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annorabrady's review against another edition
As someone who isn't as old as Erin, there's no way she didn't know how young Cassie was, especially with Parker being two years younger. I'm not even old enough to have a kid in college and yet college kids look like babies to me, I don't care how dimly lit a bar is. So for her to act scandalized and like she didn't know, is bad enough. But then she continues to manipulate Cassie, casting her aside and using her when it's convenient to her.
Also, as a general rule: if you feel the need to hide your relationship from the people you love and trust because you know they'll admonish you or it will hurt them, you shouldn't be in the relationship. Period. This is something both Cassie and Erin did. And it's a huge red flag.
Finally, it's clear that Cassie is using this sexual relationship as a way of coping with her own lack of parental affection and in the process she's using Parker's mom who Parker has struggled to have a good relationship with. She's self sabotaging in multiple ways when she really should just be in therapy.
Also, as a general rule: if you feel the need to hide your relationship from the people you love and trust because you know they'll admonish you or it will hurt them, you shouldn't be in the relationship. Period. This is something both Cassie and Erin did. And it's a huge red flag.
Finally, it's clear that Cassie is using this sexual relationship as a way of coping with her own lack of parental affection and in the process she's using Parker's mom who Parker has struggled to have a good relationship with. She's self sabotaging in multiple ways when she really should just be in therapy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol and Sexual content
thereadinghammock's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
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
4.0
A friend on discord recommended this book, and in my goal to read mostly queer books for most of Pride month, I figured it would be a great audiobook for my commute. Am I glad I read it? Yes. Were there times I thought I might DNF? A few times, but I think that's more about me and some of the things I had going on when/while I was listening than as a reflection of the book (yay anxiety). Did the relationship still make me a bit uncomfortable? Yeah, but it worked for them in the end, so who am I to judge?
If the relationship hadn't been queer and were a "my best friend's dad" instead of her mom, I would have been SO squicked out by it. Also, having dual POV was a big help because you knew where they both stood throughout the whole story. And sharing a name with one of the main characters was disorienting at times, for sure.
The age gap was just shy of 20 years, so significant, but Erin had been divorced for several years, so the relationship never felt like a rebound. Parker was definitely a bit of a spoiled little rich girl, especially that first trip home for winter break, and only irritated me a few times. She did a lot of growing up by the time we got to the end of the story.
Cassie was pretty impulsive throughout most of the story. Ballsy, and while she had a lot of growth as a character, it's almost like it happened in spite of all her choices. More often than not, it felt like Cassie grew up but refused to admit it to herself, only for the revelation to snack her in the face at some later point when it was plot convenient.
If the relationship hadn't been queer and were a "my best friend's dad" instead of her mom, I would have been SO squicked out by it. Also, having dual POV was a big help because you knew where they both stood throughout the whole story. And sharing a name with one of the main characters was disorienting at times, for sure.
The age gap was just shy of 20 years, so significant, but Erin had been divorced for several years, so the relationship never felt like a rebound. Parker was definitely a bit of a spoiled little rich girl, especially that first trip home for winter break, and only irritated me a few times. She did a lot of growing up by the time we got to the end of the story.
Cassie was pretty impulsive throughout most of the story. Ballsy, and while she had a lot of growth as a character, it's almost like it happened in spite of all her choices. More often than not, it felt like Cassie grew up but refused to admit it to herself, only for the revelation to snack her in the face at some later point when it was plot convenient.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol and Sexual content
laureljeanreads's review against another edition
This just did not work for me, I knew going it the premise of the story but the execution didn't work for me. There was too much of a discrepancy between how the younger MC was written and then the romance/steamy elements. It was more of an exploration into why both MCs have mother/daughter issues
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Alcohol
frantically's review against another edition
emotional
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
5.0
Devoured this! Erin and Cassie are so sweet (and spicy) together and I enjoyed reading about them so much. Besides them, this whole book is filled with sapphic background couples and that made me so so happy.
Their relationship developed in a natural way (meaning they tried staying away from each other but didn't succeed at all) and the pacing of it really made sense.
I wish we had more exploration of Erin and Cassie's jobs and like...passions besides making out with each other. I was alright with it but be prepared that this is very much a romance-y romance!
The Inevitable Dramaâ„¢ was handled way better than I've seen in other romances in this trope and everything was just really feel-good in the end.
And god the sex scenes?? So good! And so much variety 🥵 gimme more
Their relationship developed in a natural way (meaning they tried staying away from each other but didn't succeed at all) and the pacing of it really made sense.
I wish we had more exploration of Erin and Cassie's jobs and like...passions besides making out with each other. I was alright with it but be prepared that this is very much a romance-y romance!
The Inevitable Dramaâ„¢ was handled way better than I've seen in other romances in this trope and everything was just really feel-good in the end.
And god the sex scenes?? So good! And so much variety 🥵 gimme more
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Abandonment, Child abuse, and Alcohol
Minor: Infidelity and Misogyny
elialoves's review against another edition
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Loved this book through and through. It was an exciting page turner. It was hot and cute too. I am still obsessed with Erin monthsss later!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Alcohol
noceur's review against another edition
emotional
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
this just just a fun little romance, don't expect too much and you will probably like it
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Alcohol
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Cursing
Minor: Biphobia, Misogyny, and Emotional abuse
piphux's review against another edition
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Alcohol
Minor: Biphobia, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Mental illness, Infidelity, and Toxic relationship
wardenred's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
So you made out with my brother because you were sexually frustrated about Parker’s mom?
Well. I expected to have mixed feelings about this book, and here I am now, with all the mixed feelings. :D
Good stuff first: I enjoyed how easily the story flowed and the overall fanfic feel of it (I know the book used to be a fanfic before the serial numbers got filed off, and honestly, it still reads like one, which I'm not complaining of, not even in the slightest). There were multiple really heartwarming and wholesome moments with family and friends taking care of each other. There were a few lines of dialogue here and there that had me laughing in earnest. Also, I appreciated that while there were no prominent trans or nonbinary characters here, somehow the story managed to feel extremely trans-inclusive, with all the characters explicitly acting like people like me very much exist, like they're aware of our existence and welcome it. This was really heartwarming.
Now, for the stuff that is not so good: I'll be honest, the romance eeked me out a bit. I'm not against age gaps on principle and I do think that there might be ways to handle a "parent / their child's best friend" pairing in a way that is not so disturbing. The way this book handles it definitely isn't one of them. I did like the initial one-night stand part where Cassie and Erin didn't yet know how they're connected through Parker. There was no weirdness about the power dynamic there, Cassie was very much in control in the situation, and it was clear both women were making their own choices. But everything that followed made me cringe harder and harder with each chapter, for both of them. The narrative tries sometimes to present Cassie as someone mature, but the truth is, she's really not. She leads exactly the same life that Parker, Erin's daughter, does, despite being a few years older, she has the same circle of friends, goes to the same parties, struggles with very similar challenges, and generally has a lot more in common with Parker than Erin. Honestly, the only reason I remembered she was actually older than Parker was because Parker often randomly acted like she was 15-16 at most. How do you look at someone who's in many ways just like your kid you're struggling to reconnect with and go, "Ooh, let's have sex?" As for Cassie, she was really really bad at hearing "no" and maintaining any of the borders Erin occasionally did try to draw, and that was making me rather uncomfortable, too.
Also, this thing between them was dishonest and awful toward Parker, whom they both are supposed to care for very much, and like, why did either of them decide what they shared was worth it? For a very long time, neither of them displayed any actual feelings for each other, only an intense sexual attraction. Is this truly how allosexuals feel? "Let me put an important friendship/my entire relationship with my kid I'm desperately trying to reconnect with on the line for the sake of getting off together, because that first time one-night stand was so hot?" Come on, it's not like you're each other's only chance at having good sex.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol
Moderate: Abandonment
mjwhitlock18's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
4.0
Guilty pleasure read, and spicier than I expected tbh. In this sapphic age gap romance, two strangers meet in a bar and have a one night stand. The plot twist? Erin's daughter, Parker, is one of Cassie's best friends. Whoops. And soon, Erin and Cassie are sneaking around behind everyone’s backs. With the lying to your best friend/daughter about your relationship, I was worried about how the third act would go, but the ending definitely pays off. I love the multiple openly bi main characters, and I like the dual POV. My only gripe is that there is a lot of alcohol consumption in this book, and it is almost romanticized at times. Overall 4 stars for a silly little read with a silly little plot.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Alcohol
Minor: Misogyny
toofondofbooks_'s review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This was a steamy, silly, heartfelt Sapphic romance that had a really great audiobook and some solid characters across the board. I didn't always like every character but they were never boring and there was never a dull moment plot-wise. It was dramatic and funny with a lot of heart at the center of it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Sexual content, Biphobia, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Infidelity