Reviews with content warning for Drug use - Book Lovers

Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

kashrae99's review

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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

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rat_girly's review

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emotional funny hopeful 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

4.5

📚📝👩🏼‍💻👨🏻‍💻👠🌲🌄❤️

Didn’t expect to like this book so much given its “Hallmark Christmas movie” type plot, but I loved the characters, their backstories, the familial and romantic love, and the ending

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memoirsofabooklover's review against another edition

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funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted 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? Yes

4.0

this was my favourite emily henry book of the three i’ve read. i loved the two mc’s, their quick wit had me laughing out loud quite a few times. the tension was pretty good too. the one full spice scene was a little underwhelming but didn’t dampen the experience.

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laheath's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful 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

5.0

My favorite, so far, from this author! I loved how the romance developed between the main characters, where there wasn't as much enemies to lovers as in other books. The secondary characters were sweet, funny, and supportive with their own stories that fortunately did not subtract from the main plot. Everything blended together so well. I was excited that I predicted how the resolution would come together and it was so fun to read how sweetly it played out.

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shesawildflower's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

I love that Emily calls out the Hallmarky-ness of stories, I love the way she spins the 'person left by the ones who found small town romance' at the beginning, I love the way it comes back full circle for Nora. Most of the characters in those hallmark movies that are 'left behind' tend to come off as cold and unloving but that's not Nora at all, sure she's feisty and career driven but she's far from uncaring. The way she has spent most of her life looking after and taking care of her sister? I felt that to my core, I relate to that on so many levels. Charlie is probably my favorite MMC that Emily has written. He's confident in a non asshole way, he's not intimidated by Nora's career or goals and he is just sweet and loving and his family is so important to him. I also related to his relationship with his dad, how much he cared for him, how much he thought he owed him because of everything he had done for him despite him not being biologically his. Nora and Charlie don't fall into the "I'm not good enough" for the other person stage which I love, the third act breakup is because of happenstance and timing, which made it feel more realistic and relatable. Sometimes, you just have to let time take its course and hope it will reward you for your patience. This book also has so many Easter eggs, which are fun. It's really a lovely story, and I loved every second of it.

I'm a sucker for a good acknowledgments section:
"For anyone who wants it all, may you find something that is more than enough"

"And I hope their story reminds you, there is no one right way to be, no one-size fits all happy ending, an no one else on earth who can be exactly who you are."

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amaranthingly's review

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective 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

5.0

PROS

✨ the January Andrews mentions are giving me life! my girl will be forever famous.

✨ the portrayal of Nora and Libby’s relationship as sisters is something that hits close to home. I loved that their conflict was not depicted as “pros and cons” to having a sister; it was shown that there are ups and downs they have to face together despite the strength of their bond and how they’re each other’s person.

✨ Sally and Clint’s short scene times (get it, screen time?) were still so wholesome. sure, I would’ve loved to see more of them together, but it didn’t feel like I didn’t know who they were and their relevance to Charlie’s life.

✨ I see no red flags in the hero, Charlie Lastra. his humor was the perfect blend of snark and wit. he was organized, orderly, and neat. he had sense of style and understood the love for impractical shoes. he had good communication skills and expressed what he wanted. he was understanding, loyal, and empathetic to a fault. as if if Emily Henry was god, she sent Charlie Lastra to apologize for the creation of other men.

✨ I found Nora Stephens relatable. always composes lists (especially color-coded ones), checks emails and answers calls after work hours, thorough with her makeup and skincare, also has fashion sense and in favor of wearing impractical shoes. but despite being perceived as this cold, relentless, workaholic, fastidious, emotionless bitch, she had a “sunny” side. she loves her nieces, goes great lengths to make her sister happy, is a softie, snorts at really good jokes (particularly Charlie’s), and is surprisingly capable of falling in love.

✨ Nora and Charlie’s banters either had me chuckling or uncontrollably smiling.

✨ the grumpy-grumpy here is SPECTACULAR. well, this is the first book i’ve read of that trope, but Book Lovers did it so well, especially with such an underused archetype.

✨ despite being grumpy-grumpy, Nora and Charlie weren’t remotely close to one-dimensional. there were so much more to their attributes and manners that went deeper than being thunderclouds. it is, after all, a reality that everyone is not just grumpy or not just sunshine, we are all a mix of both.

✨ the third act conflict was so nuanced and fleshed out. their situation was so realistic and it was actually high stakes.

✨ oh, to be in the shoes of someone who’s going to read this for the first time. I would love to be torn apart and put back together all over again.

✨ not to be that person but this book felt like a love letter to me

CONS

💫 did too much of an excellent job of raising my standards with men

CONCLUSION

💡 still at odds with deciding my top emily henry book, but this is 6 stars.

TRIGGER WARNINGS

⚠️

adoption, anxiety and panic attacks, bullying, child neglect, death of a parent (recounted), drug abuse (mentioned), divorce, estrangement, grief & loss depiction, overdose (mentioned), pregnancy, stroke (parent)

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ewalkergrace's review against another edition

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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

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wilybooklover's review against another edition

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emotional medium-paced

2.5

The romance trope and archetype references were really cute, and I loved the romance between Nora and Charlie. I loved how Charlie accepted Nora exactly as she is without trying to change her (unlike her sister) and how similar they were to each other. Sadly the romance was more of a subplot and I hated everything else in the book.

I couldn’t stand Libby. Like, I cannot even accurately convey the depths of my rage whenever she was on-page; she was AWFUL. I hated the plot surrounding her sisterly relationship with Nora and that was the central plot — publishers, authors, PLEASE stop marketing books as romances when the main plot IS NOT THE ROMANCE!! It didn’t even feel like 50/50 women’s fiction/romance; it felt like a book about grief and familial relationships wrapped up in superficial romance packaging. Even when Nora is WITH Charlie on page she is mostly thinking or talking about her sister. I thought romcoms (which, again, this is marketed as!) were supposed to be fun and lighthearted yet this was so heavy, especially from the 50% mark which had a weird tonal shift into angsting about parental trauma. That’s not to say you can’t cover heavy topics in a romcom, but when all I’m thinking about as I’m reading is how much your characters desperately need therapy, the tone is all wrong for the genre. When I pick up a romcom I want something light and fluffy and most of all focused on the romance. This had even less romance in it than Beach Read (in which the central plot was focused on grief, not romance), so I'm not sure why so many reviewers are saying this is her most romance-y book yet. I felt like I barely even got to know Charlie!

Also rivals WHERE? They’re working together, not in competition with each other?? They're not even enemies. And the heroine is not the ice queen she was promised to be; she’s actually quite warm and caring. You can tell me she’s a coldhearted bitch and that everyone refers to her as a shark all you want, but you also have to show me that for me to believe it. I feel like nothing about how this book was marketed (AKA my expectations) is related to what was between the pages. And honestly, I'm just baffled at the choice to make such a big deal over Dusty writing a character based on Nora to then never address it or confront her over it in the book. What was the point of its inclusion?

If this had been a bit lighter and there had been more focus on the romance or maybe dual POV with more of Charlie’s life for balance (and a lot less of the sister) I think I would have really liked this but as it is... meh. This is my favourite of her three ‘romances’ but that really isn’t saying much. I just don’t think Emily Henry works for me, although I’ve said this before and every time I get lured in by the hype.

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