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emotional
lighthearted
reflective
sad
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Death of parent
Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse
Minor: Suicide
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I like hating things. I'm good at it. I take a particular kind of joy in reading/watching/listening to something beloved by millions, and then cracking my knuckles, downing a glass of wine, and mocking it until I can no longer stand the sound of my own voice.
I hate that this book not only denied me the opportunity to do that, but made me actively partcipate in the general loveliness that is being a part of the Emily Henry fan-club. I was all set to start this new year off by ripping a book to shreds - an activity suited to my general internal thermometer right now. Instead, I am now a calm, tranquil little lady that loves her neighborhood, welcomes all the little critters to come hang out with her, and sees new couples on her instagram and reacts with GENUINE happiness and excitement.
I hate Emily Henry for turning me into this optimistic version of myself. I hate it so much that I've moved all of her books onto my bookshelf to try and find a cure.
Read If:
- T-Swift's "You Belong With Me" music video was a formative experience for you
- tattoos. that's it.
- You want to start 2022 off by feeling something other than trepidation and general apathy towards men, women, and children.
Content Warnings
Minor: Child abuse, Suicide
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Alcohol
Minor: Suicide
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The concept is what drew me to this and the execution was ultimately disappointing. Think I'd have preferred more of a literary fiction vibe than a romance vibe here. The actual act of writing and how these two people differ is barely explored and this leans too heavily on romance tropes instead.
The dark and broody male lead who's actually a soft muffin struggling with his damage underneath feels cliche here. Ditto the constant and mind-numbing descriptions of how handsome he is. The only writing tick that was more frustrating was how often Henry had to break in and tell us how much the female lead's heart fluttered anytime the guy did anything. There ultimately feels like there's so little substance here despite some really compelling plot and emotional threads.
Was really interested in exploring both his trauma and her grief, but it ultimately feels like we never do in any real way. I will say, I do appreciate that this mostly avoids the misunderstanding as plot motivator up until the very end, where it makes no sense and feels forced considering how open and honest the relationship is before that.
This is a quick and relatively fun read, which I guess is all you can expect from the title, but I do wish this had more to it.
The dark and broody male lead who's actually a soft muffin struggling with his damage underneath feels cliche here. Ditto the constant and mind-numbing descriptions of how handsome he is. The only writing tick that was more frustrating was how often Henry had to break in and tell us how much the female lead's heart fluttered anytime the guy did anything. There ultimately feels like there's so little substance here despite some really compelling plot and emotional threads.
Was really interested in exploring both his trauma and her grief, but it ultimately feels like we never do in any real way. I will say, I do appreciate that this mostly avoids the misunderstanding as plot motivator up until the very end, where it makes no sense and feels forced considering how open and honest the relationship is before that.
This is a quick and relatively fun read, which I guess is all you can expect from the title, but I do wish this had more to it.
Content Warnings
Minor: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Suicide, Murder
emotional
reflective
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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Death of parent, Alcohol
Minor: Suicide, Fire/Fire injury
Character is learning about a cult for a book. Some cult members die in a fire. Another character lost her father as an adult a year before the book starts. Character's Father cheated on character's mother.
emotional
hopeful
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:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment
Moderate: Suicide, Murder
emotional
funny
hopeful
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:
Complicated
I really enjoyed this book, I definitely did not find it hard to fall in love with the characters, but I liked that they acknowledged that they were human and that January’s thoughts were actually pretty relatable. I did find myself second guessing whether or not I loved Gus or if I found him maybe a bit creepy, just when he was saying that he was like in love with January during college and stuff. I also throughout the whole book was questing whether the book would end in a happy or sad way bc there is so much talk about that within the book but overall I really enjoyed it and read it in like 3 days. I was having a hard couple days and it was the perfect book to escape into bc it wasn’t complicated but there was enough going on to keep me distracted.
Content Warnings
Minor: Emotional abuse, Suicide
emotional
hopeful
reflective
relaxing
sad
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:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Grief, Death of parent, Alcohol
Minor: Death, Suicide, Vomit, Car accident
funny
hopeful
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:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Minor: Suicide
challenging
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
Loveable characters:
Yes
This book was not what I suspected at all and I mean that in the best way possible. I was going into this thinking I was gonna have a light read and then suddenly I was extremely emotionally involved and crying. Brilliantly written and the perfect mix of funny fluff and emotional roller-coaster. Will definitely read it again!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Death of parent
Moderate: Suicide, Violence