Reviews with content warning for Panic attacks/disorders - Book Lovers

After reading Beach Read, I had a ban on all of Emily Henry’s books, but this one surprised me. I loved the witty banter. I loved how the main character introduced herself as the anti-hero. I think that Charlie and her romance was so cute: right place at the wrong time, small town romance, and slow burn! Glad they got it all figured out in the end — I knew they would. I think the book was really predictable but that made it a better relaxing read. I hated Libby. She’s annoying and selfish imo. Also there sister Friendship was weird. The bond felt so co-dependent and ugly.

Eleanor, I liked it!

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bi_n_large's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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chrisljm's review against another edition

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lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

how great it would be to love someone the way nora and charlie love each other. i usually don’t have much to say for third act conflicts, but i loved the one here. it’s perfectly sad while also feeling just how deeply they love each other.

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wilybooklover's review against another edition

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emotional medium-paced

2.5

The romance trope and archetype references were really cute, and I loved the romance between Nora and Charlie. I loved how Charlie accepted Nora exactly as she is without trying to change her (unlike her sister) and how similar they were to each other. Sadly the romance was more of a subplot and I hated everything else in the book.

I couldn’t stand Libby. Like, I cannot even accurately convey the depths of my rage whenever she was on-page; she was AWFUL. I hated the plot surrounding her sisterly relationship with Nora and that was the central plot — publishers, authors, PLEASE stop marketing books as romances when the main plot IS NOT THE ROMANCE!! It didn’t even feel like 50/50 women’s fiction/romance; it felt like a book about grief and familial relationships wrapped up in superficial romance packaging. Even when Nora is WITH Charlie on page she is mostly thinking or talking about her sister. I thought romcoms (which, again, this is marketed as!) were supposed to be fun and lighthearted yet this was so heavy, especially from the 50% mark which had a weird tonal shift into angsting about parental trauma. That’s not to say you can’t cover heavy topics in a romcom, but when all I’m thinking about as I’m reading is how much your characters desperately need therapy, the tone is all wrong for the genre. When I pick up a romcom I want something light and fluffy and most of all focused on the romance. This had even less romance in it than Beach Read (in which the central plot was focused on grief, not romance), so I'm not sure why so many reviewers are saying this is her most romance-y book yet. I felt like I barely even got to know Charlie!

Also rivals WHERE? They’re working together, not in competition with each other?? They're not even enemies. And the heroine is not the ice queen she was promised to be; she’s actually quite warm and caring. You can tell me she’s a coldhearted bitch and that everyone refers to her as a shark all you want, but you also have to show me that for me to believe it. I feel like nothing about how this book was marketed (AKA my expectations) is related to what was between the pages. And honestly, I'm just baffled at the choice to make such a big deal over Dusty writing a character based on Nora to then never address it or confront her over it in the book. What was the point of its inclusion?

If this had been a bit lighter and there had been more focus on the romance or maybe dual POV with more of Charlie’s life for balance (and a lot less of the sister) I think I would have really liked this but as it is... meh. This is my favourite of her three ‘romances’ but that really isn’t saying much. I just don’t think Emily Henry works for me, although I’ve said this before and every time I get lured in by the hype.

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fleur____'s review against another edition

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funny hopeful inspiring relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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issyd23's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Less of the sister, more of the sex 3📚

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20sidedbi's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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m4rtt4's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Finally a contemporary romance novel that actually had me rooting for the main couple, dying even... I feel like my identity as a romance-hater is being threatened, but perhaps not in a bad way? There definitely were so many cliché tropes in this book, some of which melted me *cough* the moonlight swimming scene *cough* and some others that were predictable and boring. Also both of the sisters were really insufferable at times, I didn't really like all their interactions very much, but I also have to praise the "mandatory" third act conflict

for it not having been between Charlie and Nora — first of all I'm glad they didn't have serious drama and secondly, the conflict made me like the sisters more. It was also a necessary element for character growth and overall gave more depth to the story.

I'm still doubtful of whether a romance book worthy of MY five stars even exists, and while this one was not perfect either, it was still so very enjoyable that I binge-read like 75% of it in one sitting. No regrets <3

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