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mlovesbooks's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Knocked off one full star because the way people brushed off Lizzie all the time was genuinely upsetting to me.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Homophobia, and Gaslighting
Minor: Child abuse
the_vegan_bookworm's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-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
Every relationship in this book is dysfunctional at best and toxic at worst. No one seems to genuinely like each other, and no one is actually good to each other without having an ulterior motive. The idea that we are meant to support dysfunctional dynamics, like the two love interests manipulating each other all the time and some straight up gaslighting happening throughout worries me. The chemistry also seemed to be based entirely on sexual attraction between Cara and Lizzie, which is fine, but doesn't really make the HEA satisfying. The ending also struck me as a lot of miscommunication that could have easily been resolved, so I found myself skimming a lot of the last 5 or 6 chapters. There is also no real resolution about Lizzie's mom. It's just assumed she went no contact, which left me without closure as a reader.
The author also specifically noted the races of non-white people, but only noted the races of white people when they were being introduced at the same time as POCs (such as Jane and Sherry). That comes off kind of racist with the white folks being presumed as "default" but non-white people being noted. It also didn't escape my notice that the only racialized people were extremely minor characters with very few lines (Mina, Jane, Ramón).
The author also specifically noted the races of non-white people, but only noted the races of white people when they were being introduced at the same time as POCs (such as Jane and Sherry). That comes off kind of racist with the white folks being presumed as "default" but non-white people being noted. It also didn't escape my notice that the only racialized people were extremely minor characters with very few lines (Mina, Jane, Ramón).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, Alcohol, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Sexual content, Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, and Biphobia
Minor: Gaslighting and Child abuse
allisonplus's review against another edition
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Classism, Alcoholism, and Biphobia
slburg's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Lots of underdeveloped plots lines that seemed to resolve very quickly. It feels like the main character stayed in many toxic relationships. I' m not sure if there was much growth or just her going from one toxic thing to another. Her best friend kind of sucks. You can clearly tell the main character is traumatized, but this plot line was so underdeveloped that it felt superficial. I thought the slow-ish burn (physically and sexually) between the main character and love interest was good. However, it also felt like the emotional chemistry was lackluster because they really didn't talk about deep issues, and then they were just all of a sudden in love even though you could tell there were some steps missing to get from A to B. Overall, I did enjoy it, but the lack of depth caused me to not love it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Addiction, Emotional abuse, Alcoholism, and Toxic friendship
torikate7's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Classism, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Addiction, Toxic relationship, and Alcohol
Moderate: Cursing, Sexual content, and Homophobia
grace_b_3's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism and Child abuse
Minor: Homophobia
meggg508's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
- Loveable characters? No
2.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Alcoholism
bookcasey's review against another edition
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Another book that fails to live up to the potential of the premise.
Woman who has the gym as her whole world meets rich girl. Parental issues. Lack of communication. Blame the alcohol trope. You can probably guess.
It has its moments, but Lizzie’s bro-y personality and the other MC’s character become especially grating once you realize they’ll keep going in circles.
Woman who has the gym as her whole world meets rich girl. Parental issues. Lack of communication. Blame the alcohol trope. You can probably guess.
It has its moments, but Lizzie’s bro-y personality and the other MC’s character become especially grating once you realize they’ll keep going in circles.
- Single POV.
- Don’t read this if you want spice.
- NOT comparable to Delilah Green (they’re both lesbian romances?).
- Characters’ whining is painful on audiobook (though the narrator plays it well).
Content Warnings
Minor: Alcoholism
ezwolf's review against another edition
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I think my biggest downfall when it comes to romance books is that I expect there to be more of a focus on setting of the romance. In this case, I expected there to be more weightlifting involved and was disappointed there was very little.
The found/chosen family aspect and the idea of putting your needs and wants first sometimes was good and it had potential, it just came after I'd already decided I didn't like Cara or James. This book could have benefited from having alternating POVs which is not something I would usually say, but I think I would have liked Cara (and possibly James as well) more if I'd been able to see some of the story through her.
The found/chosen family aspect and the idea of putting your needs and wants first sometimes was good and it had potential, it just came after I'd already decided I didn't like Cara or James. This book could have benefited from having alternating POVs which is not something I would usually say, but I think I would have liked Cara (and possibly James as well) more if I'd been able to see some of the story through her.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Alcoholism, and Classism
Moderate: Sexual content, Bullying, and Gaslighting
Minor: Addiction and Toxic friendship
justnicole's review against another edition
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, and Classism
Moderate: Biphobia