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little_night_owl's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.0
briseisbooks's review against another edition
1.0
I hate how much I ended up hating this book. There was so much potential here and honestly some amazing characters at the heart of the story. But there was so much unaddressed and inexcusable toxic behaviour. Some weird, infantalizing, misogynistic undertones. Bad pacing, too long, very repetitive and immature writing. It was a terrible love story in that the main romance didn’t take off until repeated sexual assault scenes pushed the main characters together into hurt/comfort. Being an asexual romance girly myself, I am so disappointed :(
If any of this book reflects real life experiences of the author, that is a-ok and I totally respect that. But just not for me, and not something I will be recommending to others.
If any of this book reflects real life experiences of the author, that is a-ok and I totally respect that. But just not for me, and not something I will be recommending to others.
se_wigget's review
challenging
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This isn't a rom com. It's a romance--with an ace protagonist--but it's a serious one (aside from some banter) with intense relationship drama. Makes me glad I'm old and gave up dating years ago.
I love that the protagonist is asexual. Another major character is bisexual. When the Gay-Straight Alliance comes up in dialog, I hoped they'd go and hang out with that group on campus, but it never happens.
The young women in this book need to take a self-defense class and carry tasers or at least pepper spray all the time. The boys who aren't sexual predators seem overprotective on a patronizing level. (Maybe I think that because it's been decades since I was in my twenties. I remember in my twenties in St. Louis I didn't leave my apartment without pepper spray and a dagger, and I took a self-defense class.)
Since the book's city (Atlanta, GA) and campus have such a big rape culture problem, I wanted that to come up in dialog--something about how much it sucks that this society teaches boys to be rapists and misogynists & teaches girls to be scared of walking alone after dark... when we should fucking teach boys and men to... not be rapists... and to respect women and girls. If you're going to address such blatant rape culture in a book, have a feminist message--not a "that's just the way it is" attitude. It doesn't need to be preachy--it could just come up in dialog or thoughts.
Also, Nick should have gotten a new roommate and kicked that POS sexual predator Sam the fuck out as soon as possible.
Early in the book, the protagonist's roommate sounds like my first dorm roommate... but worse. Blasted hetero extroverts. And yet... by halfway through the book, Reese comes across as a good friend and roommate. Her friend Hunter is the same way: they both start out terrible and end up otherwise. It was confusing and inconsistent. I think they could have used more character development.
This takes place in Atlanta, Georgia--though until I learned that, I assumed the Midwest because of the communication... skills. Or lack thereof. I (fortunately) haven't dwelled in the Midwest in a long time, and it would be a culture shock to return and be bombarded with the bizarre, open aggression I remember. (Or the Midwest/St. Louis, since St. Louis is generally considered part of the South. Also the use of plastic grocery bags would be a culture shock, but I digress.)
But maybe being rude and abrasive is the norm for young (college age, in this case) Americans no matter where they live? That doesn't describe the one twenty-something I know here in the Pacific NW. Or... maybe Atlanta is close enough to St. Louis to have the same kind of communication... skills.
Admittedly, I was not only awkward but socially inept in my twenties--and it didn't help that I was neurodivergent and surrounded by empathy-challenged perpetual playground bullies. I've looked back and realized in hindsight that I was horribly socially inept in my twenties--but maybe that's normal.
I didn't find Nick annoying until he calls Spencer "sweetheart"... and keeps doing so. Maybe it's a Southern thing? It's weird that he disapproves of Hunter calling her "princess" (also annoying), when he's almost as bad.
The protagonist's abrasive and rude remarks for approximately the first hundred pages continued to be a jolt and sound... Midwestern. At first I thought: Maybe Hunter is a bad influence on her. She's young and doesn't know how to communicate, I suppose. That said, when she goes home for Thanksgiving and we meet her mother... it’s no wonder she's so rude and abrasive, with a mother like that. Though she could have as easily turned out to be a people-pleaser.
Page 181: It seems like a paragraph may have been deleted here. Sure, the two were talking, but Nick went away with a professor. It seems like there should have been more transition between that... and Spencer getting startled when someone lays a hand on her shoulder and it turns out to be Nick. True, she did finish her hot chocolate in that amount of time, so maybe that's enough.
Apparently Atlanta, Georgia is similar to St. Louis. Crazy drivers tailgating you? Very St. Louis. People telling you not to be alone because you're female and might be sexually assaulted? Very St. Louis. You're surrounded by rude assholes? Very St. Louis.
Too much eye rolling. It's not just one character doing it. That's a scathing facial expression.
I want POS Sam's head on a pike. Ditto his creepy buddy, Jake.
I definitely need to keep writing novels about aces who are in their thirties, forties, and fifties. So far all the ace characters I've read about in publishe books are in their teens and twenties. In the past few years, I've written quite a few novels with middle-aged adult aces--but I need to keep reviewing an editing them--and get them published. #unfinishedprojects
I love that the protagonist is asexual. Another major character is bisexual. When the Gay-Straight Alliance comes up in dialog, I hoped they'd go and hang out with that group on campus, but it never happens.
The young women in this book need to take a self-defense class and carry tasers or at least pepper spray all the time. The boys who aren't sexual predators seem overprotective on a patronizing level. (Maybe I think that because it's been decades since I was in my twenties. I remember in my twenties in St. Louis I didn't leave my apartment without pepper spray and a dagger, and I took a self-defense class.)
Since the book's city (Atlanta, GA) and campus have such a big rape culture problem, I wanted that to come up in dialog--something about how much it sucks that this society teaches boys to be rapists and misogynists & teaches girls to be scared of walking alone after dark... when we should fucking teach boys and men to... not be rapists... and to respect women and girls. If you're going to address such blatant rape culture in a book, have a feminist message--not a "that's just the way it is" attitude. It doesn't need to be preachy--it could just come up in dialog or thoughts.
Also, Nick should have gotten a new roommate and kicked that POS sexual predator Sam the fuck out as soon as possible.
Early in the book, the protagonist's roommate sounds like my first dorm roommate... but worse. Blasted hetero extroverts. And yet... by halfway through the book, Reese comes across as a good friend and roommate. Her friend Hunter is the same way: they both start out terrible and end up otherwise. It was confusing and inconsistent. I think they could have used more character development.
This takes place in Atlanta, Georgia--though until I learned that, I assumed the Midwest because of the communication... skills. Or lack thereof. I (fortunately) haven't dwelled in the Midwest in a long time, and it would be a culture shock to return and be bombarded with the bizarre, open aggression I remember. (Or the Midwest/St. Louis, since St. Louis is generally considered part of the South. Also the use of plastic grocery bags would be a culture shock, but I digress.)
But maybe being rude and abrasive is the norm for young (college age, in this case) Americans no matter where they live? That doesn't describe the one twenty-something I know here in the Pacific NW. Or... maybe Atlanta is close enough to St. Louis to have the same kind of communication... skills.
Admittedly, I was not only awkward but socially inept in my twenties--and it didn't help that I was neurodivergent and surrounded by empathy-challenged perpetual playground bullies. I've looked back and realized in hindsight that I was horribly socially inept in my twenties--but maybe that's normal.
I didn't find Nick annoying until he calls Spencer "sweetheart"... and keeps doing so. Maybe it's a Southern thing? It's weird that he disapproves of Hunter calling her "princess" (also annoying), when he's almost as bad.
The protagonist's abrasive and rude remarks for approximately the first hundred pages continued to be a jolt and sound... Midwestern. At first I thought: Maybe Hunter is a bad influence on her. She's young and doesn't know how to communicate, I suppose. That said, when she goes home for Thanksgiving and we meet her mother... it’s no wonder she's so rude and abrasive, with a mother like that. Though she could have as easily turned out to be a people-pleaser.
Page 181: It seems like a paragraph may have been deleted here. Sure, the two were talking, but Nick went away with a professor. It seems like there should have been more transition between that... and Spencer getting startled when someone lays a hand on her shoulder and it turns out to be Nick. True, she did finish her hot chocolate in that amount of time, so maybe that's enough.
Apparently Atlanta, Georgia is similar to St. Louis. Crazy drivers tailgating you? Very St. Louis. People telling you not to be alone because you're female and might be sexually assaulted? Very St. Louis. You're surrounded by rude assholes? Very St. Louis.
Too much eye rolling. It's not just one character doing it. That's a scathing facial expression.
I want POS Sam's head on a pike. Ditto his creepy buddy, Jake.
I definitely need to keep writing novels about aces who are in their thirties, forties, and fifties. So far all the ace characters I've read about in publishe books are in their teens and twenties. In the past few years, I've written quite a few novels with middle-aged adult aces--but I need to keep reviewing an editing them--and get them published. #unfinishedprojects
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Misogyny, Alcohol, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Toxic friendship, Violence, Acephobia/Arophobia, Bullying, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Sexism
Minor: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Adult/minor relationship, Self harm, Death of parent, and Vomit
eicart_reads's review
Everybody is mean to each other, there's way too much turning to alcohol for courage. The men are all weirdly violently overprotective of the women. Am I too old for this or is this book just not for me? Or does the writing need some help? I wanted to love it for the ace character, but I just don't want to read any more.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault and Sexual harassment
cjimenez14's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
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? It's complicated
5.0
riverlasol's review against another edition
not enough conflict to keep my brain interested 😞
alexkris's review
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault
graceander's review
emotional
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault
Moderate: Alcoholism and Acephobia/Arophobia
bubblebearpanda's review against another edition
5.0
LOVE
This book had loveable characters, realistic plot lines, and was overall really fantastic. I’ve been in a reading slump for MONTHS now, and i just read the whole thing in a day. Safe to say I am OBSESSED.
This book had loveable characters, realistic plot lines, and was overall really fantastic. I’ve been in a reading slump for MONTHS now, and i just read the whole thing in a day. Safe to say I am OBSESSED.