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3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
emotional
hopeful
reflective
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
First, I'd like to thank the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with this ARC!
Things I liked:
- Banter between FMC & her best friend (felt like the way my friends and I chat, which I LOVE)
- FMCs inner monologue (my sister in anxiety, I get you)
- How authentic the FMC's journey felt at the beginning of the book, because life will really give you want SHE thinks you want sometimes and not what you actually want
Things I loved a little less:
- DANNY. My brother in christ I just did not enjoy you, I fear
- Kaliya my sister, sweetie pie, I did need you to stand on business and tell this man to go to hell but...here we are.
Overall, I liked the author's writing style but this couple just wasn't for me. I'd read something by her in the future! This one just didn't do it for me.
Things I liked:
- Banter between FMC & her best friend (felt like the way my friends and I chat, which I LOVE)
- FMCs inner monologue (my sister in anxiety, I get you)
- How authentic the FMC's journey felt at the beginning of the book, because life will really give you want SHE thinks you want sometimes and not what you actually want
Things I loved a little less:
- DANNY. My brother in christ I just did not enjoy you, I fear
- Kaliya my sister, sweetie pie, I did need you to stand on business and tell this man to go to hell but...here we are.
Overall, I liked the author's writing style but this couple just wasn't for me. I'd read something by her in the future! This one just didn't do it for me.
emotional
hopeful
reflective
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
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
- loved the Black FMC and the mixed MMC dynamic, even though it was harder for me with the rich, privileged MMC and underprivileged FMC dynamic
- loved the exploration of deeper themes of sexism in the workplace, racism and discrimination in the workplace and in the film industry, how difficult it was to be in an interracial couple back in the day, how difficult and important depictions of racism are often distilled to be "pleasant" and "palatable" for white audiences, nepotism, cultivating female friendships, how discouraging it can be trying to break into your career field and having to work unappreciated jobs, the pull of your first love and what it takes to find them again, wrong time right person, how love takes effort and persistence, the softness of being with loved ones and family, and wanting to feel solid in who you are without that revolving around a partner
- the yearning did it for me - i thought it was developed well and I wanted it to build up nicely, and then they just were together...and the reason(s) keeping them apart didn't seem all the big. but I'm trying to give the author the benefit of the doubt, and maybe the point was that in real life, sometimes something tiny can cause miscommunication or just distancing which can lead to heartbreak and breakups
- after they got together, the story kind of fell flat for me.
i know that the third act breakup was meant to be this empowering journey for FMC to find her footing and establish herself professionally without the influence of nepo baby MMC, but it was like 2 pages and then they were back together...we didn't really get to see or experience FMC's growth, more so it was just told to us I understand her reasons for wanting to wait to get back together until they both could be their own persons, but also it just happened really fast - also loved the plot point of Kaliya trying to establish herself in the film industry but getting discouraged with constantly being rejected or knocked down or told she wasn't good enough. and I really liked when
she told Danny she needed to find time to untangle herself from his orbit, because it felt like she was just on the peripheral of his success but not really the center of her own galaxy. I loved this part. And then she kind of went back on it and her inner dialogue was like "Ah, silly girl, you just gave up a hot man, go get him back" instead of fortifying her resolve and really sticking to it.
Content Warnings
Some quotes I highlighted:
"Theirs is the youthful energy of an age that both attracts and repels me."
"'It was more than loving him,' he says almost forcefully. 'She knew him. Every part of him. And she loved him because of, and in spit of, all of it.'"
"Come on, baby girl. Tell me who I'm fighting tonight"
"'Well. Fuck. Him. Seriously. Throw him under the jail. Criminalize him, not weed,' I shout, though I don't even smoke."
"Enough of me being the strong one, we can unravel together."
"...suddenly, I'm walking with him, shoulder to shoulder back down memory lane"
"'For some reason, I just wanted to be softer with you,' he admits. 'I was a little older than you and it was like you had all this hopeless romanticism coursing through your veins. Everything with you just felt bigger somehow.'"
"I don't think anyone's ever seen me this way. Learning that, if even for a short while, he was as in awe of me as I was of him, is enough to make me feel light-headed."
"If I'm honest with myself, holding on to all that stuff after all this time feels like a choice. Like in doing so, I'm choosing to be weighed down."
"She knew all this effort we'd made to make me palatable wasn't going to make a difference. I was going to be well-dressed and well-spoken but still Black. She was scared for her little girl."
"To that point, romance was purely an ideal to me. Something to covet and ponder and pine for. But experiencing it, that was scary."
"'I'm not like you, Danny,' I say. 'I'm not in a position to not take it personally when I'm repeatedly overlooked and disrespected by the people in positions to either help or hut my career. It's a privilege to not care about how those in power perceive you and treat you. And as much as I desperately want to just show up and 'do me,' that's a privilege, too - another one I don't have.'"
"There's a spark of recognition in his eyes as if to say, You see me."
"Now, can I put your name on my list at the door, or should I just sign you up for AARP?"
"Not because I'm so strong and brave, but because my life depends on me lettin' things be."
"And because she waited so long to see her own desire reflected back, she won't rush o satiate his thirst."
"...because I am a chaos demon unfit to walk the streets"
"'I feel like all I ever do is lose out on you.' Danny's words are drenched in resignation."
"And that's when I realized, while he had been taking care of me, you were taking care of him."
"God, you both were so young, but especially you, Kaliya. I'll always be grateful for the way you loved him."
"'Love,' he says."
"I am not your enemy, but I'm also not your doormat, either."
"NAYNAY: And remember you are loved by the people who matter."
"The boy I projected all my silly notions of love and desire onto while he was carrying a world of hurt around inside of him."
"'Do you think,' he speaks with a raw voice, 'that maybe not now, but someday you could find a way to love me and stay?'"
"'When I don't feel so lost in your world,' I say. 'And when you're not the center of mine.'"
"When he died to suddenly, it was like she had to carry all the love they'd built together on her own."
"It was like her grief wasn't a burden anymore. It wasn't just a reminder that she had lost the love of her life. But it was proof that their love existed. For sixty-three years he was here and he was hers. That doesn't just go away now because he's gone."
"It's like he's granting me permission to take this time and space to figure it out, assuring me that he's not going anywhere while I do. Loving me from a distance."
"Theirs was a life that love made beautiful."
"'I was wrong. You were never the center,' I say. 'You were the gravity.'"
"Kaliya Elise Wilson, my love for you is far too great for me alone. Will you do me the honor of helping me carry it for the rest of my life?"
"I wanted Kaliya's payoff to come, not from being validated by an industry she'd fought to feel seen in for so long, but from truly seeing herself for the intensely capable and impressive woman she always was - whether others saw it or not."
It was so close to a 5 star for me. I love everything about this book UNTIL she did what she did. It was like 5 chapters and I like what came after it but it vexed me all the same.
The relationship between main characters gave me the same video as the show The Nanny with Celine being C.C. and just never winning, though Celine was much closer than C.C. ever got.
Liked the friendships. A lot of the conflict and conversations around the conflict showed maturity and how love can still connect two people who are so separated.
The relationship between main characters gave me the same video as the show The Nanny with Celine being C.C. and just never winning, though Celine was much closer than C.C. ever got.
Liked the friendships. A lot of the conflict and conversations around the conflict showed maturity and how love can still connect two people who are so separated.
Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group, Berkley for providing me with an advanced copy of this novel via Netgalley.
An excellent debut novel about second chance romance that wove together Hollywood scandal, racism, prejudice, misogyny, and grief amidst a very slow burn romance. I appreciated that the timeline jumps forwards in a few places which helps make their relationship more believable. There were a few times I raised an eyebrow, but overall, a great first book and I am hoping a couple of the characters introduced in this novel end up being characters in her next book!
An excellent debut novel about second chance romance that wove together Hollywood scandal, racism, prejudice, misogyny, and grief amidst a very slow burn romance. I appreciated that the timeline jumps forwards in a few places which helps make their relationship more believable. There were a few times I raised an eyebrow, but overall, a great first book and I am hoping a couple of the characters introduced in this novel end up being characters in her next book!
I’m starting to love second chance romances and Kaliyah and Danny’s story was no different! I was rooting for them through every chapter and wishing they would communicate better at some points LOL. Wonderful debut novel for Myah Ariel! I loved the messages conveyed through the story.
“I was supposed to […] soul search for who I want to become other than the girl who dreamed big but lived small”
“I was supposed to […] soul search for who I want to become other than the girl who dreamed big but lived small”
I really really loved this book. I listened to the audiobook for most of it and then read the ending. I thought the love story was wonderful. But something I didn’t really understand is why Kaliya walked away towards the end of the story. I don’t think her explanation of he’s the center vs the gravity really made sense to me. Why couldn’t she have advanced her career AND been in love, especially considering that they went a year without each other as she figured out her career. I just didn’t get it. I wanted to really understand her why and since the book was in her perspective, I expected more of the why. The other thing I wanted from this book was dual POV. We need more Danny. Still a great book though and excited to re-read!