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emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Death, Infidelity, Sexual content, Grief, Death of parent, Alcohol
Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Vomit
Minor: Cursing, Physical abuse, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Blood, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Cancer, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Grief
Minor: Child death, Murder
Plot detail includes the characters researching suicide cults.
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Not my favorite of her books. Like some of btw others, it feels like there were develop more of the characters and plot points. Enjoyable binge read nonetheless.
Content Warnings
Minor: Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Physical abuse, Violence, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Alcohol
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Cancer
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
sad
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:
Yes
It does get very heavy at times with January dealing the grief of her dad’s death and complicated emotions along with it, as well as Gus’s abusive dad. But I loved their connection and slower build.
But still, I hate a miscommunication/lack of communication, so that annoyed me a bit at the end.
But still, I hate a miscommunication/lack of communication, so that annoyed me a bit at the end.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Grief, Death of parent
Moderate: Cancer, Child abuse, Infidelity
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Death, Infidelity, Sexual content, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Alcohol
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Suicide, Violence, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Murder
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Death of parent
emotional
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
The last book I read was a very heavy topic (HIV/AIDS). So I was looking forward to something lighthearted and "dumb" (something requiring little thought). Well, I got what I wanted, but it was a little toooo dumb for me.
Emily Henry is hit or miss for me, and this one was a big miss. The author admits she had writer's block at the time she wrote it and that she decided to write a book about writer's block. No wonder the book fizzled for me. That's like me sitting at work and deciding to write a report about why I don't know how to write the report.
Rounding up to 2 (yeah, that's how little I liked it - not even a full two stars).
Emily Henry is hit or miss for me, and this one was a big miss. The author admits she had writer's block at the time she wrote it and that she decided to write a book about writer's block. No wonder the book fizzled for me. That's like me sitting at work and deciding to write a report about why I don't know how to write the report.
Rounding up to 2 (yeah, that's how little I liked it - not even a full two stars).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Child abuse, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Sexual content, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Alcohol
Moderate: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Infidelity
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
That’s what you do. For your readers. For me. You make beautiful things, because you love the world, and maybe the world doesn’t always look how it does in your books, but . . . I think putting them out there, that changes the world a little bit. And the world can’t afford to lose that.
I listened to this one as an audiobook, and honestly, its only downside as a bedtime story was that the banter constantly made me giggle. It is, apparently, hard to fall asleep while giggling. Who knew? Seriously, I'm now putting Emily Henry right up there with Talia Hibbert as one of my favorite banter-oriented romance writers. The witty dialogue is my favorite part of the book.
In terms of... let's call it emotional temperature I feel like the fun, heart-warming aspects of the book were well-balanced with the heavier, more dramatic ones: January's grief and complex emotions about her father, Gus's abandonment issues, all those research conversations with former cult members. In terms of plot structure, however, I think there were parts where the narrative meandered as it tried to encompass all the arcs and small plotlines. All the big stuff got properly developed and wrapped up, but there were definitely parts of the story that left me with a nagging "okay, but I still have questions about X / couldn't Y have been explored slightly more?" feeling.
Tbh I feel this story could have benefitted from being dual POV. Perhaps some parts of it could have been better delivered through Gus's part, and besides, I really wish I could get to know Gus better. I wanted to actually *see* his arc, his emotional struggles, the way he was caught between the pain of his divorce and the joy of falling for January. As it was, I didn't really got a feel for his personality, only for his charisma and for the way January perceived him—but what if she was wrong about things? I don't know, there's this weird aftertaste of mistrust, lol. Also, I would have liked to see more of his writing process. Show me this man trying to pen a romcom, don't just tell me he's doing it!
With January on the other hand, I definitely feel like I've got to know her plenty and I enjoyed her arc a lot, especially all the parts that had to do with her parents and how their relationship shaped her. I liked the balance she found between focusing on the good in the world and acknowledging that some things aren't as clear-cut and simple as she's been trying to believe.
All in all, this is an excellent, witty, sometimes cheesy love story with Hallmark vibes. Any flaws it has, for me, are easily compensated by the amount of joy it contains.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, Alcohol
Moderate: Cancer, Vomit
Minor: Religious bigotry