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bookiesncookies's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
A romance with real life stakes of mental health & trauma struggles and life trajectories, but it wasn't my cup of tea
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Death of parent, Car accident, and Medical trauma
beccaand's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
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: Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Grief, Sexual content, and Death of parent
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, Emotional abuse, Car accident, and Ableism
dariasreading's review
emotional
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Car accident, Mental illness, Grief, Sexism, Misogyny, and Death of parent
aabubuyog's review against another edition
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Grief, Mental illness, and Death of parent
novelstorian's review
emotional
inspiring
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
"How was she supposed to date when even the simplest things threatened to disrupt her emotional equilibrium? How was she supposed to regularly and willfully plunge herself into the heart palpitations and a churning stomach that came with opening herself up to someone? And how was she supposed to expect another person to see her chaotic ugliness and still want to be with her? There was no point in setting herself up for failure."
This book was interesting. I certainly was not expecting this book to be deeply explore grief and having anxiety. I appreciated the fact that not only did this book explore those themes, but also dealt with how to cope with– control methods, removing the sigma around therapy etc. This was essentially the backdrop for this cute, sometimes cliche, romance. There was spice, romance and a chance to break away from the fears we never knew we had.
"He started whispering sweet words. Love words. He told her she was brave. That she was strong. That he had her, and he wasn’t letting go."
I liked Harper. She's headstrong, has aspirations and goals in life, and all she wants to do is get there. I wasn't too invested in Dan– he was an okay love-interest. Their romance was fun. They fall for each other pretty quickly and the romance that blooms from that was enjoyable to read about to an extent. Unfortunately, at times it felt a little lacklustre and some of the pages came across as filler pages that add nothing to the overall story. I wasn't 100% invested in the book entirely, and even had to take a break from reading because I feared it would land me in a reading slump.
If the synopsis sounds like your cup of tea (mouth wash?) then I would still recommend giving this book a try. It's got a lot of good representation and messages behind it– it just wasn't enough for me to rate it higher than 3 stars.
2.5 stars
Thank you to Macmillan and NetGalley who provided me with an eARC of A Brush with Love by Mazey Eddings in exchange for an honest book review.
This book was interesting. I certainly was not expecting this book to be deeply explore grief and having anxiety. I appreciated the fact that not only did this book explore those themes, but also dealt with how to cope with– control methods, removing the sigma around therapy etc. This was essentially the backdrop for this cute, sometimes cliche, romance. There was spice, romance and a chance to break away from the fears we never knew we had.
"He started whispering sweet words. Love words. He told her she was brave. That she was strong. That he had her, and he wasn’t letting go."
I liked Harper. She's headstrong, has aspirations and goals in life, and all she wants to do is get there. I wasn't too invested in Dan– he was an okay love-interest. Their romance was fun. They fall for each other pretty quickly and the romance that blooms from that was enjoyable to read about to an extent. Unfortunately, at times it felt a little lacklustre and some of the pages came across as filler pages that add nothing to the overall story. I wasn't 100% invested in the book entirely, and even had to take a break from reading because I feared it would land me in a reading slump.
If the synopsis sounds like your cup of tea (mouth wash?) then I would still recommend giving this book a try. It's got a lot of good representation and messages behind it– it just wasn't enough for me to rate it higher than 3 stars.
2.5 stars
Thank you to Macmillan and NetGalley who provided me with an eARC of A Brush with Love by Mazey Eddings in exchange for an honest book review.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness and Grief
laceystairs's review against another edition
emotional
funny
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? It's complicated
4.0
What a great romance read!
I've been on a bit of a kick with romance books recently but this one really stood out.
I enjoyed the characters greatly. They were both smart and driven. They had a lot to come to terms with within themselves before they were able to fully understand eachother but the chemistry was great.
A strong theme and challenge in this book was Harper dealing with her mental health. It was a good depiction of how people can struggle with crippling anxiety and depression and still hide it from family and friends. I liked the way it was dealt with in the book and how the other characters interpreted Harper's needs and desires. It's a complex thing to be involved with as an outsider to these disorders and very isolating for the people living with them.
This book was funny, sexy and smart. Just like the characters.
One of my favourite romance reads of the year!
I've been on a bit of a kick with romance books recently but this one really stood out.
I enjoyed the characters greatly. They were both smart and driven. They had a lot to come to terms with within themselves before they were able to fully understand eachother but the chemistry was great.
A strong theme and challenge in this book was Harper dealing with her mental health. It was a good depiction of how people can struggle with crippling anxiety and depression and still hide it from family and friends. I liked the way it was dealt with in the book and how the other characters interpreted Harper's needs and desires. It's a complex thing to be involved with as an outsider to these disorders and very isolating for the people living with them.
This book was funny, sexy and smart. Just like the characters.
One of my favourite romance reads of the year!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Mental illness
evie_dora's review
emotional
fast-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders and Grief
Moderate: Emotional abuse
elizabeth_delozier's review
emotional
funny
inspiring
fast-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
5 stars, hands down.
I went into this blind. I had heard only snippets of how this book was adorable with just a dash of spice. I was expecting something terribly cheesy. Let me just say, what a pleasant surprise.
This book was all-around delightful. A rom-com (And yes, I do mean rom-com...I laughed out loud a lot throughout this book) set in a dentistry doctoral program. Our FMC is an extremely anxious overachieving type, who works herself so hard she doesn't give herself much room for a personal life. Our MMC is a non-traditional first year legacy at the school and is currently working through complicated grief of both his recently departed father and the life he left behind to help with the family dentistry practice. While more laid back in nature than the FMC, he is still very driven...just not for dentistry.
The story touches on aspects of complicated grief, severe generalized anxiety disorder, general mental health, the importance of a support system, and the overwhelming stress put graduate students.
While covering these topics, the story also provides a fun romance with delicious spice as well as my favorite women friendship groups I have ever read about. The amount of true support and love shown among that friendship group is so heart-warming, you'll wish they were your own friends.
I loved everything about this book, including the main character's Maine Coon. I want one.
Please go read this now. Tell your friends. Shout it from the roof tops.
I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Emily Lawrence and Vikas Adam, via NetGalley. An advanced reader's copy of this audiobook was provided to me via NetGalley by Macmillan Audio in exchange for an honest review.
I went into this blind. I had heard only snippets of how this book was adorable with just a dash of spice. I was expecting something terribly cheesy. Let me just say, what a pleasant surprise.
This book was all-around delightful. A rom-com (And yes, I do mean rom-com...I laughed out loud a lot throughout this book) set in a dentistry doctoral program. Our FMC is an extremely anxious overachieving type, who works herself so hard she doesn't give herself much room for a personal life. Our MMC is a non-traditional first year legacy at the school and is currently working through complicated grief of both his recently departed father and the life he left behind to help with the family dentistry practice. While more laid back in nature than the FMC, he is still very driven...just not for dentistry.
The story touches on aspects of complicated grief, severe generalized anxiety disorder, general mental health, the importance of a support system, and the overwhelming stress put graduate students.
While covering these topics, the story also provides a fun romance with delicious spice as well as my favorite women friendship groups I have ever read about. The amount of true support and love shown among that friendship group is so heart-warming, you'll wish they were your own friends.
I loved everything about this book, including the main character's Maine Coon. I want one.
Please go read this now. Tell your friends. Shout it from the roof tops.
I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Emily Lawrence and Vikas Adam, via NetGalley. An advanced reader's copy of this audiobook was provided to me via NetGalley by Macmillan Audio in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, and Grief
Moderate: Death of parent and Emotional abuse
kottengoesbork's review
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, and Mental illness
Moderate: Cancer and Emotional abuse
beccarwolf's review against another edition
emotional
funny
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexism