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4.19 AVERAGE
4.19 AVERAGE
funny
lighthearted
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
This book was so cute! I loved every second of it and it was such an easy read. I have to admit this is definitely my genre, thought I would've assumed otherwise, I absolutely adore stupid little romance books.
Personally, I found the characters to be very engaging, and because of my love for the Romcom genre as a whole (in movies especially) I found the cliché's to be very fun. This book is packed with so many references and it made me so happy when I got them. I also found the story to be very well thought out, the climax was a little iffy but the rest of the book made up for it. I found the characters to be very well written, even the side-characters who can become basically plot-devices a lot of the time. Jocelyn felt very fleshed out, however I probably have the most complaints with her. She wasn't devoid of personality and I liked how she and Liz worked things out, but her entire character made me upset. I was definitely on Liz's side even though I was nearly screaming at the pages because of decisions she made, but Jocelyn gave her good reason to be how she was and It just seemed confusing how Jocelyn acted like a 'mean girl' who was always throwing passive aggressive comments towards Liz.
For the main relationships and dynamics (besides Liz and Jocelyn) I really liked them. If I ]'m being completely honest I really liked Michael and knowing how this genre goes (predictable but still nice) I felt sad he and Liz would probably not end up together. However, I think Painter executed it really well (though the whole promposal thing made my skin crawl). Wes, though, was fantastic. I really loved his character as well, and while I don't like the whole "he's mean cause he likes you" idea, I felt like Wes's actions never really got there, maybe so as a kid but where we're at in the main plotline he seemed genuinely sweet. I felt like Liz was sort of similar to Katniss Everdeen in her mindset of "there's no way anyone could ever like me" specifically towards Wes. She was always taking what he did from this preconceived notion that he was a jerk. I felt like her development was very good on the front because she learns a lot from Wes and from her judgements towards him being disproven time and time again.
I will say, I can understand how someone could not like Liz, she was a classic stupid idiot protagonist but I honestly liked it. She was very flawed and made HORRIBLE decisions so many times but I feel like it added so much to her character. It gave her personality, she wasn't just some Y/N that you could insert yourself as replacement for. She has struggles, she has flaws, she has ideals, and she has a history. She has all of these internal conflicts that pile up and I think were executed so well. I thought the way the plotline of her grief being interwoven into the mess of teenage drama and romance was very welldone. The entire story really boils down to accepting the past and past, and moving on while still being able to keep those memories. I actually cried multiple times reading this just because of how Liz reacted to things revolving around her mom and how attached she was to Michael because of her unresolved grief. Also how Liz and Helena's relationship progressed was so sweet and I really loved their dynamic by the end.
However, I do have a few minor issues. I think the dialogue sometimes got a little bit unrealistic in the way that I was reminded a middle-aged women wrote it. Especially Helena. I liked how spunky she was and it felt refreshing for an adult character to have personality, but I do think sometimes it was a little overboard. Also, this may just be me, but the whole thing with Wes smoking cigars was so shocking to me? I have no clue, but I don't think I would've been shocked if he smoked just plain old cigarettes or something else but for some reason the cigars really took me out of it. I personally have never met a highschooler that cools of from the day with a fresh cigar. Also the relationship between Wes and Alex felt strange to me, like it was just added for some extra dose of conflict. Alex had zero personality and sadly fell into plot-device category.
For me the whole climax and mix of conflict felt very meh, but it wasn't horrible. If anything Painter did a great job causing tension because I had no idea how she would resolve it.
(EDIT: THE WHOLE MAIN REASON THIS WAS DEDUCTED A STAR WAS DUE TO THE SHEAR AMOUNT OF TIMES LIZ REFERRED TO WES BY SAYING “his big body” UEHHGGHHHHH)
This book has its flaws, it's predictable and very cliche, but I enjoyed it so much and was a great way to get out of a book slump!
Personally, I found the characters to be very engaging, and because of my love for the Romcom genre as a whole (in movies especially) I found the cliché's to be very fun. This book is packed with so many references and it made me so happy when I got them. I also found the story to be very well thought out, the climax was a little iffy but the rest of the book made up for it. I found the characters to be very well written, even the side-characters who can become basically plot-devices a lot of the time. Jocelyn felt very fleshed out, however I probably have the most complaints with her. She wasn't devoid of personality and I liked how she and Liz worked things out, but her entire character made me upset. I was definitely on Liz's side even though I was nearly screaming at the pages because of decisions she made, but Jocelyn gave her good reason to be how she was and It just seemed confusing how Jocelyn acted like a 'mean girl' who was always throwing passive aggressive comments towards Liz.
For the main relationships and dynamics (besides Liz and Jocelyn) I really liked them. If I ]'m being completely honest I really liked Michael and knowing how this genre goes (predictable but still nice) I felt sad he and Liz would probably not end up together. However, I think Painter executed it really well (though the whole promposal thing made my skin crawl). Wes, though, was fantastic. I really loved his character as well, and while I don't like the whole "he's mean cause he likes you" idea, I felt like Wes's actions never really got there, maybe so as a kid but where we're at in the main plotline he seemed genuinely sweet. I felt like Liz was sort of similar to Katniss Everdeen in her mindset of "there's no way anyone could ever like me" specifically towards Wes. She was always taking what he did from this preconceived notion that he was a jerk. I felt like her development was very good on the front because she learns a lot from Wes and from her judgements towards him being disproven time and time again.
I will say, I can understand how someone could not like Liz, she was a classic stupid idiot protagonist but I honestly liked it. She was very flawed and made HORRIBLE decisions so many times but I feel like it added so much to her character. It gave her personality, she wasn't just some Y/N that you could insert yourself as replacement for. She has struggles, she has flaws, she has ideals, and she has a history. She has all of these internal conflicts that pile up and I think were executed so well. I thought the way the plotline of her grief being interwoven into the mess of teenage drama and romance was very welldone. The entire story really boils down to accepting the past and past, and moving on while still being able to keep those memories. I actually cried multiple times reading this just because of how Liz reacted to things revolving around her mom and how attached she was to Michael because of her unresolved grief. Also how Liz and Helena's relationship progressed was so sweet and I really loved their dynamic by the end.
However, I do have a few minor issues. I think the dialogue sometimes got a little bit unrealistic in the way that I was reminded a middle-aged women wrote it. Especially Helena. I liked how spunky she was and it felt refreshing for an adult character to have personality, but I do think sometimes it was a little overboard. Also, this may just be me, but the whole thing with Wes smoking cigars was so shocking to me? I have no clue, but I don't think I would've been shocked if he smoked just plain old cigarettes or something else but for some reason the cigars really took me out of it. I personally have never met a highschooler that cools of from the day with a fresh cigar. Also the relationship between Wes and Alex felt strange to me, like it was just added for some extra dose of conflict. Alex had zero personality and sadly fell into plot-device category.
For me the whole climax and mix of conflict felt very meh, but it wasn't horrible. If anything Painter did a great job causing tension because I had no idea how she would resolve it.
(EDIT: THE WHOLE MAIN REASON THIS WAS DEDUCTED A STAR WAS DUE TO THE SHEAR AMOUNT OF TIMES LIZ REFERRED TO WES BY SAYING “his big body” UEHHGGHHHHH)
This book has its flaws, it's predictable and very cliche, but I enjoyed it so much and was a great way to get out of a book slump!
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
tell me why i’m crying my eyes out in the dark?!? this has truly stolen my heart and i am the biggest idiot for putting off reading this for sooooooo long.
emotional
funny
lighthearted
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
“It seemed to me that because of things like car accidents and lost loves, life and death and broken hearts, we should grab every moment and absolutely devour the good parts. Wouldn’t she want that?”
5 stars for Ashley. It was her favorite book, and while it was really difficult reading about loss and grief, it was also special to experience something she loved.
I know you’d want us to devour the good parts - Love you forever, sway ⭐️
5 stars for Ashley. It was her favorite book, and while it was really difficult reading about loss and grief, it was also special to experience something she loved.
I know you’d want us to devour the good parts - Love you forever, sway ⭐️
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Sexual content, Blood, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail
emotional
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:
Yes