Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

Friends Don't Fall in Love by Erin Hahn

2 reviews

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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dianaschmidty's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted 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

5.0

I feel like this book was designed for me. I knew from the first chapter that I would likely be giving this book five stars because like my favorite songs in a book form. Anybody who knows me knows how much I love music. Music and books are basically my life and country music is one of my top genres. The fact that each chapter begins with a country song, many of which were already my favorite songs, is basically what convinced me to read this book. I love how the book pointed out the hypocrisies and wrongdoings of the country music industry, something I’m personally invested in.

I should also talk about the real center of the book: the romance. OMG I ABSOLUTELY LOVED CRAIG (aka Huck) AND LORELAI’S RELATIONSHIP!!!! I’m a sucker for friends to lovers, but then add in the years of pining, the miscommunications, and the fact that they are the definition of “right person, wrong time” and this book was perfect for me! I wish we hadn’t skipped over so much of their fwb stage, but beyond that, it was amazing!

I should also talk about how this book literally inspired me to write a song. The book is full of poems and song lyrics and it just got me in a super creative mood, so yesterday, I sat down and wrote a song for the first time in like four or five years, so I have to thank Erin Hahn for her magical writing, because this book feels like it was infused with some sort of creative energy!

I also loved the side characters! I read Built to Last in July of 2022 and didn’t even realize that this was a continuation of that story until chapter two! It was great to see Shelby and Cameron again, and I hope that Maren gets a book! I actually went back and reread some of that book (specifically the mentions of Craig), which made my enjoyment of this book even better. I also found out that Clay/Jefferson and Annie, who are featured in this book, have a book of their own, which I definitely want to check out in the future.

Overall, Erin Hahn has created this lovely universe full of country music and HGTV references (two things that I highly value) and I’ve basically decided that I’ll read anything she writes!

I have only one question though: Why wasn’t “Friends Don’t” by Maddie & Tae included in this book? Between the fact that it’s practically the title of this book and it’s a great country song, I’m confuzzled… 

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Griffin, and Erin Hahn for providing me access to this book.
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