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marinaplndr's review against another edition
lighthearted
slow-paced
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
abitbetterbooks's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- 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
A good, sweet read with lots of heart! Fairly lighthearted and romantic but with great emotional depth and still covered meaningful subject matter in a sensitive way. I loved Ari & Russell together and the newsroom setting was a new one & very refreshing. I appreciated the nuanced take on Ari’s mental health and her struggle with depression, and how that related to her relationship with her mother.
I’m not Jewish, but Rachel Lynn Solomon is, and I really appreciate how she navigates the different characters’ relationships to their own faith and heritage. I loved all the moments of Jewish joy, from the family Shabbat dinner to the bat mitzvah towards the end. As an outsider looking in, it feels like a privilege to experience stories that are fictional and still feel informed by an authors lived experiences.
It definitely was a breath of fresh air to have a fat love interest in a romance! I’m pretty sure this is the first romance I’ve ever read where a man was anything but super jacked & thin. I appreciated the conversation around fat being a neutral descriptive word and calling out people who are “concerned for their health”. I would love to see the review / opinion of more fat folks re: how they felt about this representation.
Overall, not a mind-blowing or life-changing novel, but after this second 4-star read from RLS, I now know I can rely on one of her books for a pick-me-up romance & will be a go-to in the future!
I’m not Jewish, but Rachel Lynn Solomon is, and I really appreciate how she navigates the different characters’ relationships to their own faith and heritage. I loved all the moments of Jewish joy, from the family Shabbat dinner to the bat mitzvah towards the end. As an outsider looking in, it feels like a privilege to experience stories that are fictional and still feel informed by an authors lived experiences.
It definitely was a breath of fresh air to have a fat love interest in a romance! I’m pretty sure this is the first romance I’ve ever read where a man was anything but super jacked & thin. I appreciated the conversation around fat being a neutral descriptive word and calling out people who are “concerned for their health”. I would love to see the review / opinion of more fat folks re: how they felt about this representation.
Overall, not a mind-blowing or life-changing novel, but after this second 4-star read from RLS, I now know I can rely on one of her books for a pick-me-up romance & will be a go-to in the future!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness and Sexual content
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, and Medical content
Minor: Fatphobia, Misogyny, and Abandonment
archivofrances's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, and Sexual content
akswhy's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
- 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
Adorable, important, and surprisingly steamy. I didn’t know I needed a romance novel featuring a heroine with depression until I read this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Sexual content, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Eating disorder
hellowildflower's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Mental illness
Moderate: Abandonment
Minor: Fatphobia
eslsilver's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Mental illness
ems_rxlibrary's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- 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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Sexual content, and Cursing
Moderate: Toxic relationship and Panic attacks/disorders
emmysforeverbooked's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I loved this book so much. It was such an easy, light read for me and the cast was so loveable. Ari reminded me a lot of myself, between the depression and the loving the weather, I saw a lot of myself in her.
I loved how much representation there was spread throughout this book. The main character's depression rep, the love interest's plus size rep, the Jewish rep, the MC's brother's gay rep, multiple characters from multiple cultural backgrounds, there was so much rep and it's very hard to find all of that in one book. I really enjoyed learning more about the Jewish culture specifically, it was really fascinating to me to read about!
Overall, I think if you like Emily Henry or just rom-coms in general, this is a book for you!
The only reason this is lower than 4 stars for me is because there was a third act breakup. I will never understand the point of those, they always make me angry and sad. So that's why this is so low. Oh, and the proposal at someone else's wedding, that made me cringe fr.
I loved how much representation there was spread throughout this book. The main character's depression rep, the love interest's plus size rep, the Jewish rep, the MC's brother's gay rep, multiple characters from multiple cultural backgrounds, there was so much rep and it's very hard to find all of that in one book. I really enjoyed learning more about the Jewish culture specifically, it was really fascinating to me to read about!
Overall, I think if you like Emily Henry or just rom-coms in general, this is a book for you!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness
Moderate: Alcohol, Cursing, and Sexual content
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Misogyny
Another warning I would give on the "Moderate" section is parental absence. The MC's does talk multiple times about her father leaving her and her brother and being absent in their lives. So just a little heads-up on that!julieclair's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
- 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
Sweet, comforting romance between two lovable main characters. Realistically and sensitively deals with the topic of clinical depression.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
abbypeekreads's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- 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
This novel surprised me in so many ways, but mainly in that I was not expecting to become as attached to it as I did. There’s so much to love about this story on the surface—the Parent Trap vibes, the sweet work friendship-turned-relationship between Ari and Russell, the shenanigans that ensue when they attempt to reunified their divorced bosses. But there’s so much more to discover beneath the surface of those things too, things like mental health and body image and love. Things that make this story so special and important, and it spoke to my heart in such a meaningful and touching way. So much so that I know I’ll be carrying this one with me for a long, long time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Mental illness, and Sexual content