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kaitielou'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
Graphic: Abandonment, Alcohol, Body shaming, Death of parent, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Toxic friendship, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, and Violence
Moderate: Chronic illness, Cursing, Bullying, Medical content, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Body shaming, Death of parent, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Death, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Infertility, Vomit, and Medical trauma
rl_brennan's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Eating disorder, Panic attacks/disorders, Dysphoria, Toxic friendship, Emotional abuse, Body shaming, Gaslighting, and Grief
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Abandonment
smutvj_thompson's review
- 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
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Sexual content, Body shaming, Bullying, Eating disorder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Cursing
Moderate: Death of parent, Grief, and Vomit
Minor: Pregnancy
er1ngobraugh's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Eating disorder, Sexual content, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Alcohol, Grief, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Panic attacks/disorders
mhairi_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
Graphic: Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Bullying, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Mental illness, and Body shaming
Moderate: Alcohol, Death of parent, and Grief
Minor: Blood, Cancer, and Pregnancy
storieswithbee'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? No
5.0
Plain and simple, I ADORED this book! It had the wit, the humour, the contemporary modernism that made you feel like you were reading about a real-life college romance, and some incredible representation. Going past that, this book has literally put me into the BIGGEST reading slump now that I've finished it. On one hand, that's kind of a nice thing because it means that I've taken a little bit to really engage in all my emotions and feelings towards the book. But on the other hand, I have been given far too many ARCs this month that I'm not able to neglect!
The characters were great. The romance was heartwarming. The spice was... *chef's kiss*. Even better again, I live in Australia, so our university system is vastly different to the American college system, but the book was so well written that I didn't feel so polarised as I have been with other college romances.
Lastly, it was a very classic romance genre HEA epilogue ending, which I think if you're looking for that in a read, then this book is great. At the same time, if you're not in the headspace for that, then this book can come across as a little predictable, and, dare I even say, eye-roll-inducing.
There are some trigger warnings in this book. It is definitely for 18+ readers, but there is also some themes that some reader may find very uncomfortable. These include sexual content, slut-shaming, sexual assault (on-page), food shaming, dieting & calorie-counting, disordered eating, death of a parent (mentioned), toxic friendship, swearing, pregnancy, etc. Please check if this is the right book for you.
Graphic: Alcohol, Body shaming, Cursing, Fatphobia, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Bullying, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Mental illness, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, Sexism, Misogyny, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Deadnaming, Classism, and Blood
Minor: Cancer, Grief, Abandonment, and Panic attacks/disorders
dianaschmidty'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
4.0
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Toxic friendship, Fatphobia, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Death, Medical trauma, Grief, Alcohol, Infidelity, and Death of parent
Minor: Pregnancy
decklededgess'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
5.0
Listen...I have always said hockey romances hit different. I have yet to be disappointed (although I'm incredibly picky about which ones I do read so maybe my discretion has let to biased results lol).
Stassie was an incredible lead to follow. Her backstory is set up so that it felt like I was still getting to know her at 80% of the book because of the layers that made her who she was. It felt like a friendship between me as the reader and Stassie. That really tied me in to the story the entire way through. Same goes for Nate. The slow reveal of both of their histories, childhoods, fears, traumas, and so on was done exquisitely. I was invested in the two of them the entire way through. In fact, I could say that the same goes for all the secondary characters because I want a book for every single one of these dweeby hockey players. I love them all.
The smut in this book is GOD TIER. It's almost one every 10% of the book unless there was an emotional high point to take up space. It was just CHEFS KISS. Horny in the best way, brat x pleasure dom, tender yet rough, and just fun to read.
I loved the way Stassie's eating disorder, toxic friendship with Aaron, and her adoption trauma were addressed throughout the book. It felt respectful, gentle, and authentic to the character. There was no trauma porn with intention to evoke tears. It felt like raw and realistic representation and I loved how well it was done.
The most stunning part is that this is a DEBUT so I have the highest hopes that the books are just going to get unbelievably better from here. Loved it!!
Moderate: Abandonment, Sexual content, Alcohol, Body shaming, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Vomit, Death of parent, Grief, Sexual assault, Violence, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Medical content, Bullying, Eating disorder, Gaslighting, and Panic attacks/disorders
drishthings's review
4.75
Graphic: Eating disorder, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Grief