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paigeinabook's review
- 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: Addiction, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism
livia3_answorth's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction and Alcoholism
lovesbug787's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Moderate: Addiction, Cursing, Sexual violence, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Abandonment
Minor: Alcoholism, Bullying, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Kidnapping, Outing, and Alcohol
staceyanne_reads's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Final eye roll count: 11
Audible groan count: 2*
I didnt hate the first one of these, I quite liked that it was marketed as a romance and then turned out to be an essay on generational trauma and cycles of abuse, because I think that's kind of a powerful metaphor for how it feels to be a victim/survivor of these types of relationships. This, did not give me that.
In spite of the extensive back stories our two protagonists have I still feel like everyone was super two dimensional, and Atlas character was so picture perfect flawless that I found him utterly unbelievable, and actually ended up wanting to see him fail at something, which of course he never did, because he's perfect. Around the 50% mark I actually wanted to see them not end up together.
Ryle(still a stupid fucking name)'s character is diminished to pantomime evil villain, and secondary characters are entirely unimportant. Even the kids, Josh and Emerson, who are the catalysts for the majority of the events in this novel, barely have any nuance. I will say I found Sutton to be a little more interesting as an antagonist, but even that wanted more exploration.
All in all, I'm just glad I can take this off my shelf and never have to think about it again.
* I will admit, one audible, and public, groan was due to the audiobook having only a short gap in the narration between sections and I mistakenly thought the Finding Nemo quote was part of a *poignant* moment, not the following part. My mistake, still a fairly cringe-worthy pop culture reference to have to keep returning to.
Graphic: Child abuse and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Addiction
aprilyvonne's review
3.75
“It Starts With Us” had so much potential. I understand that CoHo was convinced to write this for her fans, and I commend that effort. I was slightly disappointed that it just didn’t live up to some of her previous writing. It was a bit flat to me.
Now, I wasn’t a fan of Ryle in the first book, so I was excited to see Atlas have his own story. Of course, I also wanted Lily to be happy and safe. There was still some tension and stress, but the drama was lacking. Not that I wanted more violence. I suppose there wasn’t enough rising action (or even a true climax) in my opinion.
Again, I appreciated the author’s note about her why and her vision, like before. So, based on that, Hoover did exactly what she had intended. The story was more happy, but I think I would’ve enjoyed it more if there was just a little extra to make that joy impact me as a reader.
At least the sequel didn’t upset me as much as the first. 🤓
Moderate: Addiction, Bullying, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Stalking, and Gaslighting
sarahstyles28's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
really lovely story which has the powers to spread the words of DA and realities of true love.
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
issyd23's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Classism
sldibened's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Grief, Stalking, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Alcohol
jadyn_grace's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Alcohol
roo_coniam's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Drug use, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Moderate: Domestic abuse
Minor: Drug abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicide, Medical trauma, and Sexual harassment