Scan barcode
btwnprintedpgs's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- 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
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy, Grief, Sexism, Car accident, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Body shaming, Death, and Infertility
Moderate: Alcohol and Infidelity
dlrosebyh's review
challenging
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
If the cheating trope isn't one of your least favorite tropes, this novel is for you. Listen, I'm a sucker for good angst. I enjoy yearning, but not when someone is in a relationship. Not clear enough? Let me explain what happened in this book (contains spoilers).
I don't think I need to say anything further except that this book did a wonderful job of putting my moral compass to the test.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident, Infidelity, Infertility, and Death
readingwithmeredith's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Infertility, and Car accident
Moderate: Cursing, Mental illness, Sexual content, and Grief
Minor: Pregnancy and Alcohol
annahamburger's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book deals with heavy topics and I highly recommend checking the content warnings.
That being said I do feel the topics of infertility, mental illness, toxic parent child relationships, death, and grief were dealt with and presented gracefully, yet raw.
Infertility is discussed frequently and in detail with a variety of emotions and projected outcomes in this story.
I really enjoyed this book, and the writing was visceral and raw. Kristen was layered and real.
I wish Josh had had more layers to him, as his POV helped flesh out Kristen more than himself.
A thing I could have gone without was Josh's inner thoughts regarding Kristen as "not like other girls" and "cool and probably dated a college guy in high school".
I wish we could have spent more time in the "after" portion of the couples lives. I am hopeful to get glimpses of it in the sequels.
That being said I do feel the topics of infertility, mental illness, toxic parent child relationships, death, and grief were dealt with and presented gracefully, yet raw.
Infertility is discussed frequently and in detail with a variety of emotions and projected outcomes in this story.
I really enjoyed this book, and the writing was visceral and raw. Kristen was layered and real.
I wish Josh had had more layers to him, as his POV helped flesh out Kristen more than himself.
A thing I could have gone without was Josh's inner thoughts regarding Kristen as "not like other girls" and "cool and probably dated a college guy in high school".
I wish we could have spent more time in the "after" portion of the couples lives. I am hopeful to get glimpses of it in the sequels.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical trauma, Infertility, Grief, Mental illness, Medical content, and Death
Moderate: Cursing, Toxic relationship, Chronic illness, Blood, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Car accident, Panic attacks/disorders, Emotional abuse, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Infidelity, Miscarriage, Gun violence, Alcohol, and Medical content
rickireadss's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
⛔️WARNING: this is a VERY negative review, so if you are not into those, you haven’t read this book, or this is your favorite book, stop reading now. there are also MAJOR SPOILERS below. you have been warned.
let me start by saying i was very excited for this book and series after reading “part of your world” by jimenez which i absolutely LOVED. with that being said, i absolutely LOATHE this book and am very glad i never purchased a copy but instead borrowed from libby.
i’m just going to list each point that i hated and go into detail of why.
⚠️tw/cw: infertility, car accident, death of side character, chronic illness, medical trauma, injury/injury detail, grief, emotional abuse, toxic relationship, infidelity (not mcs), gaslighting, miscarriage, pregnancy, body shaming, sexism, stalking/breaking in, war
⛔️SPOILERS BELOW⛔️
⛔️SPOILERS BELOW⛔️
⛔️SPOILERS BELOW⛔️
both mcs: i honestly found them both to be insufferable at times - mostly kristen but josh also pissed me off at times. i am also not a fan of the miscommunication trope - especially in contemporary romances WITH ADULT MAIN CHARACTERS.
infertility/fertility issues: this was the MAIN (and really only) conflict between kristen and josh. he wanted kids, made it abundantly clear in multiple conversations (by saying he wanted them the “natural way” and didn’t want to adopt… RED FLAG, BRO, RED FLAG), and it was why he left his ex girlfriend because she didn’t want them. BECAUSE OF THIS, kristen decided to keep her fertility issues from josh - which is in her right - and made it clear to josh that if they were to have any type of relationship, it would only be a friends-with-benefits deal, no romantic feelings. they both enter that and then of course both catch really feelings for each other. my issue is that she doesn’t disclose WHY she can’t be with josh until like the 80-85% mark. he repeatedly confronted her to see why she felt like they couldn’t be together and she just kept not telling him. MISCOMMUNICATION AT ITS FINEST. i was getting so upset at her for not just saying it because she felt like it would break his heart and he wouldn’t want to be with her, but she kept pushing him away???? like girl, you’re are confusing yourself and everybody around you.
ALSO- with that being a main conflict between them but then they finally decided to get together and that it was okay, they have a miracle baby…. are. you. fvcking . kidding. me. i understand that this is fiction. i understand miracle babies happen. but i wanted a more realistic outcome and ending. it felt like the fertility issues at that point were just thrown into the plot to create conflict and used as a ploy. why did they have to miraculously have a baby??? why couldn’t they just be happy with the two of them?? why couldn’t they have adopted children?? why couldn’t they have used one of the sisters (like they talked about) as a surrogate??? just that entire thing made me angry.
OCD representation: it wasn’t revealed until the like 85/90% mark that kristen had OCD and i felt like it was a vvvvvvery poor and stereotypical portrayal of someone with OCD. when she first said something about her “manic-bess” and “OCD self”, i thought it was one of those times where people just use ACTUAL MENTAL ILLNESSES/DISORDERS in everyday convo and i was about to get really angry. come to find out, she has OCD??? where? how? why is this JUST now being brought up?
brandon’s death: i felt like this came out of left field to create chaos. it also felt like a ploy to shove the two mcs together like “this made us realize how short life is” and josh even mentions how he doesn’t want her to end up like sloane and having no say over him if he were to just die AND THEN PROPOSES??? fvçk no.
impromptu proposal: literally wtf. this was unnecessary, way too fast, and made the ending that much worse.
family trauma / lack of therapy: kristen’s mom was a grade-A b!tch and a horrible mother. we were introduced to the sh!tshow that was her, but then it was never addressed again until sloane told kristen to grow tf up and go after josh. um excuse me??? why was that not unpacked at all… like her mother clearly fvcked her up with her comments and how she treated kristen but also kristen mentioned that she didn’t go to therapy (or did a long time ago but doesn’t anymore, i honestly don’t remember) but also if she has OCD, i would think going to therapy on a regular basis would be normal for her because she has the means to go to therapy - she makes good money this is referenced several times throughout the book, and the fact that she doesn’t go to therapy regularly makes the whole OCD diagnosis feel like it was also just thrown in there for sh!ts and giggles.
okay, i’m done. i honestly don’t want to expend anymore brain power on this. i did not like this book. i would not recommend if any of the cw listed below trigger you. the 2 stars are for the mere fact that i did not DNF this, and the fact that this could have been a good book if the author had taken a few different approaches and had some good sensitivity readers (idk if she had some or not, but if she did, i do not feel like she had the right ones.)
let me start by saying i was very excited for this book and series after reading “part of your world” by jimenez which i absolutely LOVED. with that being said, i absolutely LOATHE this book and am very glad i never purchased a copy but instead borrowed from libby.
i’m just going to list each point that i hated and go into detail of why.
⚠️tw/cw: infertility, car accident, death of side character, chronic illness, medical trauma, injury/injury detail, grief, emotional abuse, toxic relationship, infidelity (not mcs), gaslighting, miscarriage, pregnancy, body shaming, sexism, stalking/breaking in, war
⛔️SPOILERS BELOW⛔️
⛔️SPOILERS BELOW⛔️
⛔️SPOILERS BELOW⛔️
infertility/fertility issues: this was the MAIN (and really only) conflict between kristen and josh. he wanted kids, made it abundantly clear in multiple conversations (by saying he wanted them the “natural way” and didn’t want to adopt… RED FLAG, BRO, RED FLAG), and it was why he left his ex girlfriend because she didn’t want them. BECAUSE OF THIS, kristen decided to keep her fertility issues from josh - which is in her right - and made it clear to josh that if they were to have any type of relationship, it would only be a friends-with-benefits deal, no romantic feelings. they both enter that and then of course both catch really feelings for each other. my issue is that she doesn’t disclose WHY she can’t be with josh until like the 80-85% mark. he repeatedly confronted her to see why she felt like they couldn’t be together and she just kept not telling him. MISCOMMUNICATION AT ITS FINEST. i was getting so upset at her for not just saying it because she felt like it would break his heart and he wouldn’t want to be with her, but she kept pushing him away???? like girl, you’re are confusing yourself and everybody around you.
ALSO- with that being a main conflict between them but then they finally decided to get together and that it was okay, they have a miracle baby…. are. you. fvcking . kidding. me. i understand that this is fiction. i understand miracle babies happen. but i wanted a more realistic outcome and ending. it felt like the fertility issues at that point were just thrown into the plot to create conflict and used as a ploy. why did they have to miraculously have a baby??? why couldn’t they just be happy with the two of them?? why couldn’t they have adopted children?? why couldn’t they have used one of the sisters (like they talked about) as a surrogate??? just that entire thing made me angry.
OCD representation: it wasn’t revealed until the like 85/90% mark that kristen had OCD and i felt like it was a vvvvvvery poor and stereotypical portrayal of someone with OCD. when she first said something about her “manic-bess” and “OCD self”, i thought it was one of those times where people just use ACTUAL MENTAL ILLNESSES/DISORDERS in everyday convo and i was about to get really angry. come to find out, she has OCD??? where? how? why is this JUST now being brought up?
brandon’s death: i felt like this came out of left field to create chaos. it also felt like a ploy to shove the two mcs together like “this made us realize how short life is” and josh even mentions how he doesn’t want her to end up like sloane and having no say over him if he were to just die AND THEN PROPOSES??? fvçk no.
impromptu proposal: literally wtf. this was unnecessary, way too fast, and made the ending that much worse.
family trauma / lack of therapy: kristen’s mom was a grade-A b!tch and a horrible mother. we were introduced to the sh!tshow that was her, but then it was never addressed again until sloane told kristen to grow tf up and go after josh. um excuse me??? why was that not unpacked at all… like her mother clearly fvcked her up with her comments and how she treated kristen but also kristen mentioned that she didn’t go to therapy (or did a long time ago but doesn’t anymore, i honestly don’t remember) but also if she has OCD, i would think going to therapy on a regular basis would be normal for her because she has the means to go to therapy - she makes good money this is referenced several times throughout the book, and the fact that she doesn’t go to therapy regularly makes the whole OCD diagnosis feel like it was also just thrown in there for sh!ts and giggles.
okay, i’m done. i honestly don’t want to expend anymore brain power on this. i did not like this book. i would not recommend if any of the cw listed below trigger you. the 2 stars are for the mere fact that i did not DNF this, and the fact that this could have been a good book if the author had taken a few different approaches and had some good sensitivity readers (idk if she had some or not, but if she did, i do not feel like she had the right ones.)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infertility, Car accident, Death, Chronic illness, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, and Grief
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Gaslighting, Sexism, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, and Body shaming
Minor: War
strawbaeby's review
emotional
funny
lighthearted
sad
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
4.5
4.5⭐
I loved it. The chemistry and banters between the characters were amazing.
There were definitely a few problems that have already been pointed out by many people. And I wish and wish that ending was not how it was but I understand. These are two flawed people with a flawed story and I'm a grown adult with my own opinions on mindset. I don't find it harmful on me but I kinda worry what it will do to others. But I still love this book nevertheless.
It was an amazing experience I flew through it only just over 24 hours. It's so engaging and hard to put down and I was constantly smiling during the first half and ugly sobbing during the last. Abby Jimenez's writing is absolutely amazing.
I loved it. The chemistry and banters between the characters were amazing.
There were definitely a few problems that have already been pointed out by many people. And I wish and wish that ending was not how it was but I understand. These are two flawed people with a flawed story and I'm a grown adult with my own opinions on mindset. I don't find it harmful on me but I kinda worry what it will do to others. But I still love this book nevertheless.
It was an amazing experience I flew through it only just over 24 hours. It's so engaging and hard to put down and I was constantly smiling during the first half and ugly sobbing during the last. Abby Jimenez's writing is absolutely amazing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infertility
Moderate: Infidelity
the_vegan_bookworm's review
This book is layered with internalized misogyny and the praising of the "cool girl" over all other women (while shaming those other women for daring to exist and/or interact with the men of the novel). The main character is also emotionally unfaithful, because she meets a hot guy and likes him better than her partner. Monogamy isn't for everyone, but cheating on your partner (even if not physically) is immoral and cruel. There is also a huge focus on being a successful woman only if you're able to have kids biologically.
There are more interesting romance books that don't rely on such obvious and disappointing tropes.
There are more interesting romance books that don't rely on such obvious and disappointing tropes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, Infidelity, and Sexual harassment
stlkatiek's review
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
There was so much to hate about this book - completely unlikeable characters, emotional infidelity, total lack of communication, female MC being a "unicorn" and "not like other girls," and the last 25% felt contrived and unearned. The ending...oof.
On the upside, the opening chapters were cute. And since this was a book club read, there will be plenty to unpack!
Read it Because:
Book club pick, and this author had been on my TBR for a while.
On the upside, the opening chapters were cute. And since this was a book club read, there will be plenty to unpack!
Read it Because:
Book club pick, and this author had been on my TBR for a while.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident and Infertility
Moderate: Infidelity
emilylovesgoodbooks's review
challenging
funny
informative
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident, Death, Medical trauma, and Infertility
Moderate: Infidelity
kfmcf's review
funny
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.25
Uuugggghhh wow was this book unpleasant. I had read the sequel before I read this one (unknowingly) and that was actually alright. This book had really no saving graces though. The characters were unlikable and the big climax felt like it was for shock. also ALSO this surprise pregnancy was bologna. I have yet to find a good surprise pregnancy, mind you. Also I did already know that she had a baby because of the sequel but I didn't know the timeline.
I also genuinely feel bad for her boyfriend in the book. He seems like a nice enough guy that she treated terribly. Eesh.
Definitely will not be reading the third installment
I also genuinely feel bad for her boyfriend in the book. He seems like a nice enough guy that she treated terribly. Eesh.
Definitely will not be reading the third installment
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Medical trauma, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, and Car accident