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dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
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
Spice: well worded, decent portrayal of BDSM
Main Couple: lovely, drama was eh, but that could be me being annoyed with 20 something’s
Side characters: we’re mostly annoying and I had to race through those parts with them (with the exception of Jan)
Pen was annoying and I knew she would be trouble, the ending redeemed her a little bit
Audio: actors did a fantastic job with portraying the characters
Main Couple: lovely, drama was eh, but that could be me being annoyed with 20 something’s
Side characters: we’re mostly annoying and I had to race through those parts with them (with the exception of Jan)
Audio: actors did a fantastic job with portraying the characters
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Mental illness, Medical trauma, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Domestic abuse
emotional
tense
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
There’s a lot going on in this book, and while there were parts I thought worked well, there were a lot of issues with plot, pacing, characters that didn’t quite come together. The lead character, Scarlett, is a tough character to be in her head because she is really going through a lot of mental struggles with recovering from a serious injury from platform diving at the top level while also pre-med at Stanford. She is on page therapy through the book and struggles with social interaction, a mental block with a dive type, and low self-confidence with intense perfectionism. She also likes to be submissive in the bedroom and her ex wasn’t quite compatible. Her teammate Pen(elope), a major character in the story, drunkenly suggests Scarlett should hook up with her ex Lukas as he is into matching power dynamics. Lukas is Swedish, the best swimmer in the world (Olympic medals), and also pre-med. The rest of the story tries to combine the diving sports comeback story with exploring a new sexual dynamic relationship with messy friendships between Scarlett and Pen when Pen still very much has a close co-dependent relationship with Lukas. There’s also a lot of college stuff like working in a lab and stressing about classes and parties and roommates. I enjoyed a lot of the parts individually, especially as I got used to the writing style and the way many things are implied versus outright stated, and thought most of the dynamic between Lukas and Scarlett was handled with care and was compelling mostly pleasure domination with her crying from rapid fire satisfaction . However, these separate plotlines didn’t end up resolving in a way that packed the right emotional punch, puzzle pieces coming together way that happens in excellently crafted books. Also, I wasn’t super convinced these characters were pre-med, computational biology prodigies because it was all tell and not show but I haven’t read her other books so I didn’t care about the cameos from other books.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Toxic friendship
Minor: Alcohol
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really really like Ali Hazelwood's work, and loved this book as well. I knocked it half a star for a couple of scenes that weren't to my taste (had to skim over them) and how *annoying* Scarlett was about Pen as the book went on.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child abuse
It's super important that anyone reading this is aware it's a book that involves kink. While there is thoughtful commentary, there is a small bit of shaming someone for their preferences, some internalized shame, and one of the spicy scenes contains anal penetration.
emotional
funny
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
God did I love this book. The audio was phenomenal and I DEVOURED it. I couldn’t get enough and when I wasn’t listening to it, I was thinking about listening to it. This book just might be my new favorite by Ali. Actually, scratch that, IT IS my new favorite by her.
Also can we talk about Lukas? Lukas. F**king. Blomqvist. Aka my newest book boyfriend. This man right here? 😮💨 Everything that just came out of his mouth had me falling in love with him. And then how he was with Scarlett just reinforced that love. Their chemistry was off the charts and the banter was perfection. Oh and the spice was H O T (and the audio probably turned it up notch because damn).
Ugh, I just can’t get over how much I loved this one.
Also can we talk about Lukas? Lukas. F**king. Blomqvist. Aka my newest book boyfriend. This man right here? 😮💨 Everything that just came out of his mouth had me falling in love with him. And then how he was with Scarlett just reinforced that love. Their chemistry was off the charts and the banter was perfection. Oh and the spice was H O T (and the audio probably turned it up notch because damn).
Ugh, I just can’t get over how much I loved this one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Toxic friendship
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I can start with the good stuff: this was a decent exploration of two individual’s first kink relationship. I think the kinks they explore are very entry level, realistic, nothing too in the deep end (pun intended). I can admit to some giggling, kicking of my feet, twirling my hair, etc when Lukas said some of his iconic lines in the book. I also think that we got some good mental health representation with Scarlett’s anxiety returning to diving after her injury. Unfortunately, that’s where the praise ends.
My main issue comes down to how they practiced safer sex/ kink. You don’t get any on page negotiation of scenes which I felt really uncomfortable with not being incorporated (a very rare moment of tell me AND show me). The list they fill out is great and all, but it doesn’t mean much (to me) without the accompaniment of a conversation NOT INTERRUPTED BY PEN. The amount that Scarlett and Lukas don’t communicate/ text each other seemed totally unrealistic. A lot of their issues seemed to be solved after a bathroom quickie. The core issues of miscommunication were not addressed.
Adding onto this, the somewhat surprise anal sex scene when Lukas was not in the right headspace to dom really put me off. To me, that read as a very unsafe situation for both of them. Furthermore, following their first sexual encounter (unprotected without Lukas having a recent negative STI panel), he basically abandons her forgoing any responsibility for more long term post-scene aftercare. This leaves Scarlett obviously confused and hurt and in a state of sub drop which was totally avoidable.
Pen is shit friend too.
I didn’t dislike this book; I still somewhat enjoyed it, however, my issues with their communication overshadowed most of that enjoyment.
Adding onto this, the somewhat surprise anal sex scene when Lukas was not in the right headspace to dom really put me off. To me, that read as a very unsafe situation for both of them. Furthermore, following their first sexual encounter (unprotected without Lukas having a recent negative STI panel), he basically abandons her forgoing any responsibility for more long term post-scene aftercare. This leaves Scarlett obviously confused and hurt and in a state of sub drop which was totally avoidable.
Pen is shit friend too.
I didn’t dislike this book; I still somewhat enjoyed it, however, my issues with their communication overshadowed most of that enjoyment.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Medical content, Alcohol
Minor: Bullying, Cancer, Death of parent
emotional
funny
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Minor: Bullying, Chronic illness, Cursing, Mental illness, Death of parent, Toxic friendship
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Two things really bothered me about this book. One, Scarlett plays the "he can't really be I to me" game way, way too long to be believable in any sense. And two, Penelope is a horrible friend. The whole time. To both Scarlett and Lukas. The girl is a walking red flag and the way that storyline wrapped up didn't sit well with me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Death of parent
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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
Slow start but once at the midway point, it become one of the fastest reads I ever tore through. Definitely would recommend it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Medical content, Medical trauma, Toxic friendship
Minor: Toxic relationship, Vomit
emotional
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Lukas Blomqvist 🛐 that's it, that's all I have to say
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Sexual content
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol
Minor: Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Infidelity, Misogyny, Terminal illness, Death of parent