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Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Blood, Abandonment
Minor: Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Pregnancy, Gaslighting
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Sexual content, Medical content, Abandonment, Alcohol
Like a lot of romance novels, it covers some really deep topics while also keeping it light. It has one of my favorite tropes in it - fake dating - and it pulls it off quite well. 4.0 stars
Edit: 2025-03-15: reread this book, and it was excellent. The paperback edition had a special epilogue from River's perspective that was excellent. Rating increased to 4.5 stars.
Graphic: Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Abandonment
Moderate: Medical content
Second is Jess's best friend Frizzy. When I think about the "ride or die concept", I can think of someone like her. How she's so naturally the second mom of her best friend's child, how she's so carefree & radiating, how she's there for her bestie at any given moment & how she's practically Jesse's secret holder. That type of friendship where you would hold on to each other while being completely honest is so rare.
And I love Jesse's daughter. Maybe she's my favorite character. She's such a unique kid with so much potential that the first few dialogues with her made me realize that she's an extraordinary kid. Maybe it's her mom's undivided attention poured onto her with lots of love, and her mom's genes running through her, or maybe she's a completely unique individual in her own way. Whatever it is, I just love her. She's so understanding, intelligent and wise for her age that sometimes it fascinates me.
I like slow-burn stories. So this one was on my positive side from the beginning. There are a few things that didn't sit right with me, but overall it was fun & enjoyable.
Jessica: except her drooling over River, sometimes it felt flat. Yes, they had chemistry here and there, they were there for each other, but the LOVE for him, instead of loving him for what he was doing for her, wasn't that prominent. I might be asking for too much, but every time she's head over heels for him, it's either because he did something for her or he's hot and she wanna eat him. Not JUST because he's him. That didn't feel right to me.
Him, on the other hand, wasn't my favorite at first. Calling someone something just because they're not there isn't excusable. If you said it, you meant it, periodt. But he was so sweet once he got into it. I like the nerdy, shy guy side of him. The side of him he didn't show to others but to Jess.
But how he acted towards the end didn't sit right with me. If you need some scientifically proven data to be with what you believe is love, and you tend to be a workaholic to the point you won't realize you ghosted someone you loved for more than a week, I think he needs to work on that. If it is in the long run, he should learn how to address what he feels, how he makes others feel and what to do to improve himself.
Thankfully, the plot twist wasn't River's fault. If it was, it would've given me the ick so badly.
Overall, this book was fun to read. It's easier to read. Even though there are things I wasn't a fan of, it was still an easy read.
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Addiction, Body shaming, Cursing, Medical content, Pregnancy, Alcohol
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Medical content
Minor: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Medical content
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Medical content, Abandonment
Graphic: Sexual content, Alcohol
Moderate: Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Medical content, Pregnancy, Abandonment
- 1 Star: Hated it
- 2 Stars: Didn't like it
- 3 Stars: Meh
- 4 Stars: Liked it
- 5 Stars: Loved it
This book was an enjoyable feel-good read, even if it was a bit predictable.
Overall, Jess and River were cute together and had great chemistry. The physical attraction was obviously there for them both, but I’m glad a bit of depth came through in their relationship, too - for example,
Speaking of River, his characterization felt a little all over the place for me, and I could have done without the focus on how perfect he was. I can't say for certain whether he was straight-up objectively perfect or if that was just the way Jess viewed him, since she was the narrator, but I hate it when characters are depicted as having no flaws or as having/being it all.
Anyway, aside from the romance, I really enjoyed the relationships Jess had with her daughter, as well as with the other supporting characters. Her mom was totally shitty, and I was (spoiler)
Jess grew flustered. “She’s my kid. I want to see her.”
“Of course you do,” Fizzy said, “but she’s Jo’s and Pop’s and mine, too. She and I had a blast tonight, and I wish I could see her more. But you act like asking for help is selfish…” (pg. 238)
For a romance novel, I appreciated that the authors touched on more complex issues, like family dynamics (especially with the challenges Jess faced as a single mom, as well as the dysfunctional relationship she had with her own mom) or the exploration of destiny versus choice: how much of our compatibility with others could be genetically encoded into our DNA vs how much intention, choice, hard work and commitment factor into the success of our relationships.
Graphic: Medical content, Abandonment
Moderate: Addiction
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Medical content, Alcohol
Minor: Sexism