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4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
reflective
sad
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
emotional
hopeful
reflective
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
fast-paced
emotional
hopeful
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
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
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
I loved reading this book. LOVED. Diving In had me feeling all the feelings and crying all the tears. The loss, grief, and healing journey was written with so much care. There was so much depth and heart on every single page. I’m so glad I read this book! Once I picked it up, I didn’t want to put it down. It was written so well and I cannot wait to read more from Bianca Miller!
Oh my goodness, still sobbing after finishing this wonderful debut novel from Bianca! This book is for anyone who loves a beach read; a love story with a little light spice. Both character leads are thoughtfully written and relatable. The way all the characters navigate love and loss is authentic, and the emotions draw you into the story. Bianca knows how to write a heartfelt romance novel! I can’t wait to read more of her work in the future.
Note: I received an ARC of this book to share my review.
Note: I received an ARC of this book to share my review.
Diving In is not just any romance book- it’s so much more. It’s about family, forgiveness, grief, loss, regret and finding family again. This is such a stunning debut novel and one that I’ll be thinking about for a while.
The emotions this book put me through like the turning of the ocean. This is a story that is both heartbreaking but heartwarming. It will leave you with a warm hug and a desire to go to the beach. Grief, loss, regret and forgiveness are all really tough subjects to handle but were covered so emotionally perfect in this book. It felt real and raw. You wanted to cry with Georgia as she is going through everything especially reading the letters from her dad. I also was cheering her on as she started to embrace things, self discovery and trying hard things facing her fears. I admire Georgia’s bravery in this book to dive in and tackle the hard stuff. The second chance opportunity for Cal and Georgia also makes me swoon. These two. The chemistry.
Thank you so much for letting me be an arc reader. This book was so beautifully written and I can’t wait to watch others fall in love with it too!
The emotions this book put me through like the turning of the ocean. This is a story that is both heartbreaking but heartwarming. It will leave you with a warm hug and a desire to go to the beach. Grief, loss, regret and forgiveness are all really tough subjects to handle but were covered so emotionally perfect in this book. It felt real and raw. You wanted to cry with Georgia as she is going through everything especially reading the letters from her dad. I also was cheering her on as she started to embrace things, self discovery and trying hard things facing her fears. I admire Georgia’s bravery in this book to dive in and tackle the hard stuff. The second chance opportunity for Cal and Georgia also makes me swoon. These two. The chemistry.
Thank you so much for letting me be an arc reader. This book was so beautifully written and I can’t wait to watch others fall in love with it too!
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I have many gripes about this book.
The prose is annoying. I don’t need you to explain what word vomiting is to me, and I certainly don’t need you to glorify a spray tan as the height of beauty while the female protagonist is plain as can be. Every character is white. The most “diverse” character we get is Italian? An Italian named Ian, of all things??
People in the city are described as heartless and purely strategic in how they form relationships with people. This contrasts with the hokey southern charm on Sullivan’s Island, which honestly we barely even see. “That was one thing I hadn’t realized I missed until just now: kindness.” I’m literally gonna lose my dinner. Literally the “I hate the city it’s yucky and mean” screams backwater and ignorant. The author literally portrays butter as the end all be all of southern cuisine because of course it is. This writer deals almost exclusively in stereotypes. Did she do ANY research???
The author does a lot of telling and virtually no showing. Nothing is that believable. Georgia just has sudden realizations and magic snaps in her thinking to allow her to be how the author needs her to be. There is no realistic growth.
Also the relationship is not believable as love especially on Georgia’s side. She doesn’t even RECOGNIZE Cal when she first saw him or when he introduced himself but I’m supposed to believe they fall in love in like 2.5 days?
The symbolism is obnoxious. It’s simple and uninspired. Symbolic plane from bumpy, turbulent storms to nothing but clear skies ahead is unfortunately not gonna cut it for in the foreshadowing/metaphor department. Nor is the blatant comparison between the sea turtle that somehow never forgot Georgia and Cal.
And the random monologuing and then being like “omg I over shared” like girl, no normal person talks in flowery prose the way you just did. That’s not an overshare, that’s just pretentious. And all the characters talk in these grand flowery ways when they monologue. It’s insufferable.
All or nothing emotions from the FMC? But her dad somehow knows she’s an unfeeling, numb robot? Not realistic or reasonable. Further, the MMC blatantly encourages FMC not to communicate her emotions because ~she can feel how she wants~ completely ignoring that those two things are entirely unrelated.
Need better editing overall. There is repetitive phrasing, missing words, misused phrases and wrongly placed words.
This book is so clearly trying to be Hallmark-y (and even goes so far as to have the FMC’s best friend say “you’re in a hallmark set up”) and I’m really doubting the author understands that Hallmark movies are cheesy but that’s their charm. This is trying to be edgy. It’s giving tumblr. It’s giving y/n fic.
FMC refers to her anatomy as “lady parts” I could just die.
Cal is somehow always trying to seduce Georgia? Like he has to make a conscious effort to be “wholesome” at a 10yo’s birthday party where G’s in a wetsuit to feed penguins. We’re not exactly talking sex appeal here.
MMC: “oh your trauma? Here, I’m pressuring you to face it in front of an audience without your consent.” But he’s not a red flag because he Knows™️ her and what she needs despite not seeing her for nearly 15 years.
The spice is mid.
Maybe “from now until forever” will be out always. And I do mean that condescendingly.
It gets 1.25 stars because it was readable and I didn’t entirely loathe the characters. The writing and development were where this failed.
TLDR: If you want a book where the FMC goes back to a beach town that was formative to her childhood and has a dead sibling who had a secret child who knows who you are and wants to be part of your family and is inexplicably connected to the MMC, read Variation instead.
The prose is annoying. I don’t need you to explain what word vomiting is to me, and I certainly don’t need you to glorify a spray tan as the height of beauty while the female protagonist is plain as can be. Every character is white. The most “diverse” character we get is Italian? An Italian named Ian, of all things??
People in the city are described as heartless and purely strategic in how they form relationships with people. This contrasts with the hokey southern charm on Sullivan’s Island, which honestly we barely even see. “That was one thing I hadn’t realized I missed until just now: kindness.” I’m literally gonna lose my dinner. Literally the “I hate the city it’s yucky and mean” screams backwater and ignorant. The author literally portrays butter as the end all be all of southern cuisine because of course it is. This writer deals almost exclusively in stereotypes. Did she do ANY research???
The author does a lot of telling and virtually no showing. Nothing is that believable. Georgia just has sudden realizations and magic snaps in her thinking to allow her to be how the author needs her to be. There is no realistic growth.
Also the relationship is not believable as love especially on Georgia’s side. She doesn’t even RECOGNIZE Cal when she first saw him or when he introduced himself but I’m supposed to believe they fall in love in like 2.5 days?
The symbolism is obnoxious. It’s simple and uninspired. Symbolic plane from bumpy, turbulent storms to nothing but clear skies ahead is unfortunately not gonna cut it for in the foreshadowing/metaphor department. Nor is the blatant comparison between the sea turtle that somehow never forgot Georgia and Cal.
And the random monologuing and then being like “omg I over shared” like girl, no normal person talks in flowery prose the way you just did. That’s not an overshare, that’s just pretentious. And all the characters talk in these grand flowery ways when they monologue. It’s insufferable.
All or nothing emotions from the FMC? But her dad somehow knows she’s an unfeeling, numb robot? Not realistic or reasonable. Further, the MMC blatantly encourages FMC not to communicate her emotions because ~she can feel how she wants~ completely ignoring that those two things are entirely unrelated.
Need better editing overall. There is repetitive phrasing, missing words, misused phrases and wrongly placed words.
This book is so clearly trying to be Hallmark-y (and even goes so far as to have the FMC’s best friend say “you’re in a hallmark set up”) and I’m really doubting the author understands that Hallmark movies are cheesy but that’s their charm. This is trying to be edgy. It’s giving tumblr. It’s giving y/n fic.
FMC refers to her anatomy as “lady parts” I could just die.
Cal is somehow always trying to seduce Georgia? Like he has to make a conscious effort to be “wholesome” at a 10yo’s birthday party where G’s in a wetsuit to feed penguins. We’re not exactly talking sex appeal here.
MMC: “oh your trauma? Here, I’m pressuring you to face it in front of an audience without your consent.” But he’s not a red flag because he Knows™️ her and what she needs despite not seeing her for nearly 15 years.
The spice is mid.
Maybe “from now until forever” will be out always. And I do mean that condescendingly.
It gets 1.25 stars because it was readable and I didn’t entirely loathe the characters. The writing and development were where this failed.
TLDR: If you want a book where the FMC goes back to a beach town that was formative to her childhood and has a dead sibling who had a secret child who knows who you are and wants to be part of your family and is inexplicably connected to the MMC, read Variation instead.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Death of parent