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That’s what you do. For your readers. For me. You make beautiful things, because you love the world, and maybe the world doesn’t always look how it does in your books, but . . . I think putting them out there, that changes the world a little bit. And the world can’t afford to lose that.
I listened to this one as an audiobook, and honestly, its only downside as a bedtime story was that the banter constantly made me giggle. It is, apparently, hard to fall asleep while giggling. Who knew? Seriously, I'm now putting Emily Henry right up there with Talia Hibbert as one of my favorite banter-oriented romance writers. The witty dialogue is my favorite part of the book.
In terms of... let's call it emotional temperature I feel like the fun, heart-warming aspects of the book were well-balanced with the heavier, more dramatic ones: January's grief and complex emotions about her father, Gus's abandonment issues, all those research conversations with former cult members. In terms of plot structure, however, I think there were parts where the narrative meandered as it tried to encompass all the arcs and small plotlines. All the big stuff got properly developed and wrapped up, but there were definitely parts of the story that left me with a nagging "okay, but I still have questions about X / couldn't Y have been explored slightly more?" feeling.
Tbh I feel this story could have benefitted from being dual POV. Perhaps some parts of it could have been better delivered through Gus's part, and besides, I really wish I could get to know Gus better. I wanted to actually *see* his arc, his emotional struggles, the way he was caught between the pain of his divorce and the joy of falling for January. As it was, I didn't really got a feel for his personality, only for his charisma and for the way January perceived him—but what if she was wrong about things? I don't know, there's this weird aftertaste of mistrust, lol. Also, I would have liked to see more of his writing process. Show me this man trying to pen a romcom, don't just tell me he's doing it!
With January on the other hand, I definitely feel like I've got to know her plenty and I enjoyed her arc a lot, especially all the parts that had to do with her parents and how their relationship shaped her. I liked the balance she found between focusing on the good in the world and acknowledging that some things aren't as clear-cut and simple as she's been trying to believe.
All in all, this is an excellent, witty, sometimes cheesy love story with Hallmark vibes. Any flaws it has, for me, are easily compensated by the amount of joy it contains.
Graphic: Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, Alcohol
Moderate: Cancer, Vomit
Minor: Religious bigotry
Graphic: Grief, Death of parent
Moderate: Cancer, Infidelity, Vomit, Car accident
Minor: Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol
Graphic: Infidelity, Death of parent, Alcohol
Minor: Vomit, Religious bigotry
Graphic: Cancer
Moderate: Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicide, Vomit, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury
23/12/2023
i get something different from this book every time i read it. i don't think i'll ever not sob over gus and january and january's daddy issues. beach read you are very gorgeous to me!!!
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12/07/2021
this has earned 5 star status
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first read: 21/12/2020
it was a little too close to home and heavy for me personally as reading is my escape and i wasn’t really expecting it BUT it was amazing otherwise i felt like gus and january were with me while i was reading it and their fears were relatable and made me feel a little less alone
Graphic: Cancer, Child abuse, Terminal illness, Grief, Death of parent
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Sexual content, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment
Minor: Vomit
Graphic: Child abuse, Infidelity, Grief, Death of parent
Moderate: Religious bigotry
Minor: Alcoholism, Car accident
Graphic: Child abuse
Moderate: Cancer, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, Dysphoria
Minor: Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol
Moderate: Cursing, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Sexual content, Vomit, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Alcohol
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Sexual content, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol
Graphic: Infidelity, Grief, Death of parent
Moderate: Cancer, Child abuse, Religious bigotry