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3.93 AVERAGE
3.93 AVERAGE
this was the sad, dramatic romance i needed after dnfing a bunch of books
Solid 3.5 stars. Some things bugged me about the writing, felt childish at time…but the main character was 18
2.5 stars ⭐️⭐️ and that feels generous. There’s is nothing more than unnecessary shock factor as a plot point in books, especially when dealing with children. I don’t know wtf I’m supposed to do with myself now. Do I even want to read this next book, idk
I have conflicted feelings about this book so it gets a three for now. There is multiple heavy and emotional plot point throughout this book. And while it could be interesting a provide a great story about redemption and love and self-love, it just doesn’t do that. I was connected to the characters, mainly Salem, so I really couldn’t feel for her.
You’ve got to be kidding. I had to dnf a little over halfway through. I was wondering why people were so interested in a book between a freshly 18 year old and 31 year old and I’m still left wondering. Once the two of them started to get close - especially after he literally voiced his hesitation and feelings of it being inappropriate - their interactions just made me nauseous. I’m giving it a two star rating only cause the kid is cute.
Simply put: this book was way more emotional than I thought it was going to be. I cried....a lot.
"I don't tell him, but everyone worries so much about monsters lingering outside they forget about the ones that can haunt you behind closed doors."
I will not be rating this book.
I would give it one star if I did, and that wouldn't be fair. My rating wouldn't be because the book is poorly written. It's simply because I hated what happened.
I had no idea the story was going to go where it did. Well, that's not exactly true. I wondered if it might, but I dismissed the idea as quickly as it came. I thought it was just me being me, looking for something dark where I shouldn't. I wouldn't have read it at all if I thought it would actually happen.
I honestly regret reading this damn book. I hate when authors use this particular thing as a source of conflict. The story already had something in it that I don't enjoy reading about, but then it went to a place I stay 1000 miles away from.
This is one of those rare times where I wish I would have spoiled myself.
If I rated The Confidence of Wildflowers based on enjoyment before I got to the last 12 percent or so, it would have been around 4 stars.
I would give it one star if I did, and that wouldn't be fair. My rating wouldn't be because the book is poorly written. It's simply because I hated what happened.
I had no idea the story was going to go where it did. Well, that's not exactly true. I wondered if it might, but I dismissed the idea as quickly as it came. I thought it was just me being me, looking for something dark where I shouldn't. I wouldn't have read it at all if I thought it would actually happen.
I honestly regret reading this damn book. I hate when authors use this particular thing as a source of conflict. The story already had something in it that I don't enjoy reading about, but then it went to a place I stay 1000 miles away from.
This is one of those rare times where I wish I would have spoiled myself.
If I rated The Confidence of Wildflowers based on enjoyment before I got to the last 12 percent or so, it would have been around 4 stars.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
‼️SPOILERS AHEAD‼️
‼️CHECK TRIGGER WARNINGS!!!‼️
‼️THE TW DEATH IS OF A SIX YEAR OLD CHILD‼️
Sigh. I wrote a whole ass, long review and then I accidentally swiped it away. *cries in 1:52am*
I…. don’t know how to feel about this one. There’s a huge, huge part of me that loved so many aspects of this book, and then the other part of me feels very “meh.” The book could’ve been developed more, and I was finding myself getting bored in certain parts that dragged or weren’t fully elaborated on.
I felt like the majority of this book was cookie dough cupcakes, lying, sneaking off to Thayer’s house, Diet Coke, ✨lazy hangs✨, and repeated conversations about nothing.
There were so many parts of this that I wish were elaborated on, or not rushed. We get a book with these trigger warnings (cancer, SA, death), but like ?????? It doesn’t really…. make sense to me. Salem struggles with nightmares revolving around her SA (valid), but it’s never talked about. We just learn that her dad is the worst (absolutely valid), but like… that’s it. There’s no full explanation, we don’t see how it affects Salem other than her running at 5am, not sleeping, and then…. Like that’s it. She’s closest to Thayer and doesn’t really elaborate on anything. There’s no conversations besides him expressing concern that he doesn’t know what her triggers are, and her response being, “I’ll tell you if its a trigger” like ???! Nah man you need to be vocal about that because my boy really was trying to understand in a small way. With Salem’s nightmares so prominent still, you would think this would be a more frequent trauma that presents throughout the book and it simply doesn’t. It’s weird to me how casual her life is, especially after something so traumatic and I wish we would’ve seen that trauma.
Also???? I didn’t feel like she was fair to Thayer when his son died. Like how are you gonna expect him to just bounce back after losing his son, IN HIS CARE, and go back to living life and giving you attention again??? Girl, that is NOT how grief works. I understand that she’s 18, going on 19 in the book but homegirl, grief doesn’t just decide it’s done and over with. The man lost his SON. It wasn’t a parent or an aunt or a close friend, like that was his DNA. and he died in his care???? I felt like that scene fell extremely flat. One minute she’s sleeping on her roof, Thayer can’t find Forrest, and he’s found dead in a murky pool?? Then everything happens so fast and idk, I felt like it was a good pace but also rushed at the same time??????
There were so many parts of their relationship that I wish were more elaborated on. Like when his ex comes over and tells Salem he cheated during their marriage. Okay??? Like you believe the man after he says, “I swear I didn’t cheat during my marriage.” Like WHY wasn’t that a further conversation????? That makes no sense to me. Sorry but like…. that’s a lot of trust given to somebody when you don’t know their past relationship???? I would’ve liked to see Thayer elaborate more on WHY the marriage ended. Not, “oh, she was manipulative and that was that.” Like sir????? You were unhappy, I hear you, but like… WHAT HAPPENED? I felt like so many parts in this book were missed because there wasn’t substance to conversations.
Also, the fact that Salem cheated, didn’t tell Caleb until the end of the book, and he’s like “yeah I get it NBD.” Like HUH SON??????? Does it just work like that??? Do you just decide it’s okay because you love this girl so much??? Nuh uh. It just felt gross and like they were both settling, considering that Salem literally says she basically doesn’t know if she loves Caleb in the way she loves Thayer.
BUT THATS WHAT ALSO CONFUSES ME???? HOW DO YOU LOVE A MAN WHEN THERE ISNT A WHOLE LOT OF CONNECTION TO BEGIN WITH????? Like sure, I felt it in parts, but it was mainly him doing things he thought would benefit her and make her happy without really opening up besides his hobbies. I wanted to see them open up to each other more.
And I wanted so much more angst. So, so, so much more. Like this book is so sad around the last 20%, and I wish that happened earlier because it felt like the majority of the book was a filler until that point.
I read reviews and spoilers for the second book because I was so curious, and while I still ordered it and will be reading it out of curiosity, (especially with her having a kid with Thayer), I’m just like…. Meh. This has all the potential in the world to be better.
‼️SPOILERS AHEAD‼️
‼️CHECK TRIGGER WARNINGS!!!‼️
‼️THE TW DEATH IS OF A SIX YEAR OLD CHILD‼️
Sigh. I wrote a whole ass, long review and then I accidentally swiped it away. *cries in 1:52am*
I…. don’t know how to feel about this one. There’s a huge, huge part of me that loved so many aspects of this book, and then the other part of me feels very “meh.” The book could’ve been developed more, and I was finding myself getting bored in certain parts that dragged or weren’t fully elaborated on.
I felt like the majority of this book was cookie dough cupcakes, lying, sneaking off to Thayer’s house, Diet Coke, ✨lazy hangs✨, and repeated conversations about nothing.
There were so many parts of this that I wish were elaborated on, or not rushed. We get a book with these trigger warnings (cancer, SA, death), but like ?????? It doesn’t really…. make sense to me. Salem struggles with nightmares revolving around her SA (valid), but it’s never talked about. We just learn that her dad is the worst (absolutely valid), but like… that’s it. There’s no full explanation, we don’t see how it affects Salem other than her running at 5am, not sleeping, and then…. Like that’s it. She’s closest to Thayer and doesn’t really elaborate on anything. There’s no conversations besides him expressing concern that he doesn’t know what her triggers are, and her response being, “I’ll tell you if its a trigger” like ???! Nah man you need to be vocal about that because my boy really was trying to understand in a small way. With Salem’s nightmares so prominent still, you would think this would be a more frequent trauma that presents throughout the book and it simply doesn’t. It’s weird to me how casual her life is, especially after something so traumatic and I wish we would’ve seen that trauma.
Also???? I didn’t feel like she was fair to Thayer when his son died. Like how are you gonna expect him to just bounce back after losing his son, IN HIS CARE, and go back to living life and giving you attention again??? Girl, that is NOT how grief works. I understand that she’s 18, going on 19 in the book but homegirl, grief doesn’t just decide it’s done and over with. The man lost his SON. It wasn’t a parent or an aunt or a close friend, like that was his DNA. and he died in his care???? I felt like that scene fell extremely flat. One minute she’s sleeping on her roof, Thayer can’t find Forrest, and he’s found dead in a murky pool?? Then everything happens so fast and idk, I felt like it was a good pace but also rushed at the same time??????
There were so many parts of their relationship that I wish were more elaborated on. Like when his ex comes over and tells Salem he cheated during their marriage. Okay??? Like you believe the man after he says, “I swear I didn’t cheat during my marriage.” Like WHY wasn’t that a further conversation????? That makes no sense to me. Sorry but like…. that’s a lot of trust given to somebody when you don’t know their past relationship???? I would’ve liked to see Thayer elaborate more on WHY the marriage ended. Not, “oh, she was manipulative and that was that.” Like sir????? You were unhappy, I hear you, but like… WHAT HAPPENED? I felt like so many parts in this book were missed because there wasn’t substance to conversations.
Also, the fact that Salem cheated, didn’t tell Caleb until the end of the book, and he’s like “yeah I get it NBD.” Like HUH SON??????? Does it just work like that??? Do you just decide it’s okay because you love this girl so much??? Nuh uh. It just felt gross and like they were both settling, considering that Salem literally says she basically doesn’t know if she loves Caleb in the way she loves Thayer.
BUT THATS WHAT ALSO CONFUSES ME???? HOW DO YOU LOVE A MAN WHEN THERE ISNT A WHOLE LOT OF CONNECTION TO BEGIN WITH????? Like sure, I felt it in parts, but it was mainly him doing things he thought would benefit her and make her happy without really opening up besides his hobbies. I wanted to see them open up to each other more.
And I wanted so much more angst. So, so, so much more. Like this book is so sad around the last 20%, and I wish that happened earlier because it felt like the majority of the book was a filler until that point.
I read reviews and spoilers for the second book because I was so curious, and while I still ordered it and will be reading it out of curiosity, (especially with her having a kid with Thayer), I’m just like…. Meh. This has all the potential in the world to be better.
I’m literally only giving this 4 stars because despite the trigger warning I was incredibly emotional & depressed that Salem & Thayer broke up and that the author killed Forrest