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emmasbookplace's review against another edition
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
amberdlewis's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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
4.25
I really this author's writing style. The story flowed really well and made for an enjoyable read. I also really loved the side characters. (Except maybe Dee. She has her moments where I wasn't a fan.) I would definitely read more by this author.
haydemoone's review
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-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
3.75
stormeno's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
starchaser17's review
emotional
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
opalmars's review
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.5
3,5 *
I honestly don't have much to say about this book, which might be because I didn't exactly feel much while reading it. ๐ซฅ
I think my main problem is the fact that Ollie and Nash already liked each other at the start of the book, and had already had a very monumental ~moment~ before this story begins. Since they already liked each other, WE don't really see them fall in love. I mean, there were a couple of flashbacks, but they were very few, and mostly showed them already liking each other, which didn't really solve my "problem" of wanting to see them falling in love. ๐ This is an inherent problem of 2nd chance romances, but like... I enjoyed "Only Mostly Devastated", which has a somewhat similar setup, so I feel like I could've liked this one, too. ๐ Perhaps if there'd been more flashbacks to show their romance developing I would've felt a bit more, idk...
It didn't help that Steve (Ollie's friend with benefits) was soooo much more fun than Nash, at first. Like, you're telling me we have this super fun guy and you still expect me to root for the guy who's giving you the cold shoulder and who you're supposedly already in love with (even though you didn't really let me see y'all falling in love?)...... kinda hard to accept that, ngl ๐ . But I will say, Nash obviously had his reasons for ignoring Ollie for months + he apologized, owned up to his mistakes and did what he could to make it up to Ollie, which I appreciate. And I overall enjoyed Nash and Ollie's moments together. They were very sweet, and I really liked how they communicated their feelings and wants, verbally asked for consent and openly talked about intimacy. I also appreciate that the author included general conversations about intimacy, prep, etc (not just between Ollie and Nash, but with Ollie's friends, too). This book just showed a very healthy way to discuss these things!
Things I didn't love:
โจ The references sometimes got annoying. I knew there'd be music references, obviously, but 1) there were more than just those, and 2) they became too much. I just feel like there were 1 too many refs idk.
โจ There were too many instances of people tripping and falling lmfaooo. Just in the first 14%, there were 4 scenes where people slipped and fell, like.... ๐ฅด Fortunately, this slowed down in the rest of the book, but there were still multiple instances of people dropping drinks on each other, etc, and I feel like it became too ridiculous. ๐
โจ There were some typos, but this is self published, so I forgive it.
โจ There were too many sex jokes, though perhaps I'm just too ace. Also, the amount of boner mentions?? Is being a teenage boy really that cursed?? Are boners seriously something that plagues them this much?? My god... ๐ฅ
โจ So many kisses were described as "intense"...
โจ Don't know how I feel about the times Ollie would break the 4th wall / talk to the reader.
โจ Didn't love the 3rd act conflict... <poiler>First of all, it came in a bit late (85%.... hmm). I didn't like the stupid "argument" between Ollie and Nash (where Ollie found out Nash was one of the streakers who caused the sponsors to pull out of prom, and accidentally revealed that to Dee, who got mad), and then Nash kind of thought Ollie exposed him on purpose, and they didn't talk for like 3 weeks, because they both thought the other was mad. Affff idk I'm just tired of miscommunication ๐ช. Thankfully, because the 3rd act conflict only came super late, Nash and Ollie's "breakup" didn't last too long.
I HATED Dee at the end! She was super unreasonable, and Ollie rightfully called her out, which I was VERY happy about! But I personally didn't think that Dee admitting she was awful was enough... Like, she literally talked about how "Ollie was hers" (to which he had to remind her he's not an object one owns), tried to take credit for getting all the money for prom alone (thankfully, Ollie managed to tell the principal the truth), got mad they didn't tell her about their relationship sooner (even though Nash wasn't ready to come out yet), and claimed that Ollie and Nash dating was "basically incest" because they're her bestie and her brother (????? bitch ????? seek help). ๐คจ๐คจ๐คจ I just think she was too awful for it all to be swept under the rug after a little apology, especially because Ollie ended up apologizing to her, too (for hiding the fact that Nash was one of the streakers, which is something he had JUST found out about, by the way!). I just really didn't like the resolution to the Dee situation.
โจ That whole paragraph at the end of the book explaining the message was kinda silly, but whatever, that's just me being nitpicky.
I know these seem like a lot, but they're mostly just me being nitpicky. Overall, I think the book was sweet. The main reason why I didn't care about it is because the romance genuinely made me feel *nothing*. ๐
I honestly don't have much to say about this book, which might be because I didn't exactly feel much while reading it. ๐ซฅ
I think my main problem is the fact that Ollie and Nash already liked each other at the start of the book, and had already had a very monumental ~moment~ before this story begins. Since they already liked each other, WE don't really see them fall in love. I mean, there were a couple of flashbacks, but they were very few, and mostly showed them already liking each other, which didn't really solve my "problem" of wanting to see them falling in love. ๐ This is an inherent problem of 2nd chance romances, but like... I enjoyed "Only Mostly Devastated", which has a somewhat similar setup, so I feel like I could've liked this one, too. ๐ Perhaps if there'd been more flashbacks to show their romance developing I would've felt a bit more, idk...
It didn't help that Steve (Ollie's friend with benefits) was soooo much more fun than Nash, at first. Like, you're telling me we have this super fun guy and you still expect me to root for the guy who's giving you the cold shoulder and who you're supposedly already in love with (even though you didn't really let me see y'all falling in love?)...... kinda hard to accept that, ngl ๐ . But I will say, Nash obviously had his reasons for ignoring Ollie for months + he apologized, owned up to his mistakes and did what he could to make it up to Ollie, which I appreciate. And I overall enjoyed Nash and Ollie's moments together. They were very sweet, and I really liked how they communicated their feelings and wants, verbally asked for consent and openly talked about intimacy. I also appreciate that the author included general conversations about intimacy, prep, etc (not just between Ollie and Nash, but with Ollie's friends, too). This book just showed a very healthy way to discuss these things!
Things I didn't love:
โจ The references sometimes got annoying. I knew there'd be music references, obviously, but 1) there were more than just those, and 2) they became too much. I just feel like there were 1 too many refs idk.
โจ There were too many instances of people tripping and falling lmfaooo. Just in the first 14%, there were 4 scenes where people slipped and fell, like.... ๐ฅด Fortunately, this slowed down in the rest of the book, but there were still multiple instances of people dropping drinks on each other, etc, and I feel like it became too ridiculous. ๐
โจ There were some typos, but this is self published, so I forgive it.
โจ There were too many sex jokes, though perhaps I'm just too ace. Also, the amount of boner mentions?? Is being a teenage boy really that cursed?? Are boners seriously something that plagues them this much?? My god... ๐ฅ
โจ So many kisses were described as "intense"...
โจ Don't know how I feel about the times Ollie would break the 4th wall / talk to the reader.
โจ Didn't love the 3rd act conflict... <poiler>First of all, it came in a bit late (85%.... hmm). I didn't like the stupid "argument" between Ollie and Nash (where Ollie found out Nash was one of the streakers who caused the sponsors to pull out of prom, and accidentally revealed that to Dee, who got mad), and then Nash kind of thought Ollie exposed him on purpose, and they didn't talk for like 3 weeks, because they both thought the other was mad. Affff idk I'm just tired of miscommunication ๐ช. Thankfully, because the 3rd act conflict only came super late, Nash and Ollie's "breakup" didn't last too long.
I HATED Dee at the end! She was super unreasonable, and Ollie rightfully called her out, which I was VERY happy about! But I personally didn't think that Dee admitting she was awful was enough... Like, she literally talked about how "Ollie was hers" (to which he had to remind her he's not an object one owns), tried to take credit for getting all the money for prom alone (thankfully, Ollie managed to tell the principal the truth), got mad they didn't tell her about their relationship sooner (even though Nash wasn't ready to come out yet), and claimed that Ollie and Nash dating was "basically incest" because they're her bestie and her brother (????? bitch ????? seek help). ๐คจ๐คจ๐คจ I just think she was too awful for it all to be swept under the rug after a little apology, especially because Ollie ended up apologizing to her, too (for hiding the fact that Nash was one of the streakers, which is something he had JUST found out about, by the way!). I just really didn't like the resolution to the Dee situation.
โจ That whole paragraph at the end of the book explaining the message was kinda silly, but whatever, that's just me being nitpicky.
I know these seem like a lot, but they're mostly just me being nitpicky. Overall, I think the book was sweet. The main reason why I didn't care about it is because the romance genuinely made me feel *nothing*. ๐
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia
jaredjustwantstoread's review
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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
4.75
amydrg's review
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
What an absolutely lovely story! The pop culture references were a blast, and you can't help but love Ollie. Can't wait to read what Charlie writes next!
dracobatreads's review
emotional
funny
informative
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-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? No
4.5
kodyreadseverything's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
slow-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
3.0