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slugwifereads's review
DNFed at 27%.
✨she’s not like other girls, she’s worse ✨
I could see where the story was going with a miracle pregnancy angle, and I really disliked that with her infertility storyline. I also couldn’t hear one more time how she was “not like other girls” - it made it feel like it was written by a 17-year old boy. I enjoyed her other series but this one isn’t for me.
✨she’s not like other girls, she’s worse ✨
I could see where the story was going with a miracle pregnancy angle, and I really disliked that with her infertility storyline. I also couldn’t hear one more time how she was “not like other girls” - it made it feel like it was written by a 17-year old boy. I enjoyed her other series but this one isn’t for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infertility
Moderate: Medical trauma, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Medical content, and Misogyny
beckybeth's review
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I’ve read two books by this author-the first (part of your world) I wasn’t a fan of, and the second (yours truly) I adored. This read trite and often misogynistic- like the stereotypical male writing a romance. For example:
“She was like a unicorn. A mythical creature. An honest, no-drama woman who didn’t bullshit and drank beer and cussed and didn’t care about what people thought of her. She was a unicorn, tucked in the body of an attractive woman with a great ass.”
And their romance turned my stomach seeing as she’s IN A RELATIONSHIP!! With a deported solider.The justifications for it? Just Gross.
And then the tragedy hit. It was unnecessary and awful and did not need to be done. I guess solely to create a sequel? Absolutely Disgusting.
“She was like a unicorn. A mythical creature. An honest, no-drama woman who didn’t bullshit and drank beer and cussed and didn’t care about what people thought of her. She was a unicorn, tucked in the body of an attractive woman with a great ass.”
And their romance turned my stomach seeing as she’s IN A RELATIONSHIP!! With a deported solider.The justifications for it? Just Gross.
And then the tragedy hit. It was unnecessary and awful and did not need to be done. I guess solely to create a sequel? Absolutely Disgusting.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, Car accident, and Infertility
Moderate: Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, and Infidelity
sammymilfort's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Grief, Sexual content, Car accident, Emotional abuse, Cursing, Death, Body horror, Medical content, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Pregnancy, Vomit, War, Miscarriage, and Misogyny
careliza's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I just really hated that Brandon died
It was sad and I hate sad.
It was sad and I hate sad.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Infertility
Minor: Misogyny
jillkaarlela's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Taylor Swift: “peace”!!
Age rating: 16+ (2 short spicy scenes 1/5🌶️)
Please check content warnings!!!
This was a story that really needed to be heard, and I’m glad that Abby Jimenez wrote it. It’s so frustrating that not being able to have kids or not wanting to have kids limits your dating pool so much but it DOES. And the struggle of not wanting to burden your loved ones or potential romantic partners with your health issues is SO REAL. It was very cathartic to see Kristen’s healing journey, as she became more accepting of herself and her worth despite her health issues. I also loved how Jimenez mentioned in the author’s note that this story was heavily inspired by her best friend who struggled with the same issues, making it as true and honest as possible.
This is a sort of FWB to lovers story, but they both secretly want it to be more. It was so sad seeing Kristen pushing Josh away, when he clearly wanted to be with her, but I completely understand why she did. For those who have not struggled personally with chronic health issues themselves, or something of that nature, her choices will probably be frustrating and not make sense, but it is so extremely real and accurate.
I will be honest, at the beginning, Josh seemed like such a tool. There were a few comments that made me really irritated at him, particularly his comments about women being “too much work” right now. But we do see him quickly change/grow into an extremely caring and kind man as he falls for Kristen. He quickly became the embodiment of “if he wanted to, he would”, I mean he was SO DOWN BAD for her, you don’t understand!!
Another thing I didn’t love was that there were so many references to Kristen as being a “cool girl” because she didn’t like many of the other things that girls typically enjoy (flowers, candles, etc.). Which, would be okay, if Josh didn’t act like she was superior over other women because she “wasn’t like other women”, ie. she was blunt and emotionally guarded, etc. It just kind of left a bad taste in my mouth, especially after seeing the Barbie movie, this subtle misogyny is frustrating.
One more thing I didn’t love was how heavily it talked about Kristen tying her worth with how many children she can bear, which is a misogynistic agenda that is literally shoved down women’s throats. I’m not negating that Kristen would feel this way, she definitely is valid in those feelings, and Josh’s constant comments about wanting a baseball team sized family do not help the issue. It’s not as bad as it was in the past decades, but Yeesh, I can’t believe that we still need to be having this conversation in 2023. This is not really a critique on the author, but on society in general. It’s so sad that women STILL have to deal with this misogynistic ideal.
Overall, it was a sweet story that dealt with an extremely important issue that you could tell was done with great care. These characters really and truly loved each other so much. However, it definitely wasn’t my favorite Abby Jimenez book because of the issues mentioned above.
CW: infertility, chronic uterus pain, emotional abuse from parent, misogyny, death, and medical content
Age rating: 16+ (2 short spicy scenes 1/5🌶️)
Please check content warnings!!!
This was a story that really needed to be heard, and I’m glad that Abby Jimenez wrote it. It’s so frustrating that not being able to have kids or not wanting to have kids limits your dating pool so much but it DOES. And the struggle of not wanting to burden your loved ones or potential romantic partners with your health issues is SO REAL. It was very cathartic to see Kristen’s healing journey, as she became more accepting of herself and her worth despite her health issues. I also loved how Jimenez mentioned in the author’s note that this story was heavily inspired by her best friend who struggled with the same issues, making it as true and honest as possible.
This is a sort of FWB to lovers story, but they both secretly want it to be more. It was so sad seeing Kristen pushing Josh away, when he clearly wanted to be with her, but I completely understand why she did. For those who have not struggled personally with chronic health issues themselves, or something of that nature, her choices will probably be frustrating and not make sense, but it is so extremely real and accurate.
I will be honest, at the beginning, Josh seemed like such a tool. There were a few comments that made me really irritated at him, particularly his comments about women being “too much work” right now. But we do see him quickly change/grow into an extremely caring and kind man as he falls for Kristen. He quickly became the embodiment of “if he wanted to, he would”, I mean he was SO DOWN BAD for her, you don’t understand!!
Another thing I didn’t love was that there were so many references to Kristen as being a “cool girl” because she didn’t like many of the other things that girls typically enjoy (flowers, candles, etc.). Which, would be okay, if Josh didn’t act like she was superior over other women because she “wasn’t like other women”, ie. she was blunt and emotionally guarded, etc. It just kind of left a bad taste in my mouth, especially after seeing the Barbie movie, this subtle misogyny is frustrating.
One more thing I didn’t love was how heavily it talked about Kristen tying her worth with how many children she can bear, which is a misogynistic agenda that is literally shoved down women’s throats. I’m not negating that Kristen would feel this way, she definitely is valid in those feelings, and Josh’s constant comments about wanting a baseball team sized family do not help the issue. It’s not as bad as it was in the past decades, but Yeesh, I can’t believe that we still need to be having this conversation in 2023. This is not really a critique on the author, but on society in general. It’s so sad that women STILL have to deal with this misogynistic ideal.
Overall, it was a sweet story that dealt with an extremely important issue that you could tell was done with great care. These characters really and truly loved each other so much. However, it definitely wasn’t my favorite Abby Jimenez book because of the issues mentioned above.
CW: infertility, chronic uterus pain, emotional abuse from parent, misogyny, death, and medical content
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infertility
Moderate: Misogyny, Death, Emotional abuse, and Medical content
kates_books's review against another edition
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
I genuinely am SHOCKED by how much I HATED this book. Especially after LOVING the author’s latest books. But THIS book?!? It REEKED of misogyny — both from the heroine and love interest. The heroine was “not like the other girls” and it was brought up all the freaking time. Honestly they were both kind of assholes. I’m all for women being overly honest and blunt and to not care what other people think of them, but she showed no compassion (other than to Sloane — their loyal friendship was probably the best part of the book), had an emotional affair despite claiming to be someone with values and caring and loyal, refused to take care of herself (shown be her getting hangry every 5 minutes), and was such a pick-me. I was excited to read a book about a woman struggling with infertility and a life without children — I think that would be a great addition to the romance genre — but instead it was filled with comments about how she wasn’t a real woman and didn’t deserve love because of her condition. And then for her to end up miraculously pregnant?!? I saw it coming and was so annoyed and then was disgusted when my predication proved true. Even more disgusting though was when the love interest said his sisters would be happy to be the surrogate … I know that’s not how it happens but that struck me as SO GROSS. Plus it seemed to add to the fact that Josh only saw women as vessels for carrying children.
Speaking of Josh: I also was excited to see that the love interest was a firefighter — I was like ok hot — but he was constantly complaining about his job and saying that people didn’t actually need their services (I can understand this happening once but again and again??). And then the ending?!? Killing off his best friend … for what?! I literally do not understand the point of that. Like yes it was used as a plot device to bring the love interests closer, but beyond that?? I have no clue. Sloane and Brandon were better characters and they deserved better.
There were also so many other scenes where I was just confused as to why the happened: her “ice queen” mother showing up out of nowhere, despite never being mentioned before; all of their comments about homeless people being “dangerous” and something that Josh needed to “protect her” from .. I was horrified to read it; the book started with Josh being stressed about money and then never mentioned it again; Kristen being insecure about her uterus being bloated … and then comparing her body to her “beautiful, hourglass” best friend whose “worst nightmare” would be being bloated … I can’t.
Overall, I was BEYOND disappointed with this book. Maybe the author went through some serious life changes because her latest books are seriously amazing and showcase independent women who embrace and celebrate their friends … but this I cannot rate it lower and I am an overly generous rater usually.
Speaking of Josh: I also was excited to see that the love interest was a firefighter — I was like ok hot — but he was constantly complaining about his job and saying that people didn’t actually need their services (I can understand this happening once but again and again??). And then the ending?!?
There were also so many other scenes where I was just confused as to why the happened: her “ice queen” mother showing up out of nowhere, despite never being mentioned before; all of their comments about homeless people being “dangerous” and something that Josh needed to “protect her” from .. I was horrified to read it; the book started with Josh being stressed about money and then never mentioned it again; Kristen being insecure about her uterus being bloated … and then comparing her body to her “beautiful, hourglass” best friend whose “worst nightmare” would be being bloated … I can’t.
Overall, I was BEYOND disappointed with this book. Maybe the author went through some serious life changes because her latest books are seriously amazing and showcase independent women who embrace and celebrate their friends … but this I cannot rate it lower and I am an overly generous rater usually.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Blood, Chronic illness, Grief, Car accident, Infertility, and Medical content
paigeruth's review
3.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Medical content, Car accident, Infertility, Misogyny, Sexism, and Pregnancy
justinee_'s review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Car accident, Toxic relationship, and Misogyny
meg_'s review
emotional
funny
fast-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? Yes
1.75
I think this book is up there for one of the worst books I have ever read. There were so many elements that were so bad but the one that stands out to me is how absolutely and completely misogynistic the male love interest is. He regularly has internally monologues of how our female main character is "not like other girls" and each time I lost a few brain cells. He's also very much giving the energy that all women need a man to protect them and not just any man, a man with a gun. Which like, no thank you. I feel like this is such a specific thing to say but I feel like this is a romance book that a Republican would love without there being any overt political commentary in here.
Beyond that, for me, this book had very clear cheating elements. Even if you just view the emotional cheating as the only element of cheating (which I do) our main female character was literally falling in love with this dude while prepping for her military boyfriend to come home from deployment and move in with her. And then when she and her boyfriend "broke up" there wasn't even a clear and direct conversation between the two regarding their break up before she quite literally jumped this other dude. I was waiting for her boyfriend to come home and be like, wtf we never even officially broke up but that never happened.
Lastly, the ending of this book was uber fucking sad out of nowhere which was really jarring. Obviously in real life events like what happens at the end of this book can't be predicted but damn that shit sucked and our poor bestie Sloan was totally left in the lurch while our main female character rides off into the sunset with her new bae and her new baby and that just sucked for me knowing how devastated Sloan was while our main character fully got her happily ever after at the exact same time. Granted, I think book two is Sloan's book but I don't have any desire to read book two after this one because it was ass.
Beyond that, for me, this book had very clear cheating elements. Even if you just view the emotional cheating as the only element of cheating (which I do) our main female character was literally falling in love with this dude while prepping for her military boyfriend to come home from deployment and move in with her. And then when she and her boyfriend "broke up" there wasn't even a clear and direct conversation between the two regarding their break up before she quite literally jumped this other dude. I was waiting for her boyfriend to come home and be like, wtf we never even officially broke up but that never happened.
Lastly, the ending of this book was uber fucking sad out of nowhere which was really jarring. Obviously in real life events like what happens at the end of this book can't be predicted but damn that shit sucked and our poor bestie Sloan was totally left in the lurch while our main female character rides off into the sunset with her new bae and her new baby and that just sucked for me knowing how devastated Sloan was while our main character fully got her happily ever after at the exact same time. Granted, I think book two is Sloan's book but I don't have any desire to read book two after this one because it was ass.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Car accident, Death, Grief, Infertility, Misogyny, and Sexual content