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taliabasma's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
slow-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
This book made me feel so many feelings and I want to be mad at Mazey for creating such a lovely story that had me stressed, laughing, crying and everything in between. That being said, I learned so much and I feel like a better off person for having read this novel.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief and Death of parent
Minor: Emotional abuse and Ableism
spaghettireads's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
slow-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
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Sexism, Grief, Car accident, and Death of parent
Moderate: Medical content
Minor: Cancer and Medical trauma
kansxlibrary's review
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Death of parent
mandaraffe's review
emotional
lighthearted
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
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Bullying, Car accident, Death of parent, Grief, Mental illness, Misogyny, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexism
Moderate: Ableism
Minor: Toxic relationship
alenert's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Mental illness, Grief, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Ableism, Medical content, and Sexism
Minor: Cancer
allisonwonderlandreads's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
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
2.0
The hype for this book was so real for me. Harper's a Jewish dental student with anxiety, weighed down by the lingering trauma and grief of losing her mother as a child when they were both in a car accident. Dan's in dental school at the insistence of his mother, trying to live up to his deceased father's legacy, even though he hated the man and hates returning to school for something he's not passionate about. Unfortunately, this was a miss for me in the romance department and a full raging mess in the friendship category.
Instalove vibes are pretty *shrug* to me as a general rule. In this case, it's at least instant infatuation. it reminds me of a teenage crush in timbre but with two adult people. I have great fondness for both teenagers and for occasionally acting like them. It's probably good for your health. But the overall lack of maturity from two 26-year olds, one of whom gets to be addressed as "Dr." was jarring. Even their language felt like a badly written teen drama at times. For example, who asks a friend if she "humped" last night? For that alone, I would kick a friend to the curb, and this group has worse to answer for.
This could have been friends-to-lovers except they go on a date before the whole friends thing comes about, which casts a weird vibe on the whole affair. I felt like it placed more emphasis on the very intense lust they were mutually ignoring rather than actually building a friendship. Also, after one month, she considers him her best friend, so sorry to the previous holders of that title. It's less surprising once you've met them. More on that later. Dan's solicitousness towards Harper could be charming at times and overbearing at others. Like it's good he respected her wishes and the degree of intimacy she's comfortable with to stay friends only, but it always felt like he's just in the wings, waiting for her to reverse her decision and date/be in love with/have sex with him as if it's a foregone conclusion.
In general, Dan's white knight complex was a bit much for me. He wants to fix Harper's problems, even when it's not appropriate, i.e. in a work setting where she is the higher ranking person in the room. He also beats up her academic rival/tormentor, who is the cartoonish face of misogyny. So tada! he saved her from all the other sexist micro-aggressions, as well. Miracles happen, as they often do for cishet white men. His possessive caveman behavior (his words) isn't any better because of his self-awareness on the matter. Dan also wants to save his mom, who is cast in a decidedly helpless yet somehow also domineering role for most of the book. Also, his dad is an emotionally manipulative POS end of story, but I can't be the only one amused slash perplexed that Dan's most subversive/slackerly decision was to seek a job in ~finance~, where he is impassioned to make money and (in his own words) climb the corporate ladder. The shame! The piles of money! How could he not have pursued the noble profession of dentistry?? Like I would be ashamed of that, but your typical upper middle class white dad probably wouldn't be.
Now for my complete meltdown about the friendships. Harper's relationship with her best friends feels very 3-vs-1 Mario Party mini-game, where her friends reinforce her feelings that she's odd or not making the right choices because they all side against her. And it's true that Harper isn't living her healthiest life. Her anxiety runs rampant through everything, and her laser focus on school leaves room for little else. But apparently instead of asking what do you need? or how can I help? these friends decide that for themselves. They don't know about Harper's struggles with mental health, but they've intuited some aspects of it and could be responsive. They are pushy to the point of manipulating her into a bikini wax so she can "feel sexy" and entice Dan. I can't fathom an argument where that's a healthy crossing of boundaries. She is pressured into attending a party even though they know she doesn't like them, and then they lose track of her when she has a panic attack due to the conditions they introduced her to. wtf. The next morning, they show up to ask her if she's ok before moving on to the "important" questions about if she had sex or not afterwards. Even hearing she had a panic attack, they persist in asking follow ups that completely ignore her mental health. Harper (rightfully) blows up at them for their priorities, and they bring up therapy (maybe not the right time) and her dead mother (probably never a good time) and then everyone pretends the conversation didn't happen as if no changes need to be made. "Strong female friendships" were part of the hype for this book, which left me especially disappointed. Dan's best friend is somehow worse because I never observed him to have a positive quality. He judges him loudly and for all to hear about how he ignores his mom's calls as if there aren't a million reasons somehow may have a less than positive relationship with a parent, all valid.
Humans, this anxiety representation in the genre (or anywhere) was meant to be so powerful. But I spent the whole time distracted by what a shit support system Harper had and wondering how her experience would have been different with friends and a love interest who worked with her instead of for her.
Instalove vibes are pretty *shrug* to me as a general rule. In this case, it's at least instant infatuation. it reminds me of a teenage crush in timbre but with two adult people. I have great fondness for both teenagers and for occasionally acting like them. It's probably good for your health. But the overall lack of maturity from two 26-year olds, one of whom gets to be addressed as "Dr." was jarring. Even their language felt like a badly written teen drama at times. For example, who asks a friend if she "humped" last night? For that alone, I would kick a friend to the curb, and this group has worse to answer for.
This could have been friends-to-lovers except they go on a date before the whole friends thing comes about, which casts a weird vibe on the whole affair. I felt like it placed more emphasis on the very intense lust they were mutually ignoring rather than actually building a friendship. Also, after one month, she considers him her best friend, so sorry to the previous holders of that title. It's less surprising once you've met them. More on that later. Dan's solicitousness towards Harper could be charming at times and overbearing at others. Like it's good he respected her wishes and the degree of intimacy she's comfortable with to stay friends only, but it always felt like he's just in the wings, waiting for her to reverse her decision and date/be in love with/have sex with him as if it's a foregone conclusion.
In general, Dan's white knight complex was a bit much for me. He wants to fix Harper's problems, even when it's not appropriate, i.e. in a work setting where she is the higher ranking person in the room. He also beats up her academic rival/tormentor, who is the cartoonish face of misogyny. So tada! he saved her from all the other sexist micro-aggressions, as well. Miracles happen, as they often do for cishet white men. His possessive caveman behavior (his words) isn't any better because of his self-awareness on the matter. Dan also wants to save his mom, who is cast in a decidedly helpless yet somehow also domineering role for most of the book. Also, his dad is an emotionally manipulative POS end of story, but I can't be the only one amused slash perplexed that Dan's most subversive/slackerly decision was to seek a job in ~finance~, where he is impassioned to make money and (in his own words) climb the corporate ladder. The shame! The piles of money! How could he not have pursued the noble profession of dentistry?? Like I would be ashamed of that, but your typical upper middle class white dad probably wouldn't be.
Now for my complete meltdown about the friendships. Harper's relationship with her best friends feels very 3-vs-1 Mario Party mini-game, where her friends reinforce her feelings that she's odd or not making the right choices because they all side against her. And it's true that Harper isn't living her healthiest life. Her anxiety runs rampant through everything, and her laser focus on school leaves room for little else. But apparently instead of asking what do you need? or how can I help? these friends decide that for themselves. They don't know about Harper's struggles with mental health, but they've intuited some aspects of it and could be responsive. They are pushy to the point of manipulating her into a bikini wax so she can "feel sexy" and entice Dan. I can't fathom an argument where that's a healthy crossing of boundaries. She is pressured into attending a party even though they know she doesn't like them, and then they lose track of her when she has a panic attack due to the conditions they introduced her to. wtf. The next morning, they show up to ask her if she's ok before moving on to the "important" questions about if she had sex or not afterwards. Even hearing she had a panic attack, they persist in asking follow ups that completely ignore her mental health. Harper (rightfully) blows up at them for their priorities, and they bring up therapy (maybe not the right time) and her dead mother (probably never a good time) and then everyone pretends the conversation didn't happen as if no changes need to be made. "Strong female friendships" were part of the hype for this book, which left me especially disappointed. Dan's best friend is somehow worse because I never observed him to have a positive quality. He judges him loudly and for all to hear about how he ignores his mom's calls as if there aren't a million reasons somehow may have a less than positive relationship with a parent, all valid.
Humans, this anxiety representation in the genre (or anywhere) was meant to be so powerful. But I spent the whole time distracted by what a shit support system Harper had and wondering how her experience would have been different with friends and a love interest who worked with her instead of for her.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Ableism, Car accident, Death of parent, and Mental illness
Moderate: Grief, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Misogyny, and Sexism
Minor: Racism and Sexual harassment
giyamaniha's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders and Mental illness
Moderate: Grief and Misogyny
gingersnap_reads's review
challenging
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Grief, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Ableism, and Mental illness
Minor: Alcohol
stephsbooktalk's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
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? It's complicated
4.75
Thank you so much @librofm, @mazeyeddings & @macmillan.audio for an advance copy of this!
Harper is on her way to being an oral surgeons and is right at the top of her class when she meets first year student dental student Dan. Harper accidentally ruins a project of his and offers her assistance to fix what was broken. The chemistry between them was lit right from the start. They are both in the dental industry for two different reasons which are such sad reasons.
One of my favorite quotes from the book was:
“No one should have to lose a piece of themselves to make others comfortable”
I really enjoyed listening to this one! I am such a fan of dual POV and even better via audio when they have two narrators. The flow of the book via audio made it a super quick listen. Also it's always a bonus when a book takes place in Philadelphia.
One thing I loved is that they both knew they were into each other right away. It may have taken a bit for things to get hot and heavy but they always known there was something there. And yes there is steam 🔥🔥
There was such a mix of light and funny moments to serious discussions so please check the content warnings on this prior to reading. Bravo to Mazey on your debut!!
Harper is on her way to being an oral surgeons and is right at the top of her class when she meets first year student dental student Dan. Harper accidentally ruins a project of his and offers her assistance to fix what was broken. The chemistry between them was lit right from the start. They are both in the dental industry for two different reasons which are such sad reasons.
One of my favorite quotes from the book was:
“No one should have to lose a piece of themselves to make others comfortable”
I really enjoyed listening to this one! I am such a fan of dual POV and even better via audio when they have two narrators. The flow of the book via audio made it a super quick listen. Also it's always a bonus when a book takes place in Philadelphia.
One thing I loved is that they both knew they were into each other right away. It may have taken a bit for things to get hot and heavy but they always known there was something there. And yes there is steam 🔥🔥
There was such a mix of light and funny moments to serious discussions so please check the content warnings on this prior to reading. Bravo to Mazey on your debut!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Grief, and Panic attacks/disorders
100_pages_hr's review against another edition
2.0
I wanted so badly to love this book, but it really didn't work for me. Many others have loved it though, so I'm quite positive it is a me thing...but here are my thoughts.
1. I LOVED the meet cute. It was adorable and then she helped him fix his project and she was so patient and sweet and Dan was just adorable.
2. I didn't appreciate how one minute she didn't want Dan to stand up for her at the dental school but he could later in a social setting...
3. This book was incredibly crude/crass and it totally ruined it for me. Those parts were so frequent that they kept interrupting the flow of the book for me.
4. I did think the anxiety rep was decent. I like how it ended with some characters getting the professional help they needed.
But unfortunately the parts that didn't work for me far outweighed the good.
I received an advanced copy of this book through NetGalley. This is my honest review.
1. I LOVED the meet cute. It was adorable and then she helped him fix his project and she was so patient and sweet and Dan was just adorable.
2. I didn't appreciate how one minute she didn't want Dan to stand up for her at the dental school but he could later in a social setting...
3. This book was incredibly crude/crass and it totally ruined it for me. Those parts were so frequent that they kept interrupting the flow of the book for me.
4. I did think the anxiety rep was decent. I like how it ended with some characters getting the professional help they needed.
But unfortunately the parts that didn't work for me far outweighed the good.
I received an advanced copy of this book through NetGalley. This is my honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Alcohol, Blood, Car accident, Cursing, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Sexual content, and Gore