Reviews with content warning for Mental illness - Behind the Scenes

Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Behind the Scenes by Karelia Stetz-Waters

5 reviews

imstephtacular's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

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duckyreads's review against another edition

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emotional medium-paced

3.0

Behind the Scenes is my first read from Karelia Stetz-Waters, and it's a cute sapphic romance. I really enjoyed that both female leads are older and more established in their careers. Karelia tackled several heavy topics, and I loved how intimacy was discussed (especially with the inclusion of sex toys). Karelia has a very relatable writing style that makes it very easy to dive in to the story.

Although I enjoyed watching Ash and Rose get to know each other and become a safe place for each other, some aspects of their relationship/story felt slow and dragged slightly.

I recommend this for fans of slow-burn workplace romances!

Thank you to Forever (Grand Central) Publishing and Netgalley for a copy of this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

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arthur_ant18's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted relaxing 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? It's complicated

4.5

Many thanks to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for providing me with an eARC in exchange for my honest review!

I've had Satisfaction Guaranteed, the 2021 sapphic opposites-attract contemporary romance by Karelia Stetz-Waters, on my TBR pile for a while now. That's why I was eager to get the opportunity to read the ARC for Behind the Scenes, and let me tell you, it did not disappoint! Her upcoming 2023 rom-com follows the love story between Rose Josten, a business consultant who's anxious about reaching middle age (particularly since she owns the numerous pugs that are needed to qualify her for the, as it's called in the book, "pug lady" period of her life), and Ashlynn "Ash" Stewart, a former director who's been essentially blacklisted from Hollywood after undergoing a messy divorce with her ex-wife and previous filmmaking colleague Victoria and is now looking to translate a new lesbian rom-com of hers from dream to reality. This leads to Rose and Ash teaming up to work towards that goal and attain a bigwig producer's financial backing, which, of course, is when they start to fall for each other.

Behind the Scenes is a heartwarming romance that got me rooting for it all the way through. It sees Stetz-Waters reusing the opposites-attract trope while throwing in a bit of instant attraction to kick things off, although it then builds up in a slow-burn fashion for the first half of the book or so. Plenty of chemistry explodes between Rose and Ash as they get to know each other and slowly but surely become vulnerable about their ambitions and pasts. On Rose's part, I enjoyed reading about the time she spends posting ASMR videos online under the alias Cherry Covered Apron (videos that, we learn early on, an oblivious Ash has been watching to relax herself), which I felt added surprisingly sensual layers to a rom-com that's already fairly steamy in certain parts. As for Ash (with whom I easily connected as an aspiring filmmaker myself), I was compelled by the journey she went on to overcome the psychological trauma that came not only from injuries she'd incurred in a car accident, but also from her relationship with Victoria and its toxic facets that said accident dredged up. Together, Rose and Ash were an endearing power couple that I wanted nothing but pure happiness for.

Stetz-Waters does an excellent job at writing Rose and Ash's sex scenes with a sensitivity that's perfect for their sweet dynamic, and the scenes always emerge organically, never feeling as if they've been randomly tossed onto the page. Amping up the lovability is Rose's family, which I found to be as hugely entertaining and adorable as the eponymous family in the Brown Sisters series by Talia Hibbert. If possible, I'd be keen to see them pop up again in a future book.

My only major complaint is that the leads' dual perspectives mirror each other too much, often leaving me confused as to whose POV I'm in. I wish their voices had been written more distinctly. At the same time, though, this doesn't detract much from my abundance of love for Behind the Scenes. As for the third-act conflict, I initially believed it was going to be a major issue for me when it came up. But then it subverted my expectations and veered away from the misunderstanding that I thought it would revolve the whole fight around in favor of a much more convincing and satisfying direction for Rose and Ash.

Overall, Behind the Scenes is one of the most enjoyable contemporary romances I've picked up in a while, and I'm pumped for this to be published out in the open world on Jan. 31, 2023. I'll definitely have to move Satisfaction Guaranteed up my TBR pile, too.

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decklededgess's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted fast-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

4.0

trigger warnings: death of parents, ptsd, phobia of flying, car accident, physical injury, sexual trauma related to accident, alcohol mention, grief, toxic relationship

The book starts out slow but knowing this was a Karelia Stetz-Waters book, I knew I just had to wait until the tension kicked in. I was right. It takes a couple of chapters for the exposition to wrap up but it's so needed. There is a lot of backstory to Ash and Rose that comes into play later in the book so the character set up was essential for all the emotional points of the story to hit their mark.

Rose is such a strong protagonist in every way. She's the supporter of her family after her parents died. Self sacrificing to a fault, a bad bitch through and through, and afraid of losing control and losing loved ones. To complement her, Ash has already lost control, doesn't feel like she has any control and so is grasping and any semblance of stability she can to avoid another public spectacle that led to her career demise. They're two sides of the same coin and the slow explosion of their romance as they navigated their own traumas to learn how to let go was BEAUTIFUL.

Truly a beautiful book and I really hope we see a Ty and Emma book soon!!

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lifewithjoce's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted sad fast-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? Yes

4.5

What took this book from just another romance to a memorable one was the character development of both Rose and Ash. The two of them had incredibly different lives, but the reason both are in their current position is because of the trauma that they endured years before. In my opinion, Stetz-Waters wrote a realistic portrayal of PTSD, anxiety, and sexual-based trauma. I appreciated that while the relationship helped each woman work through her struggles, falling in love was not an immediate cure all. I feared that love would be shown as a magical way to resolve trauma. Instead, I read a story of loving someone because and for their trauma, and being willing to stand by their side however they needed you to.

Read the Full Review: https://writethroughthenight.com/2022/09/28/i-was-crying-with-joy-reading-behind-the-scenes/

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