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3.93 AVERAGE
3.93 AVERAGE
i was going to mark it as a 3 by rounding it up but then I realised it doesn’t deserve that at all.
this was so average and just overall ... not good in my opinion. i was enjoying the first 50-ish pages but after that it just went downhill.
the writing was very straightforward and to the point which i liked, it made it a quick read. i discovered when reading this i actually enjoy books with small town settings! something about it made it feel intimate and cosy for lack of better terms and i could envision what the town looked like and the different coffee shops and stores there. this book also made me crave cupcakes so i enjoyed the baking aspect of it.
going into this book i was already aware of the age gap romance plot and i've decided i don't think it's a trope i enjoy as much as other people.
i did not like the character of salem, i found her whiny and constantly mentioning how she's not young and she's an adult. sure when i was 18 i thought i was super mature too, but it was mentioned every few chapters and she came off so juvenile and childish it was low-key embarrassing to read. i hated the fact that she complained about her friends and others in her life, enjoying their life and how she felt left behind despite the fact she insisted she wanted to remain in town after graduation, again it came off selfish and immature - grow up not everything is about you. when she remembered and got jealous that her mum had had a crush on thayer at one point during the family dinner i had never cringed so hard, yikes just so embarrassingly immature i don't think i've ever laughed so hard. thayer as a love interest was very meh. i've read love interests like him before and i found him very boring i don't see the appeal in all seriousness.
the only character's i liked in this was lauren and forrest.
HEADING INTO SPOILER TERRITORY .....
i also had other issues with the book such as the awful cheating that happened, i just know if it was caleb that had done this he would be villanised for the rest of the book. the romance between salem and thayer felt bland and boring, just two lonely people with lots of free time in my opinion.
now that ending ...
it was sad and depressing for no reason at all. i genuinely don't understand why the author chose to go down this route it was a poor decision. i felt it cheapened the novel since it was used to evoke emotion from the reader because i had felt nothing right up until then. it was sad and heartbreaking and just made absolutely no sense it felt cruel if anything. as if it couldn't get any worse the dreaded pregnancy trope at the end ruined it even more for me.
even though i disliked this book, i feel as if i must continue because it's only a duology and i'm curious to see what else could possibly happen.
this was so average and just overall ... not good in my opinion. i was enjoying the first 50-ish pages but after that it just went downhill.
the writing was very straightforward and to the point which i liked, it made it a quick read. i discovered when reading this i actually enjoy books with small town settings! something about it made it feel intimate and cosy for lack of better terms and i could envision what the town looked like and the different coffee shops and stores there. this book also made me crave cupcakes so i enjoyed the baking aspect of it.
going into this book i was already aware of the age gap romance plot and i've decided i don't think it's a trope i enjoy as much as other people.
i did not like the character of salem, i found her whiny and constantly mentioning how she's not young and she's an adult. sure when i was 18 i thought i was super mature too, but it was mentioned every few chapters and she came off so juvenile and childish it was low-key embarrassing to read. i hated the fact that she complained about her friends and others in her life, enjoying their life and how she felt left behind despite the fact she insisted she wanted to remain in town after graduation, again it came off selfish and immature - grow up not everything is about you. when she remembered and got jealous that her mum had had a crush on thayer at one point during the family dinner i had never cringed so hard, yikes just so embarrassingly immature i don't think i've ever laughed so hard. thayer as a love interest was very meh. i've read love interests like him before and i found him very boring i don't see the appeal in all seriousness.
the only character's i liked in this was lauren and forrest.
HEADING INTO SPOILER TERRITORY .....
i also had other issues with the book such as the awful cheating that happened, i just know if it was caleb that had done this he would be villanised for the rest of the book. the romance between salem and thayer felt bland and boring, just two lonely people with lots of free time in my opinion.
now that ending ...
it was sad and depressing for no reason at all. i genuinely don't understand why the author chose to go down this route it was a poor decision. i felt it cheapened the novel since it was used to evoke emotion from the reader because i had felt nothing right up until then. it was sad and heartbreaking and just made absolutely no sense it felt cruel if anything. as if it couldn't get any worse the dreaded pregnancy trope at the end ruined it even more for me.
even though i disliked this book, i feel as if i must continue because it's only a duology and i'm curious to see what else could possibly happen.
3.5 stars
Holy hell did this book break my heart and make me cry.
Holy hell did this book break my heart and make me cry.
Wow, what to say about this book without spoilers? It gutted me. I wasn’t expecting what happened and my heart broke for these two characters. That’s all I’ll say about that. Normally with big age gap romances like this, the authors make the female character, who is younger, fall for the guy first and become obsessed with him. Not this book, they truly become friends first and it’s the guy who falls first rather than the girl. I loved that! Can’t wait to read the second book!
4.5/5. I really really liked this story and the characters but the WRITING drove me crazy. There were just so many typos and sometimes the narrative just seemed scripted. This had the potential to be a best of all time read for me but couldn't overlook that issue.
...can we also get a Laith spin-off though?
...can we also get a Laith spin-off though?
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (3rd reread)
''I want to be your someone''
Safety warnings:
- H 31 / h 18-19
- Cheating (not between MCs)
- OW/OM drama
- Love triangle
- Mention of child s*xual abuse
- Mention of physical abuse
- Loss of loved one
- Terminal illness
- Cliffhanger
SPOILERS BELOW ⬇️
SPOILERS BELOW ⬇️
SPOILERS BELOW ⬇️
SPOILERS BELOW ⬇️
Third time reading this, and I still need help processing the events of that ending.
I’ll never get over how much pain was inflicted on all sides.
I love this book and this duology. I understand why some people cannot process the choice Micaela makes regarding that tragic ending but to be honest I saw it coming very early on - there were hints all around the book concerning his safety but that does not mean I was not shocked and completely heartbroken.
Salem and Thayer's love was beyond amazing. Their chemistry was off the charts. I loved how much he did for her and expected nothing in return but did it only to make her happy and bring a smile to her face when she needed it the most.
Salem has Caleb who has been her boyfriend for a few years and her best friend but they are growing apart and spend most of the summer before he heads to Harvard apart (mostly because his mother makes it happen via different ways) and Salem cannot help but feel something extremely deep with Thayer and that leads to them sleeping with each other while she is still with Caleb, she goes to his dorm room the next day and ends their relationship - opting out of telling him about Thayer.
Salem's childhood was horrifying - what her sister and mom had to go through because of their disgusting father wrecked my heart but I am so happy that they survived and that he died (and in a slow agonizing way). We did not get a lot of specific details about how long it went on and what age it started but I was sickened whenever Salem had a nightmare or relived them in her mind.
I felt absolutely heartbroken when her mother confesses that she has breast cancer, but I was glad when she survived the chemo and surgery though it seemed unfair for a woman who went through hell to have to go through this too.
Thayer who has a 6-year-old son Forrest, is a single father who recently got divorced. He moved into the house next door to Salem and asks her to babysit his son from time to time. She agrees and this leads to their relationship blossoming and falling in love.
Sadly, like I mentioned before, there was so much foreshadowing about Forrest's death. The spiral that happened to Thayer is understandable. I felt his pain at the loss and his sadness took over every good thing he had in his life. Nothing was going to fix it and he tried to push Salem away and did a fantastic job at it.
Salem finally leaves and moved to NYC to be with her best friend Lauren and those last few pages where she finds out she is pregnant is earth shattering for her.
Salem choosing to walk away after attempting so many times to get through to Thayer was the best decision for her and her unborn child. I understand her decision considering she thought A) He was with other people B) He had lost his child, and nothing was fixing his pain C) She was young and needed to grow up quickly.
There is also foreshadowing about Thayer not knowing how to be a girl dad (when he gets a puppy for Forrest) and this of course directly connects to the fact Salem had a baby girl.
''Turns out we're nothing but a memory gone up in flames, ashes scattered in the wind''
This is one of those books where I will reread again and again despite how much it hurts.
5 ⭐for the pain
5 ⭐for the angst
5 ⭐for the love
OM drama:
Calen is the main OM drama but technically Thayer is the OM for a while.
OW drama:
Thayer stumbles drunk out of his truck with a woman and Salem/Caleb see after she returns from her sister’s wedding. The woman leaves and Salem ends their relationship for good. (nothing happens and in book 2 we know that he just did it to push her away forever and never intended to be with the OW).
''I want to be your someone''
Safety warnings:
- H 31 / h 18-19
- Cheating (not between MCs)
- OW/OM drama
- Love triangle
- Mention of child s*xual abuse
- Mention of physical abuse
- Loss of loved one
- Terminal illness
- Cliffhanger
SPOILERS BELOW ⬇️
SPOILERS BELOW ⬇️
SPOILERS BELOW ⬇️
SPOILERS BELOW ⬇️
Third time reading this, and I still need help processing the events of that ending.
I’ll never get over how much pain was inflicted on all sides.
I love this book and this duology. I understand why some people cannot process the choice Micaela makes regarding that tragic ending but to be honest I saw it coming very early on - there were hints all around the book concerning his safety but that does not mean I was not shocked and completely heartbroken.
Salem and Thayer's love was beyond amazing. Their chemistry was off the charts. I loved how much he did for her and expected nothing in return but did it only to make her happy and bring a smile to her face when she needed it the most.
Salem has Caleb who has been her boyfriend for a few years and her best friend but they are growing apart and spend most of the summer before he heads to Harvard apart (mostly because his mother makes it happen via different ways) and Salem cannot help but feel something extremely deep with Thayer and that leads to them sleeping with each other while she is still with Caleb, she goes to his dorm room the next day and ends their relationship - opting out of telling him about Thayer.
Salem's childhood was horrifying - what her sister and mom had to go through because of their disgusting father wrecked my heart but I am so happy that they survived and that he died (and in a slow agonizing way). We did not get a lot of specific details about how long it went on and what age it started but I was sickened whenever Salem had a nightmare or relived them in her mind.
I felt absolutely heartbroken when her mother confesses that she has breast cancer, but I was glad when she survived the chemo and surgery though it seemed unfair for a woman who went through hell to have to go through this too.
Thayer who has a 6-year-old son Forrest, is a single father who recently got divorced. He moved into the house next door to Salem and asks her to babysit his son from time to time. She agrees and this leads to their relationship blossoming and falling in love.
Sadly, like I mentioned before, there was so much foreshadowing about Forrest's death. The spiral that happened to Thayer is understandable. I felt his pain at the loss and his sadness took over every good thing he had in his life. Nothing was going to fix it and he tried to push Salem away and did a fantastic job at it.
Salem finally leaves and moved to NYC to be with her best friend Lauren and those last few pages where she finds out she is pregnant is earth shattering for her.
Salem choosing to walk away after attempting so many times to get through to Thayer was the best decision for her and her unborn child. I understand her decision considering she thought A) He was with other people B) He had lost his child, and nothing was fixing his pain C) She was young and needed to grow up quickly.
There is also foreshadowing about Thayer not knowing how to be a girl dad (when he gets a puppy for Forrest) and this of course directly connects to the fact Salem had a baby girl.
''Turns out we're nothing but a memory gone up in flames, ashes scattered in the wind''
This is one of those books where I will reread again and again despite how much it hurts.
5 ⭐for the pain
5 ⭐for the angst
5 ⭐for the love
OM drama:
Calen is the main OM drama but technically Thayer is the OM for a while.
OW drama:
Thayer stumbles drunk out of his truck with a woman and Salem/Caleb see after she returns from her sister’s wedding. The woman leaves and Salem ends their relationship for good. (nothing happens and in book 2 we know that he just did it to push her away forever and never intended to be with the OW).
BOOK REVIEWING: THE CONFIDENCE OF WILDFLOWERS
TROPE: FORBIDDEN AGE GAP, NEIGHBOURS TURNED LOVERS, GRUMPY/SUNSHINE ROMANCE
AUTHOR: MICALEA SMELTZERS
RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/ 5
HERO: THAYER
HEROINE: SALEM
STEAM:
TROPE: FORBIDDEN AGE GAP, NEIGHBOURS TURNED LOVERS, GRUMPY/SUNSHINE ROMANCE
AUTHOR: MICALEA SMELTZERS
RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/ 5
HERO: THAYER
HEROINE: SALEM
STEAM:
I understand the hype. Not an all time fave, but I definitely enjoyed it and consumed it quickly!
Trigger warnings; sexual assault and death.
Troupes to look out for: age gap and cheating.
Trigger warnings; sexual assault and death.
Troupes to look out for: age gap and cheating.
Such a heartbreakingly beautiful book.
So many feels and emotions thrown into one. So angsty and perfect but also left me sobbing like a crazy woman.
I love an age gap and this was absolutely wonderful, Salem is 18 years old who falls for her 31 year old single dad and neighbour, Thayer. They are both special characters and the romance felt so real and not over dramatised which I really appreciated.
The book flowed wonderfully and I immediately went to the second book, especially after that ending omg
So many feels and emotions thrown into one. So angsty and perfect but also left me sobbing like a crazy woman.
I love an age gap and this was absolutely wonderful, Salem is 18 years old who falls for her 31 year old single dad and neighbour, Thayer. They are both special characters and the romance felt so real and not over dramatised which I really appreciated.
The book flowed wonderfully and I immediately went to the second book, especially after that ending omg