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kyozacat's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
Graphic: Toxic friendship
Moderate: Eating disorder
Minor: Pregnancy and Vomit
sometimesalyreadsbooks's review
- 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
Buckle up and head's up, there are some spoilers below!
The good:
* The characters were pretty likeable to me! They were pretty well-fleshed out, sometimes maybe a little too detailed even (but I personally like that) and had their own ambitions. I would've liked Lola to have a little more substance, she just kind of felt "there" to be a best friend and nothing else.
* The dynamics between the characters were great. I loved the relationship that Anastasia had with all the "boys" and how they all came together to support each other at the end of the day!
* The "villain" was very realistically done and really sums up those posessive male friend types that I've met throughout my life.
The bad:
* The writing, especially at first was hard to process. Just very wordy and no flow. I felt overwhelmed, and at the same time, nothing was happening?
* Very slow plot for a book this length
* The spice was VERY well-written, but absolutely random in nature and happened at the most confusing times - Like she just ALMOST DIED, I don't think ya'll should be doing that right now.
The cringe:
* "Stassie" - I just really don't like that nickname
* The Uber scene (oh my god, that was so uncomfortable, I almost DNF'd)
* When Nathan meets Anastasia and immediately forgets the girl he's been pining for for years. I mean, I get it, it happens, but I didn't like it.
* The incredible lack of hockey and ice skating in this book about a hockey player and an ice skater.
* THE EPILOGUE!!!!!!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH - I hate that trope and I hate that it happened to a character so adamant about her career and ADOPTING!
The hilarious:
* When Anastasia fell through the ice and I yelled "Haha, ICEBREAKER"
* Nathan buying "girly shit" and then it literally just being >basic hygiene items< like shampoo and body wash. Jesus christ.
* "She has thoughts and opinions." Amazing. She's a human being, Nate.
* The chapter where Nate says "shit" about 400 times and then never says it the rest of the book.
* Aaron wrecking himself (quite literally) and being too embarrassed to admit it causing almost a world war
Anyway, read it, or don't. But overall, I'm glad I did and it took me back to my Wattpad and fanfic days!
Moderate: Vomit, Eating disorder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Pregnancy
uranaishi'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? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Sexual content
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Body shaming, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Eating disorder, Medical content, Pregnancy, Bullying, Cursing, Gaslighting, and Sexism
Minor: Violence, Vomit, Blood, Death of parent, Grief, Infidelity, Sexual harassment, and Death
toastyghosty13'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
3.75
main complaints:
- weird grammar/sentence structure things throughout the book
- depending on what copy you have, stassies best friend could be either lola or sabrina. i wish mine was the sabrina copy after i learned this bc it seems like she has a lot more of a fun presence and is a deeper character than lola
- the cover of this book looks like a YA cutesy romance novel but this book has an insane amount of descriptive sex, seriously i was not expecting this also the
uber scene stressed me tf out i hated that the epilogue is stassi pregnant. she says at one point that she wants to adopt because she was adopted, so it feels untrue to her character. the reasoning for her pregnancy also bothered me, stating that she threw up her birth control on a morning of high anxiety. i wish the ending had her going to the olympics multiple times, and that it was more than just a measly 2 years later. she deserved as much and it could have done a 5-7 year later of her being pregnant that would have felt less forced aaron deserved to get shat on hard; he got off so easy in the end it’s such a joke. aaron sucks and really should have had a different ending than just transferring to ucla
in terms of semantics, i thought this ended up being a cute story of many enjoyable characters. i am not one that usually likes romance novels if there is no fantasy element to it, but i will admit hockey players are a huge weakness for me which def helped. i recommend if you want an easy spicy read to mix it up between other books!
Graphic: Toxic friendship and Sexual content
Moderate: Gaslighting
Minor: Vomit and Sexual assault
jloves2read'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
4.5
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Vomit and Violence
andwonderlandd'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
3.0
There were times where it was a bit predictable but it was fine overall.
Graphic: Toxic friendship, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, and Sexual content
Moderate: Gaslighting and Body shaming
Minor: Vomit
maggies's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Graphic: Toxic friendship, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Pregnancy, Vomit, and Violence
Minor: Infertility and Infidelity
morgan77'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? No
3.0
Moderate: Vomit
colorcrystals's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Body shaming, Eating disorder, Toxic friendship, Sexual content, Alcohol, and Mental illness
Moderate: Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, and Vomit
Minor: Death of parent and Infidelity
idk_indigo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I found myself perplexed with Aaron a lot of the time; on one hand, any character who is, like, that bad (ie., continuously tries to fuck shit up for the FMC at all times) is a bit of a writing red flag for me. Nobody is going that out of their way just to be a menace, like at some point the victim-always mentality is just silly. But also, Aaron is a man so, like, it makes sense to me.
The therapy aspect of the book was weird/interesting/kinda just felt thrown on, but obviously love me a self-actualized FMC queen! The eating disorder component was also... eh to me, but I love that it's a component of the book because mental health in romance is so slay!!!
Oh and side note but where the fuck is this taking place? Like, obviously it's in LA, but... where? They talk about driving to Malibu which like yeah could be anywhere; no mention of 405 traffic, plus they talk about being pretty close to the 5, but also they regularly go out to WeHo for parties/dancing... it for sure has to be North of the 2 (because rich kids), but also can't be too far away from UCLA, but also doesn't seem to be lots of hills & absolutely no mention of parking being difficult, so I'm just like... where does this take place? Geographically it just doesn't make sense to me. It is okay, though, because it's a work of fiction.
I have seen people complain about the lack of accuracy regarding figure skating. I know nothing about figure skating (except that it's pretty) so like honestly it didn't feel off to me at all. The trick with this is to just not know anything, it works pretty well methinks. What did feel off is why a school in LA would be known for ice sports? And also called Maple Hills, like? But like whatever. Also, call me jealous (green is my color, anyway), but I could not watch my partner figure skate with another man like that shit is sooo intimate.
Overall loved the vibes. Hated Aaron but also I think I would've at one point talked shit about people with Aaron. But then I'd feel guilty about it when he said some shit about his best friend/teammate/skating partner was
Moderate: Eating disorder
Minor: Vomit, Panic attacks/disorders, and Toxic friendship