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agateg's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
medium-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
3.75
“That was one of the hardest things about breaking up. It's not a pair of bookends, the beginning and the end. It's all the things we used to do that we'd never do again and all the things we'd never do for the first time together.”
Saoirse doesn’t believe in love at first sight or happy endings. If they were real, her mother would still be able to remember her name and not be in a care home with early-onset dementia. Unbothered by Saoirse’s no-relationships rulebook, Ruby proposes a loophole: They don’t need true love to have one summer of fun, complete with every cliché, rom-com montage-worthy date they can dream up—and a binding agreement to end their romance come fall.
The writing was very well done, and the characters were properly developed, which made the book enjoyable. I loved Oliver and Rose. But Saoirse got on my nerves quite a lot, I didn’t agree with her opinions about her family situation and that made it frustrating to read. But overall it was a book worth reading! *check trigger warnings*
Saoirse doesn’t believe in love at first sight or happy endings. If they were real, her mother would still be able to remember her name and not be in a care home with early-onset dementia. Unbothered by Saoirse’s no-relationships rulebook, Ruby proposes a loophole: They don’t need true love to have one summer of fun, complete with every cliché, rom-com montage-worthy date they can dream up—and a binding agreement to end their romance come fall.
The writing was very well done, and the characters were properly developed, which made the book enjoyable. I loved Oliver and Rose. But Saoirse got on my nerves quite a lot, I didn’t agree with her opinions about her family situation and that made it frustrating to read. But overall it was a book worth reading! *check trigger warnings*
Content Warnings
Graphic: Dementia, Grief, and Chronic illness
madeleineg04's review
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Dementia and Grief
pagesofnay's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Chronic illness, and Dementia
Minor: Pregnancy
jourdanicus's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
5.0
So sweet. Loved the focus on friendship and family love as well as romantic love. I was happy to read an LGBTQ+ romance in which the characters' identities weren't a central part of the conflict. The title definitely does not encompass the entire plot of this book. Totally worth the read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Dementia
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Alcohol
lisa_m's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I was hoping for a cute sapphic romance. It kind of was that but also not at all. This book is sad - I cried multiple times and there is a lot of things to unpack.
Let me start of by listing what I didn't like about this book:
- the main character was kind of annoying at times. Also I got really mad at her for the way she treated other people and argumented herself out of every wrong doing.
- the book was really sad and depressing at times (I cried a few times throughout the book)
- it doesn't have a happy ending
I really liked Oliver and his dynamic with Saoirse. They had that teasing brother and sister "funny enemies" thing going on which I really like.
I also liked Beth. I get why Saoirse didn't like her but I think she is actually pretty great. I did not however like her father. I get that he's trying his best but I would be so so mad at him for everything he has done.
The ending was fine I guess. I don't have super strong feelings for this book I have to say. I thought it was okay but I doubt it will stick in my mind for long.
I think I'm just kinda disappointed because I wanted to like this book so bad and I also really thought I would..
Let me start of by listing what I didn't like about this book:
- the main character was kind of annoying at times. Also I got really mad at her for the way she treated other people and argumented herself out of every wrong doing.
- the book was really sad and depressing at times (I cried a few times throughout the book)
I really liked Oliver and his dynamic with Saoirse. They had that teasing brother and sister "funny enemies" thing going on which I really like.
I also liked Beth. I get why Saoirse didn't like her but I think she is actually pretty great. I did not however like her father. I get that he's trying his best but I would be so so mad at him for everything he has done.
The ending was fine I guess. I don't have super strong feelings for this book I have to say. I thought it was okay but I doubt it will stick in my mind for long.
I think I'm just kinda disappointed because I wanted to like this book so bad and I also really thought I would..
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Ableism, Classism, Confinement, Dementia, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Sexism, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Homophobia and Pregnancy
Minor: Bullying
lottsofplots's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Dementia, and Chronic illness
Minor: Pregnancy
the_vegan_bookworm's review against another edition
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- 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
It was hard to like Saoirse, which might have been the point bit still made the book hard to get through. She was needlessly unkind to Ruby and Oliver throughout, but they kept sticking with her.
I wasn't a fan of the ending either. She just forgives all these people who hurt her so badly without them ever changing or really atoning for what they did? Her dad abandoned her mom to marry someone else, but that's suddenly okay. She makes up with Izzy and Hannah, despite this hurt and betrayal she's obsessed with for the whole book. It didn't feel like growth so much as changing established character traits suddenly.
I wasn't a fan of the ending either.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Dementia and Grief
Moderate: Forced institutionalization and Medical content
Minor: Sexual content
For forced institutionalization, a character with dementia is moved to a care home when their family can no longer care for them._fallinglight_'s review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
sad
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
5.0
A heart touching and delightful book. I'm not into YA romcom books at all this is my first I think but I loved the writing style! It gave me a lot of DJ MacHale's writing vibes and that's what hooked me at first. I love this kind of conversational tone like the MC is literally talking to you like if you're another character and infuse their humor and even though they have a lot of hang us at the same time don't take themselves seriously. I really eat it up. But like at said that was at first, what really grabbed me later was the whole story. I really liked and empathized with Saoirse and I liked her development and how her feelings weren't completely wrapped up with a conclusive nice bow. I was so moved reading about her mom's dementia and how their whole relationship was structured and written. Maybe to some people it will come off as too sappy and dramatic but I felt for them so much, it was genuine, and it balanced out the romantic comedy parts of the montage that were cute and lighthearted and unstrained, along with a very lovely friendship born between Oliver and Saoirse, it was sweet and didn't feel contrived. I just really loved this book, it was super cute and I had no real issues with it. Also, when I first started reading this I thought it was set in America but when I quickly realized this was actually set in Ireland my love burst even higher bc that made it even more perfect.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Chronic illness, and Dementia
Minor: Alcohol and Pregnancy
enbae's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness and Dementia
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Pregnancy
chaptereleven's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
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
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Dementia and Grief