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daniellekat's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
- 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
4.75
I'm surprised at how much I enjoyed this. The relationship was believable and both main characters were endearing. I loved how the different POVs were written and thought it was a brilliant choice by the author to get the reader inside the head of each character. I think the Justin plot-line was challenging but well handled and showcased how difficult these situations can be despite having a relatively strong support group. My main drawbacks were that I hated how easily Martin got off. He should have faced some real and legitimate consequences. I also HATED the Gerty-Mo relationship! Why can't people just be friends! I'm going to pretend that Gerty and Rachel hooked up and Mo is actually asexual just so I can be happy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Stalking, Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Forced institutionalization, and Bullying
Minor: Vomit, Alcohol, and Domestic abuse
atamano's review against another edition
emotional
funny
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
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Violence, Sexual content, Alcohol, Body shaming, Cancer, Abandonment, Confinement, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Stalking, and Terminal illness
Minor: Homophobia, Racism, and Vomit
lahars_little_library's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
fast-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? It's complicated
4.5
Love love Love! This was so much deeper than I expected!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Stalking, and Mental illness
Moderate: Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, Chronic illness, Confinement, Racism, Sexual content, and Terminal illness
Minor: Cancer, Vomit, Homophobia, War, Drug use, and Body shaming
internationalreads's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Confinement, Alcohol, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Terminal illness, Stalking, Grief, Vomit, Sexual content, and Mental illness
purplepenning's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.75
This took quite a long while to come together for me. I liked both of the main characters, and generally enjoy a dual narration, but hoo boy, the clipped, dropped-subject voice of Leon's narration was hard to adjust to. Overall, though, it's a unique, satisfying, closed door romance with some fun publishing insider elements.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gaslighting, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Vomit, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Alcohol
*Content notes: one character is a hospice nurse, one character is exiting an emotionally abusive relationship, one character has been wrongly convicted and incarcerated; there's gaslighting, emotional manipulation, stalking, confrontation, and restraining ordersminxtte's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Terminal illness, Stalking, Medical content, Gaslighting, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Vomit, Sexual content, Panic attacks/disorders, Cursing, and Cancer
Minor: Infidelity and Body shaming
logan_readss's review
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
4.5
Okay so, full disclosure, I never wanted to nor expected to pick up a romance book in my life. I want romance in my fanfictions and adventure in my novels but there I was paying 20p to get this book second hand and this was the best 20p I've spend so far.
The characters are loveable and relatable, the plot was character centred (which, for me, is the best type of plot) and despite some of the heavy themes I never felt weighed down by it. I rooted for Tiffy and Leon from the start and the ending was nothing but satisfying to read. Definitely recommend it.
The only reason it missed out on five stars is because I still felt like I could put it down - for a book to get five I have to be captured wholly and unable to stop reading, even for toilet breaks.
The characters are loveable and relatable, the plot was character centred (which, for me, is the best type of plot) and despite some of the heavy themes I never felt weighed down by it. I rooted for Tiffy and Leon from the start and the ending was nothing but satisfying to read. Definitely recommend it.
The only reason it missed out on five stars is because I still felt like I could put it down - for a book to get five I have to be captured wholly and unable to stop reading, even for toilet breaks.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Medical content, Stalking, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Minor: Abandonment, Emotional abuse, and Vomit
False imprisonmenttherobinjoyce's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
So after reading Beth O'leary's two other books I didn't hold much hope for this one. I loved the sound of the synopsis and thought I would give Beth one last chance to try and wow me with her work and...well...I was very pleasantly surprised.
The writing was well done, I really enjoyed the plot line, the characterization was just gorgeous, I loved the two main characters, their differences, their likeability...it was just a brilliant story. The plot was very well executed, the sexual tension, the suspense, everything to do with Richie and his trial, Justin as the stalkery ex, and tiffy and Leon trying to find their way towards each other throughout the whole book was just wonderful.
Beth O'leary's writing is wonderful in this book, the story was magical, and I can understand now where the buzz for Beth's work began as, with this debut novel, no wonder she was shot right into the headlights of the bookish community.
On that note I do have to say I could not, in good faith, rate this book the five stars that it does deserve purely for the fact that Beth O'Leary did NOT include a trigger warning content at the beginning of the book.
If she'd have included the trigger warning for the content on this book I could have easily rated this 5-stars but since she didn't, I picked up what I thought was a good romantic comedy and instead felt very triggered by some of the content especially that to do withTiffy and Justin.
Justin is the typical textbook manipulator ex-boyfriend and having suffered with gaslighting, emotional abuse, as well as PTSD to do with those things, I found it very difficult to read about what Justin was doing Tiffy and and not feel triggered.
While it was handled very well and rather respectfully, and I love seeing Leon's accommodation to Tiffy's PTSD, for someone who has had to go through an abusive relationship and who is been gaslighted before it is very very hard to read a story about someone else suffering the same treatment and either not being strong enough to stand up for themselves or not being able to stand up.
It's not that I wish if wouldn't write about these kind of topics because I don't see any harm in her writing about these topics and discussing it respectfully and bring it more out into the open. I fully and wholeheartedly agree that it should be talked about more and there should be more cases of it in the media that we consume, namely in book form.
I agree that it added a lot to the story and that a lot of it belong there and because it was handled respectfully, I'm fine with it being in there and it did add to the story and make it better. That being said, and I can't stress this enough, there should have been a trigger warning printed in the beginning of the book.
If I had picked up this book 2-years ago and started reading it under the pretence that it was a simple romantic comedy about two people falling for each other despite never having physically met, I would have been seriously affected by it and a lot of the information that is discussed and the treatment thatTiffy has to endure would have made my own experiences and my own PTSD magnified tenfold it would not have been healthy for me and it probably would have sent me into a breakdown. And that is not ok
Trigger warnings aren't there to stop people reading the book . They're to warn readers that this content is in there and if they chose to put it down and come back to I because they're not strong enough to deal with that, then it's ok. By not putting them in, when this subject matter is finally revealed, it is hard-hitting and painful to a reader who is dealing with these issues. Protect your readers mental and physical health.
The writing was well done, I really enjoyed the plot line, the characterization was just gorgeous, I loved the two main characters, their differences, their likeability...it was just a brilliant story. The plot was very well executed, the sexual tension, the suspense, everything to do with Richie and his trial, Justin as the stalkery ex, and tiffy and Leon trying to find their way towards each other throughout the whole book was just wonderful.
Beth O'leary's writing is wonderful in this book, the story was magical, and I can understand now where the buzz for Beth's work began as, with this debut novel, no wonder she was shot right into the headlights of the bookish community.
On that note I do have to say I could not, in good faith, rate this book the five stars that it does deserve purely for the fact that Beth O'Leary did NOT include a trigger warning content at the beginning of the book.
If she'd have included the trigger warning for the content on this book I could have easily rated this 5-stars but since she didn't, I picked up what I thought was a good romantic comedy and instead felt very triggered by some of the content especially that to do with
Justin is the typical textbook manipulator ex-boyfriend and having suffered with gaslighting, emotional abuse, as well as PTSD to do with those things, I found it very difficult to read about what Justin was doing Tiffy and and not feel triggered.
While it was handled very well and rather respectfully, and I love seeing Leon's accommodation to Tiffy's PTSD, for someone who has had to go through an abusive relationship and who is been gaslighted before it is very very hard to read a story about someone else suffering the same treatment and either not being strong enough to stand up for themselves or not being able to stand up.
It's not that I wish if wouldn't write about these kind of topics because I don't see any harm in her writing about these topics and discussing it respectfully and bring it more out into the open. I fully and wholeheartedly agree that it should be talked about more and there should be more cases of it in the media that we consume, namely in book form.
I agree that it added a lot to the story and that a lot of it belong there and because it was handled respectfully, I'm fine with it being in there and it did add to the story and make it better. That being said, and I can't stress this enough, there should have been a trigger warning printed in the beginning of the book.
If I had picked up this book 2-years ago and started reading it under the pretence that it was a simple romantic comedy about two people falling for each other despite never having physically met, I would have been seriously affected by it and a lot of the information that is discussed and the treatment that
Trigger warnings aren't there to stop people reading the book . They're to warn readers that this content is in there and if they chose to put it down and come back to I because they're not strong enough to deal with that, then it's ok. By not putting them in, when this subject matter is finally revealed, it is hard-hitting and painful to a reader who is dealing with these issues. Protect your readers mental and physical health.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Stalking, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Vomit, Violence, Chronic illness, Alcohol, and Drug abuse
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