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3.89 AVERAGE
3.89 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
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:
Complicated
emotional
hopeful
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
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
reflective
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
A full month after finishing this book I realised two things:
1. The romance was…meh?
2. Would’ve enjoyed this book waaay more if it was a story (just) about reconnecting with your family
1. The romance was…meh?
2. Would’ve enjoyed this book waaay more if it was a story (just) about reconnecting with your family
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
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
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I haven’t been this frustrated by a fmc in quite a while so this will be a rant-y review. Sammy was immature, manipulative, jumped to conclusions and was incapable of making the right decision. I also did not buy this couple at all. Their independent issues made them incompatible in my opinion and I wish they had not ended up together in the end. I think Max deserved better, even though we never actually got to know him well because Sammy is not a reliable narrator, especially when it came to him. I also found Sammy’s descriptions of Max and their time together to be incredibly cringey, sort of like what a 13-year-old teenage girl would say about their first crush. I love spice in books but I had to speed up the audiobook during the sex scenes. I think the audiobook narrator saved it from being even worse. She did a great job narrating.
This book dealt with some serious issues and I don’t think it handled them well. Honestly, many of my issues with this book would have been solved if this had been YA/NA so the fmc would’ve been younger and I could’ve understood some of her actions.
*Spoilers* - Non-extensive list of issues:
- she called herself a journalist but then was acting unethically by manipulating Max and hiding her job from him until the end
- I wish she had not been in therapy because why wasn’t her therapist helping her resolve some of this very obvious issues with her mother and feelings of abandonment. She should get a refund from her therapist.
- it was soooo predictable that her mother purposely kept her from her grandparents, I was hoping this wouldn’t be the case
- her reasons for “hating” Max at the beginning were all in her head. I wish he had actually done something to her but while it was rude of him not to call, he knew her for a couple of hours and his life was about to change. Holding on a grudge for 10 years over this was unreasonable
- I hated the lack of resolution with her mother
- she was a bad friend. She was so self-involved she didn’t notice anything was going with her friend
- she could’ve withdrew the article without self-sabotaging herself
- she should’ve grovel more for betraying Max
- none of their issues were resolved, she still has abandonment issues and he still has trust issues, so *shrug emojii*
This book dealt with some serious issues and I don’t think it handled them well. Honestly, many of my issues with this book would have been solved if this had been YA/NA so the fmc would’ve been younger and I could’ve understood some of her actions.
*Spoilers* - Non-extensive list of issues:
- she called herself a journalist but then was acting unethically by manipulating Max and hiding her job from him until the end
- I wish she had not been in therapy because why wasn’t her therapist helping her resolve some of this very obvious issues with her mother and feelings of abandonment. She should get a refund from her therapist.
- it was soooo predictable that her mother purposely kept her from her grandparents, I was hoping this wouldn’t be the case
- her reasons for “hating” Max at the beginning were all in her head. I wish he had actually done something to her but while it was rude of him not to call, he knew her for a couple of hours and his life was about to change. Holding on a grudge for 10 years over this was unreasonable
- I hated the lack of resolution with her mother
- she was a bad friend. She was so self-involved she didn’t notice anything was going with her friend
- she could’ve withdrew the article without self-sabotaging herself
- she should’ve grovel more for betraying Max
- none of their issues were resolved, she still has abandonment issues and he still has trust issues, so *shrug emojii*
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
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
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Taylor Swift songs: “Wildest Dreams”, “afterglow”
Age rating: 15+ (2 brief steamy scenes, 0.5/5🌶️)
if you are a fan of Ashley Poston (“The Dead Romantics” and “the Seven Year Slip”) you will LOVE this!! I know I did! Just without the paranormal aspect. This was a story about finding identity, family, dealing with past trauma, and finding love in the midst of that. I loved watching Sammy’s chaotic, messy, very human journey throughout this story. I truly connected to Sammy, even though I have not experienced the same circumstances. I also truly loved all of the side characters!! All of the relationships, especially with Sammy and her found family were so beautiful and loving. I will not lie, this might lead me to read a lot more celebrity romances and enter a delulu era, but I’m not mad about it. This book really felt like a warm hug, while still being very entertaining. I will be reading any other romances this author writes. I listened to the audiobook but I WILL be picking up a physical copy!
Plus, I love the representation in this book! We love a Pansexual Latina FMC! And I loved Willa and Brooke’s relationship/marriage! It was so healthy and loving and supportive!! We love seeing queer joy represented!!
Also side note: the audiobook narrator was fantastic!
Tropes:
Second-chance-romance
Celebrity mmc (singer)
Found family
Small town
Pansexual Latina fmc
TW: recovering alcoholic, abandonment issues, parental trauma
Age rating: 15+ (2 brief steamy scenes, 0.5/5🌶️)
if you are a fan of Ashley Poston (“The Dead Romantics” and “the Seven Year Slip”) you will LOVE this!! I know I did! Just without the paranormal aspect. This was a story about finding identity, family, dealing with past trauma, and finding love in the midst of that. I loved watching Sammy’s chaotic, messy, very human journey throughout this story. I truly connected to Sammy, even though I have not experienced the same circumstances. I also truly loved all of the side characters!! All of the relationships, especially with Sammy and her found family were so beautiful and loving. I will not lie, this might lead me to read a lot more celebrity romances and enter a delulu era, but I’m not mad about it. This book really felt like a warm hug, while still being very entertaining. I will be reading any other romances this author writes. I listened to the audiobook but I WILL be picking up a physical copy!
Plus, I love the representation in this book! We love a Pansexual Latina FMC! And I loved Willa and Brooke’s relationship/marriage! It was so healthy and loving and supportive!! We love seeing queer joy represented!!
Also side note: the audiobook narrator was fantastic!
Tropes:
Second-chance-romance
Celebrity mmc (singer)
Found family
Small town
Pansexual Latina fmc
TW: recovering alcoholic, abandonment issues, parental trauma
Content Warnings
Minor: Alcoholism, Cursing, Sexual content, Abandonment