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mj_86'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? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Grief, Death of parent, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Sexual content, Domestic abuse, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Cancer
meggiemeggie52'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? Yes
5.0
And now I want gelato.
Moderate: Cursing, Alcohol, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Death
Minor: Cancer, Sexual content, Vomit, and Abandonment
FMC has an emotionally abusive ex. FMC and MMC had someone important to them pass away, and it/their grief is mentioned often. Sexual content is present, but "behind closed doors" (aka nothing graphic/explicit).gaby_readsss's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Unfortunately, I kind of hated this book. The entire premise sounded really cute, but the execution of it was a huge letdown for me.
First of all, why did it take Iris so long to be honest about the whole secret recipe thing? I was okay with it at first, but then it kept going and going to the point I was just annoyed at the absurdity of it all. There was absolutely no reason to keep lying to Gio and his whole family. If she loved him, why not help him out?
She had zero trust in him.
Then when Santo finds out he’s like “get out of our lives”, but then miraculously has a change of heart and confesses everything to Gio and his family. The resolution was so random and rushed, and I was expecting more.
Then, the other big lie about her husband (who was not her husband) being dead and then her not telling Gio even after they sleep together, knowing he is in fact a widow, was so horrible. Why did she bond with him over this? It made absolutely no sense that he would fall in love with her when she shared nothing about her past or who she really is. I think the only real thing he knew about her is that her mom has passed away. Yet, he fell in love with her… how?
Their chemistry felt so forced and fabricated. I get it, every romance novel is fabricated but you know what I mean!
This is a romance and I was not rooting for them or felt satisfied that they ended up together.
All the characters were so hollow and superficial. After reading 300+ pages I still feel like I didn’t learn anything deep about who they really were.
Like I said, I liked the concept of this book. It was a cool concept how everything connected between Vivien and the Belotti’s, and ultimately between Iris and Gio, but the way it unfolded was simply dissatisfying and upsetting.
There were some aspects I enjoyed, such as the delicious mention of Italian food, the picturesque scenes of winter in New York, and the Christmas vibes, but mostly I was just happy this book was over.
Not such a great start to my 2024 reading.
Skip this if you’re thinking of reading it.
Graphic: Grief and Death of parent
Moderate: Cancer and Emotional abuse
sarahallez's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Emotional abuse and Grief
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Cancer
dixiecarroll's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Abandonment, Cancer, Emotional abuse, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, and Domestic abuse
elliefardell's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Cancer, and Grief
jackieranson'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? N/A
4.5
Minor: Emotional abuse and Cancer
lauramparis's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Cancer, and Domestic abuse
trinloyd'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? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, and Cancer
chimichannika's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
4.5
Apart from these things, though, it was still a riveting book that I didn’t want to put down— the depictions of the utter depth, acceptance, loyalty, and love that the Belotti family had for one another had me in tears at several points, as did the beautiful friendship bonds in the book, as well. This is my second of Josie’s books that I’ve read, the first being The Two Lives of Lydia Bird, and in both of them she manages to depict all of the complicated emotions surrounding grief so relatably and so well. The scene near the end of this book where
Another thing I particularly appreciated about this book was the characters’ choices and motivations— while I didn’t agree with some of the choices characters made, or like to think I would’ve done things differently, I didn’t have a clear answer for what the “right” or “best” solution would be in the situations in the book; there was no clear, easy resolution, and it not only made the characters and their choices more sympathetic, but also made them seem more realistic, too.
All in all a sweet, emotional, riveting book, and the only reason it’s getting a 4.5 instead of 5 from me is for the detractors mentioned at the start of my review. I’m also very happy to report that nothing except good things ever happens to the kitty, and he is very well loved and cared for throughout the entire book ♡ a brief heads up that this book contains depictions of abuse and escaping/surviving abuse that may be triggering to survivors, but also a note that the survivor gets her abuser-free, safe future at the end of the book ❣️ please be sure to check the trigger warnings on this book if this is something that may cause you distress while reading 🫶🏻
p. s. the music references in this book were fun to see (although the
Moderate: Grief, Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Death of parent
Minor: Vomit, Classism, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Cancer, and Drug use