackveilbeccy's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
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? Yes
4.25
After a slow start, I really adored this. I think that’s almost entirely due to the male love interest who is utterly swoonworthy. It’s worth reading just for him.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Death of parent, Mental illness, Sexual content, and Cursing
Moderate: Abandonment, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Drug use, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Outing, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, and Homophobia
the_book_nook's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Terminal illness, Pregnancy, Vomit, Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Bullying
Moderate: Infidelity, Chronic illness, and Death of parent
Minor: Animal death
arys_library's review
adventurous
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-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? No
3.75
I really liked the book. It was a very cute contemporary romance. I don’t know if I’d ever read again, I didn’t connect with the characters as much as I wanted to. It was just a little boring at times. I don’t fully know why, the whole book was about the two main characters adventures, but I found it predictable in a boring sense. But it was cute, there wasn’t anything that I hated about the book. Although the reasoning behind why poppy and Alex stopped seeing eachother for two years was kinda dumb. Like they didn’t even try to fix things they just stopped talking and I feel like that’s an extreme reaction to such a small thing.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Cursing and Toxic relationship
nabaraditi's review
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Grief
Moderate: Grief, Toxic friendship, and Death of parent
Minor: Bullying and Toxic relationship
tiffanysmith's review against another edition
challenging
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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? Yes
4.5
As someone who doesn’t normally read this genre, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. This novel is about two best friends, Alex and Poppy, who go on a summer vacation every year, only to find that as they go through relationships, careers, and life feeling as if they’re missing out on something big inside themselves. As the protagonist explores the crevices of her own wants and desires deep within, she realizes that her happiest moments are with Alex, even though she’s sworn him off to love romantically.
At first, I truly thought this was going to be a cheesy rom-com but it was much deeper than this. I sincerely connected with Poppy and Alex and found myself rooting for them the entire time, knowing that they were both denying themselves the love they deserved.
As well as being endearing and charming, this book is hilarious. Poppy and Alex say the most hilarious things, even in the most intense climaxes of the read.
Read this for:
- The slow-burn romance.
- Wholesome friendship.
- True discovery of character.
- Some beautifully spicy scenes. They’re worth waiting for.
- Friends turn possible lovers trope.
- FEELINGS.
At first, I truly thought this was going to be a cheesy rom-com but it was much deeper than this. I sincerely connected with Poppy and Alex and found myself rooting for them the entire time, knowing that they were both denying themselves the love they deserved.
As well as being endearing and charming, this book is hilarious. Poppy and Alex say the most hilarious things, even in the most intense climaxes of the read.
Read this for:
- The slow-burn romance.
- Wholesome friendship.
- True discovery of character.
- Some beautifully spicy scenes. They’re worth waiting for.
- Friends turn possible lovers trope.
- FEELINGS.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Cursing and Alcohol
Minor: Death of parent and Toxic relationship
kathleentcarroll's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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? Yes
5.0
This book lived up to all of the hype! The characters are lovable, the writing is snappy, and the comedic timing of the book is perfect. It had me laughing out loud and crying real tears.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying
Moderate: Alcohol, Death of parent, Drug use, Medical content, and Toxic relationship
kfmcf's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
slow-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
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Grief, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship