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4.21 AVERAGE
4.21 AVERAGE
Very good! Lots of struggle. I wish it was in first person but that’s a personal preference
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
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:
Complicated
Lauren Okie, you magical writer.
emotional
funny
hopeful
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:
No
will I ever stop crying about this book??? only time will tell
TW: infertility, miscarriages
first off: the banter in this book was SO GOOD, made me laugh out loud, made my cheeks hurt from smiling good. I loved this entire book, and the journey and growth of our main character but wow, what a MESS (affectionate) (i love mess). the romance was so good, and i loved the flashbacks to see how it developed.
also??? Logan??? the man that you are. this is one of my favorite book love interests EVER.
another big thing that really made me love this book is it's frank discussion of parenthood, infertility, miscarriages, and IVF. I have personal experience with all of these things, I had 5 miscarriages before doing IVF which resulted in my daughter. these experiences fundamentally changed me as a person and the way it's portrayed in this book felt so spot on. it felt cathartic and validating to read.
the one thing that gave me pause multiple times in the book was how borderline mean Nicole was to Logan a lot of the time. sometimes it felt like too far for teasing someone you're in a relationship-- she called things he enjoyed dumb or stupid, and maybe it's just my personal baggage but this triggered me a little.
Thank you Avon for the e-ARC!
TW: infertility, miscarriages
first off: the banter in this book was SO GOOD, made me laugh out loud, made my cheeks hurt from smiling good. I loved this entire book, and the journey and growth of our main character but wow, what a MESS (affectionate) (i love mess). the romance was so good, and i loved the flashbacks to see how it developed.
also??? Logan??? the man that you are. this is one of my favorite book love interests EVER.
another big thing that really made me love this book is it's frank discussion of parenthood, infertility, miscarriages, and IVF. I have personal experience with all of these things, I had 5 miscarriages before doing IVF which resulted in my daughter. these experiences fundamentally changed me as a person and the way it's portrayed in this book felt so spot on. it felt cathartic and validating to read.
the one thing that gave me pause multiple times in the book was how borderline mean Nicole was to Logan a lot of the time. sometimes it felt like too far for teasing someone you're in a relationship-- she called things he enjoyed dumb or stupid, and maybe it's just my personal baggage but this triggered me a little.
Thank you Avon for the e-ARC!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
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
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:
N/A
3.5 ⭐️
read this at the recommendation of miss jessica joyce (read: stalking her goodreads reviews) and stumbled upon one of the most painfully brutal yet uplifting stories of infertility, infidelity, self-growth, and letting others support you.
from the get-go, i was crying my heart out 20% in. this handles some delicate topics with absolute finesse but if cheating or infertility are a trigger, id be so cautious. as someone with no experience of these things, i was an absolute mess and feel for every person who thinks their body is somehow letting them down or “required” to perform a certain way.
this is also in no way an utter doom and gloom sob fest, as as multiple points this had me putting the book down and cackling. her blooming romance truly had me giddy from the start and their banter is unrivaled. bullying is in fact a love language and i will subscribe to that belief until i die!
the only thing holding it back from a higher rating is how very tell-not-show it was. it was mostly the opposite which could be chalked up this being her debut, which i can overlook somewhat. i do feel though, that with the story she’s trying to tell here specifically, that we would’ve benefited from being SHOWN her previous love, her budding romance, her relationships with others, etc. it just seems like so much was explained to us as if we were friends catching up at brunch and i wanted to truly immerse myself in these moments!
thank you to netgalley and avon for the arc
read this at the recommendation of miss jessica joyce (read: stalking her goodreads reviews) and stumbled upon one of the most painfully brutal yet uplifting stories of infertility, infidelity, self-growth, and letting others support you.
from the get-go, i was crying my heart out 20% in. this handles some delicate topics with absolute finesse but if cheating or infertility are a trigger, id be so cautious. as someone with no experience of these things, i was an absolute mess and feel for every person who thinks their body is somehow letting them down or “required” to perform a certain way.
this is also in no way an utter doom and gloom sob fest, as as multiple points this had me putting the book down and cackling. her blooming romance truly had me giddy from the start and their banter is unrivaled. bullying is in fact a love language and i will subscribe to that belief until i die!
the only thing holding it back from a higher rating is how very tell-not-show it was. it was mostly the opposite which could be chalked up this being her debut, which i can overlook somewhat. i do feel though, that with the story she’s trying to tell here specifically, that we would’ve benefited from being SHOWN her previous love, her budding romance, her relationships with others, etc. it just seems like so much was explained to us as if we were friends catching up at brunch and i wanted to truly immerse myself in these moments!
thank you to netgalley and avon for the arc
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
I'm not a romance reader in general but the author is an online friend and I wanted to read the book she's been working on for so long! I got it from NetGalley. Overall, i enjoyed it quite a bit - i read it in 24 hours and stayed up past my bedtime to do so. I thought it was a good mix of light and heavy, with lots of fun dialogue and banter, but also deep sadness and trauma with regard to the main character's infertility.
I would say I felt like some of the relationship issues were a little contrived and I wish there had been more character development for the main character, Nicole. You can really tell that Lauren was most attached to the love interest, Logan, because he is the most developed character in the book.
if you enjoy romance novels in general, I'd definitely recommend this book, i think you'll enjoy it! Please note that the book deals with strong themes of infertility and pregnancy loss.
I would say I felt like some of the relationship issues were a little contrived and I wish there had been more character development for the main character, Nicole. You can really tell that Lauren was most attached to the love interest, Logan, because he is the most developed character in the book.
if you enjoy romance novels in general, I'd definitely recommend this book, i think you'll enjoy it! Please note that the book deals with strong themes of infertility and pregnancy loss.
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
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
A truly beautiful story and another perfect example of why the romance genre is so much more than surface level smut. A painfully raw, beautiful story about infertility, infidelity, and perfectionism.
Messy imperfect characters who are still deserving of love.
Shoutout to the dorky MMC, Logan. If you need a book rec with a DnD playing, nerdy, ADHD man, Logan is the perfect match. Though it handles some deep topics with finesse, it is also hilarious and filled with banter that had me cackling and kicking my feet. Anytime, roasting is used as dialogue between the main characters, I’m sold.
I loved Okies’ writing. The short chapters and 3rd person POV was refreshing.
Infertility and pregnancy are the main themes of this book, so don’t ignore the content warnings.
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
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:
Complicated