Reviews tagging 'Cancer'

The Stand-In by Lily Chu

10 reviews

ruckystarnes's review against another edition

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Chronic illness, Mental illness, and Abandonment

Minor: Racism, Panic attacks/disorders, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Death of parent, Cancer, and Miscarriage

btwnprintedpgs's review

emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Fatphobia and Alcohol

Minor: Cancer and Death of parent

_alyssar_'s review against another edition

lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Mental illness, Dementia, and Chronic illness

Moderate: Cursing, Sexual harassment, and Alcohol

Minor: Abandonment, Panic attacks/disorders, Child death, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, Cancer, and Death of parent

aqtbenz's review against another edition

emotional inspiring lighthearted reflective 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? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Dementia, Sexual harassment, and Mental illness

Minor: Cancer, Death of parent, and Racism

tea_rea's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny inspiring lighthearted reflective 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Racism, Dementia, and Mental illness

Moderate: Sexism, Death of parent, Grief, and Classism

Minor: Miscarriage, Cancer, Terminal illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Child death, and Pregnancy

daniellekat's review

lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

It has been a long time since I last stayed up all night reading, but this was worth it. I was in desperate need of something light and fluffy and this did the trick. The writing is simple but smooth, and the plot was realistic. The author did a good job of creating believable motivations for the characters. The ending was meh, the

long lost sister

plot line was a little weak and silly for me. I loved the way she wrote about Toronto though, enough specifics that had me and I'm sure other locals smiling, but non-local readers won't be drowning in details. Overall, I found it to be little on the long side but a solid PG romance.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Mental illness, Dementia, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Bullying, Death of parent, and Classism

Minor: Alcohol and Cancer

readwithde's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Dementia, Sexual harassment, and Mental illness

Minor: Alcohol, Cancer, Miscarriage, and Panic attacks/disorders

abookishcoffeeholic's review against another edition

funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.75

Cute romance with a subplot of family relationships. I loved the characters, the genuine personalities, and the plot. I really enjoyed a fun rom-com that didn't have spicy scenes, just fun chemistry between the MCs!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Mental illness and Dementia

Minor: Cancer and Racism

allisonwonderlandreads's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted 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

Gracie Reed finds herself hired as a double for a famous Chinese actress in this Toronto-based romantic comedy. It's a fun premise with an element of wish-fulfillment as Gracie turns her collapsing life around while falling for a handsome, famous action star and impersonating a glamorous actress in need of a break from the limelight. The voice acting in the audiobook is superb and adds to Gracie's strong voice as a character that comes through in the writing. The story thrives on relatable life details that are funny and specific. It also loops in strong feelings and dilemmas both absurd yet plausible (see: spanx incident) and truly heart-wrenching (see: Grayci's struggle to get her mother high quality care for Alzheimer's).

Honestly, the romance was the weakest point of this ostensibly romance novel. It's closed door, with not a lot of tension or attention compared to the other, stronger strands of plot. We still get details as Gracie falls for her co-conspirator, Sam, but it doesn't feel very in-the-moment the way it is relayed. I believed in their adjustment from enemies/antagonists to colleagues and friends, but that last romantic step didn't convince me. Intellectually, I liked the way the two complemented and bettered one another, but emotional oomph is where it lacked.

Emotions were high elsewhere in much more powerful ways. Gracie grapples with the aftermath of sexual harrassment at work, tries to get her mother into a better care facility, faces down casual racism, grieves the memory of a father lost to cancer, and tries to feel like her life isn't spinning out of control in obscurity. Then we have her parthers-in-crime: Wei Fangli has unaddressed depression weighing her down due to stigma about asking for help and Sam Yao is micro-managed and manipulated by a motivated, high-powered mother. The way they come to support one another through these moments was the most special part of the book for me.

This was a just ok romance in the midst of an otherwise complex, moving story. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment

Moderate: Abandonment, Death of parent, Grief, Mental illness, and Dementia

Minor: Cancer, Emotional abuse, Racism, and Xenophobia

yvonne_cl's review against another edition

emotional hopeful lighthearted sad tense 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? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Sexual harassment, and Dementia

Moderate: Death of parent and Racism

Minor: Cancer and Miscarriage