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alexisgarcia's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Ableism, Alcohol, Grief, and Sexual content
viireads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Cancer, Death of parent, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Ableism, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Alcohol, Body shaming, and Blood
amissabellator's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Grief, Ableism, Terminal illness, Chronic illness, and Death of parent
Moderate: Cancer, Cursing, Death, Gaslighting, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Alcohol, Body shaming, and Medical content
The text follows Anna Sun - a woman who is diagnosed with autism with low-support needs - (and, to a lesser extent, Quan Diep - a man who has recently overcome personal illness (zoiejanelle's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
REVIEW TRIGGER WARNINGS BEFORE READING THIS BOOK!
i devoured this book. i was up until 3am reading this and good LORD was it worth it.
i would definitely classify this as contemporary fiction and not a romance because the main focal point was Anna’s struggle to accept and honor herself, not the love story. though i liked the love story—which added fantastic levity to the serious topics presented here despite also being pretty rocky—i was completely sold by Anna’s arc: her diagnosis, accepting a caretaker role, the epiphany about her needs, her growth.
once again, Helen Hoang perfectly captures the neurodivergent experience. Anna’s relationship with her family, her friends, herself, and her art were so relatable and heart-wrenching. i can only describe my feelings/reactions towards the ongoing conflicts related to her autism as VISCERAL. chapter 41 literally caused me to sob into a pillow. i am not kidding. i had to try very hard to stifle my weeping.
the ending, though extremely fast-paced was satisfying and realistic. i appreciated that, unlike The Bride Test, not every plot point received a sparkly, happy conclusion. grief and healing are not linear, and it makes sense that Anna‘s experiences with them were not either.
i will admit, criticisms of Quan’s story are valid. though i liked that his chapters were brief, i would happily read an entire novel about his journey surviving cancer. i did not feel like his POV was needed at times, which led me to want his storyline to be fleshed out more, to be more on par with the tone and severity of Anna’s. i think each arc could have better paralleled the other and his story could have had a stronger impact. maybe Anna’s story was heavy enough and Helen Hoang felt the need to write something lighter to help the reader escape that darkness, but i think it still could have worked.
wrt the sex scenes: this book was much steamier and more satisfying (wink wonk) than The Bride Test. it also showed realistic sexual dysfunction and healthy communication of boundaries/needs. i liked the pining as much as i liked the sex scenes themselves, and i never turned the page and felt let down or disappointed by how the scenes ended. they all tended to make sense and feel complete.
overall this was a fantastic, quick read that i recommend to nd romance readers looking to see and authentic story in a new genre.
CW (not included below): autism meltdown, autism burnout, career burnout/career issues
Graphic: Death, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Ableism, Grief, Mental illness, Death of parent, and Sexual content
Moderate: Alcohol, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Toxic relationship, and Cancer
Minor: Cursing, Car accident, Excrement, Xenophobia, and Vomit
inthemoonforcheese's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death of parent, Alcohol, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Medical trauma, Grief, Infertility, Mental illness, Death, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Ableism, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Terminal illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexual harassment
embla_v's review against another edition
3.5
Anna blev känd över en natt när ett youtube klipp av henne som spelar violin blev viralt. Men efter det så har hon kämpat med att hitta glädjen i musiken igen och nu vill hennes pojkvän öppna upp deras förhållande. Anna är förkrossad och vill få hämd men vad kan hon göra? Jo, hon kan också ligga med andra.
Quan (bikaraktär i tidigare böcker i serien) har varit sjuk och ska nu ut i dejting livet igen och då träffar han Anna. Men när Annas familj drabbas av en tragedi ställs allt på ända och de måste kämpa för sin kärlek men också för sig själva.
En berättelse i stil med tidigare böcker i serien. Jag rekommenderar att läsa de två andra böckerna först och sedan denna.
Graphic: Death of parent, Sexual content, and Ableism
Moderate: Alcohol, Toxic relationship, Grief, Toxic friendship, Gaslighting, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Cancer, Death, and Infertility
peachani's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Ableism, Grief, Medical content, Sexual content, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Bullying, Classism, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Mental illness, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Alcohol, Cursing, Infertility, and Suicidal thoughts
0701mango's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Ableism, Cursing, Mental illness, Death of parent, Terminal illness, and Sexual content
Moderate: Medical content, Cancer, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Alcohol, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Infertility, Death, and Grief
The female lead has autism spectrum disorder and her characteristics relating to that are described in detail. The main character also goes to therapy. A significant time in the book is spent on discussions of medical illness and chronic/terminal illness. I believe "toxic relationship" is an appropriate tag for describing the relationship between Anna and her sister Priscilla.kdailyreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Cancer, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Sexual content, Death of parent, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Alcohol, Ableism, and Infertility
jessgreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
See more reviews at: https://jessgreads.wixsite.com
Graphic: Sexual content, Cancer, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Death of parent, Death, and Terminal illness
Minor: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Alcohol, and Blood