Reviews with content warning for Misogyny - Friends Don't Fall in Love

Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

Friends Don't Fall in Love by Erin Hahn

5 reviews

mels_reading_log's review

emotional funny fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

They’ve been best friends for years, but his bandmate just broke her heart. He dropped everything to be with her through the chaos, ending in a one night stand. Years later, they are back in the same town, will those one night feelings stay in the past? This book was a good, quick read, but it was way spicier than I thought it was going to be. We need to stop putting cartoon covers on romance novels!

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what_karla_reads's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

4.25/5 stars
2/5 spice

Friends to lovers with maaaaad pining coming from the MMC... yessss

Tropes:
Friends to lovers
Country singer FMC
Producer MMC
Close proximity/neighbors
One night stand turned more
Songwriting with love messages
Erotic poetry
Banter & tension
He fell first and hard
Dual timeline
Dual POV

I only have a few things that irked me about this book, and that was the length and the miscommunication. Other than that, I really enjoyed both MCs. They have so much ground to cover in this book, so I understand the length, but it did feel like a few things could have been edited out. I loved both MCs, but I could relate to Lorelai and her inner dialogue so much. The pep talks and arguments she had with herself were funny and real. As for Craig/Huck... goodness me, that man was just amazing. The bestest friend and supporter a girl could ask for... which is why I was so mad Lorelai was so blind to his love for her. Just the way he takes care of her... uuuugh swoon 🫠

Everything wrapped up really nice and sweet in the end. I highly recommend this book for fans of friends to lovers or secret pining. This is an open door romance with some nice tension via songwriting and poetry 🥵

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own and offered voluntarily.

Trigger/Content warnings:
Mentions school shöötings, misogyny, sexual harassment, sexual content

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allingoodtime's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

It’s hard to explain, and I don’t mean this in a bad way at all, but this story felt lazy to me. Like spending a lazy day reading in front of a fire or in a hammock. It meandered around and had comfy and snuggly parts and parts with some angst, but not to an overwhelming degree.

I love how Lorelai and Craig communicate through songs, lyrics, and poems. I also hate how Lorelai and Craig don’t communicate because they are both so scared to speak their true feelings out loud. I get it. They don’t want to lose the beautiful relationship they have as friends and how well they work together to make amazing music. Yet sometimes they left me wanting to bang my head against the wall. When these two are in synch it’s a beautiful thing. There is chemistry from their attraction, but also their friendship. They get each other on a level nobody else can.

The author has a lot to say in this story. While she doesn’t cram it down our throats, she does use Lorelai and her experience teaching and being in schools with children to address some big issues. Her adamant belief that there needs to be something concrete done about gun violence in the US is the whole reason Lorelai was shunned by the country music community. She’s ready to make a comeback but that may mean apologizing for voicing her opinion. Lorelai has a very strong personality and it was interesting to watch her struggle with finding her way back to her music career and staying true to her morals and beliefs.

If you have read this author’s other books, there are some familiar faces that help Lorelai find her confidence again. Not only are her friends from Built to Last supportive from afar, but she makes new friends that we’ve seen before.

When Craig and Lorelai are together they are combustible. Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this story. I wish the duo had more time together on the page as a couple. Although their pining is superbly written.

**I received an ARC of this book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely.**

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legalplanner's review against another edition

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lighthearted fast-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

4.0

Friends Don't Fall in Love is perfect for those who liked the TV show Nashville--you know the Raina slower sizzle chemistry burn.

When this started, I was a bit confused by the timeline because it started at one interval, but then was sooner it made it hard for me to get a good sense of what exactly was going on and who was what and who was doing what. I did appreciate that not everything was told in flashbacks, but the important moments were told as if they were happening to make it flow better.

The slow burn aspect wasn't bad to me but it was one of those situations where it was a slow burn but there was also this whole problem with miscommunication. I can get down with a slow burn, but the miscommunication was hard to get over because if they had just talked things would be different.

There were moments that felt a bit technical and very name drop like in regard to Nashville and current singers and the ins and outs, but also with the recording and hobby's each main character had. I think that was just something that if you're not up on some of that stuff feels like useless pop culture thrown in. If you're aware of what those things are you breeze through the book easier. It's just hard when things are jargon heavy and make you go huh at first.

Overall, I liked this and felt like the romance part was good and steamier than I expected considering the slow burn. The best friends to more really made their relationship seem authentic to me.

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aromanticreadsromance's review against another edition

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emotional slow-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

3.0

Don't let the cute cover fool you; this book is surprisingly SPICY. Of course a guy with the name "Craig" has an anonymous erotic poetry Instagram account. It's always the most unsuspecting ones who are the kinkiest. And don't let the title fool you, either, because these friends most certainly DO fall in love. Craig (or "Huck" short for Huckleberry, his middle name) is a 36-year-old music producer in Nashville, and Lorelai is a 33-year-old disgraced country music star turned school teacher wanting to return to music. Once upon a time, Craig was in a band with Lorelai's now-ex-fiancé, who unceremoniously dumped her through an Instagram post after she protested gun violence at one of her concerts (he was an abusive prick, so she's better off). Craig is a talented songwriter wrote all of the band's songs (including one clearly about Lorelai) but was never credited, not even as a co-writer. After her "scandal," Lorelai moved from Nashville to Michigan, and now, five years later, she has returned to Nashville, living in one part of Craig's duplex and hiring Craig's record label to produce her comeback album. This book is perfect for he falls first (and harder) lovers, because Craig has been in love with Lorelai forever, but it's been a right person, wrong time kind of thing. Seriously, they're the epitome of "it's been a long time coming, but / it's you and me, that's my whole world / They whisper in the hallway, 'She's a bad, bad girl.'" I could write an entire essay about how Lorelai is the poster child for Miss Americana.

This book started off pretty choppy, with several consecutive time jumps that left me both confused and wanting more. With all the history behind their relationship, I constantly felt like I was missing some context. For this reason, I struggle with books where one of the main characters is (secretly or not so secretly) already in love with the other. I don't get to witness the process of them both falling in love with each other. There is also some lasting miscommunication and uncorrected misunderstanding regarding what each person wants from the other (i.e., casual or serious). And yes, this leads to a third act breakup. Even though this book is a standalone, it heavily connects with You'd Be Mine (Annie and Clay) and Built to Last (Lorelai is best friends with Shelby and Maren), neither of which I have read. Craig and Lorelai are both great main characters (though Craig has some major side character energy, lol). They're likable but flawed. With a name like Craig, his personality needs to do all the work (haha), so I'm glad he is a cinnamon roll (I guess you could call him a beta, though he def takes charge in the bedroom! Beta on the streets, alpha in the sheets?).

At times, I felt so frustrated for and with Lorelai. For her because of how she has to resign herself to such disgusting and crude sexism to gain back her career. With her because she couldn't see an alternative to the "apology tour" and hiding her true thoughts and beliefs. I don't doubt that country music, especially the industry (and labels) as a whole, is still ultra conservative, but the tides have been changing over the last few years. And then there are progressive icons who have long carved out a space in country music (take Dolly fucking Parton, for one). So the fact that Lorelai couldn't see this as an opportunity to embrace rather than stuff down her values was hard for me to relate to or understand. She eventually gets to the point of being unapologetic, and I was rooting for that growth.

As a Swiftie, Lorelai's situation totally reminded me of Taylor Swift, specifically the frustrations she expresses in Miss Americana. While Lorelai is nowhere near as famous as Taylor (it's hard to reach THAT level of fame), she has to deal with the repercussions from her label and the country music industry after speaking out about injustice (though Taylor no longer writes country music). In Miss Americana, Taylor and her dad argue over what she should do: speak out and potentially lose fans or keep quiet. I definitely see more spunk and an activist inclination in Lorelai than I do in Taylor (as much as I love Tay, her feminism is very white/performative and she doesn't speak out nearly as much as she should), and I could really relate to Lorelai's inner turmoil over her return to country music. When I requested this book on Netgalley, I wasn't expecting the overtly political messaging in it, but I really appreciated it. I could feel how near and dear the subject is to Erin Hahn. And despite my hang-ups, I did enjoy this book, and I liked Craig and Lorelai together.

Do yourself a favor and read this book if you like:

👩🏻‍🎤 Taylor Swift-coded FMCs (and your fav Taylor song is Miss Americana & The Heartbreak Prince)
👩🏻‍🎤 he falls faster AND harder
👩🏻‍🎤 she upgrades from her ex to a much better model
👩🏻‍🎤 friends to lovers, SLIGHT celebrity romance (they're not UBER famous)
👩🏻‍🎤 country music (but like, make it progressive)!

Thank you SO much to the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest, voluntary review.

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