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nickoliver's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Mental illness
Moderate: Alcoholism and Eating disorder
Minor: Sexual content and Incest
kaitlinschof's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Fatphobia, Eating disorder, and Body shaming
jenn_reads's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Moderate: Eating disorder
Minor: Mental illness and Alcohol
Food talk, awful but not quite abusive parents, dysfunctional family dynamicsunwise_samwise's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Alcoholism and Mental illness
Moderate: Eating disorder, Alcohol, and Sexual content
Minor: Incest, Biphobia, and Body shaming
kingrosereads's review
- 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
Moderate: Mental illness
Minor: Eating disorder
luckylizz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Minor: Eating disorder
100_pages_hr's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
The meet cute in this book was such a fun start and I really enjoyed watching Nadim and Reena get to know each other. I love books with strong friendships.
This book is full of secrets and that made it a little hard for me to love it.
I didn't realistic at first that this was teach a book 2 so I'm looking forward to going back and reading the first one.
Graphic: Cursing
Moderate: Mental illness and Sexual content
Minor: Eating disorder
alicia193's review
- 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
Minor: Eating disorder
booksandprosecco's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Mental illness
Minor: Eating disorder
emfass's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
There were some things I did like about this book, but ultimately I struggled with a lot of it. There was a moment 75% of the way through where Reena, the heroine, is having a reckoning with herself about needing to face her issues. She's taking stock of her life and the things she's dealt with. As her issues were being listed, I noticed that most of these things had taken place off page, or before the book had started, which made me feel a bit...left behind? I found I didn't care as much as I wished I did in this moment of her story. I think this connects into my main struggle with the book: there was a lot of pulling into Reena's mind in the middle of a scene or conversation so that we as the reader could get context/background for what was going on, but it led to me feeling detached from the scene we were currently in, especially when it would go on for a couple paragraphs or pages. Additionally, my number one complaint that arises when a book doesn't really grab me applies here: too much telling, not enough showing.
I was incredibly wary when we met Nadim, especially because of how much he was flirting with Reena after she'd made it clear (I thought) that she wasn't interested, or certainly before she was showing him any mutual interest. With that said, I thought consent representation was pretty great when it came up throughout the rest of the book.
I didn't love the myriad subplots, though I mostly found them hard to track in the moment of revelation when they all came together at the end. In trying to follow the reveals, my brain got tired, and in emerging from the other side, I'm not sure how well they served the story as opposed to just diffusing focus.
Lastly, I am always bummed by fade-to-black steamy scenes. I'm happy for them to exist that way for those readers that want them, but I want to be present for all the moments of the main characters getting to know each other and building intimacy.
Moderate: Alcoholism, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, and Mental illness
Minor: Sexual content