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aprilyang1's review against another edition
funny
inspiring
reflective
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? Yes
3.5
Rahul Rahul Rahul. How I love you! If there are two things Talia Hibbert knows how to write its BANTER BANTER BANTER and a love story that brings out the best in her characters, flaws and all.
Talia Hibbert really dives head first into Jasmine and Rahul’s lives, working between their past and present to reveal their relationship journey and the reasons behind their current situation. While the back-and-forth sometimes felt unnecessary, it built my connection to Jasmine and Rahul.
Of course, there’s only so much ‘will they won’t they’ one can take though, lol. At some point, I started feeling frustrated and thought “hurry up and just GET TOGETHER. What is the hold up!?”. But by the end, Talia really shows you why their love needed to be a more gradual emotional progression before they could fully love each other the way they deserved. There really is a great emphasis on learning to love yourself in order to love the other person the way they need to be loved. While I felt like there was a bit of drag, I genuinely loved the ending and the character development that led to real understanding and a fresh start.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol and Death of parent
tine9625's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol
Moderate: Abandonment and Death of parent
hellowildflower's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
☆ Best friends to lovers
☆ Forced Proximity
I enjoyed this book so, so much! Rahul and Jasmine are clearly, perfect for each other and you feel that instantly.
I love the narrators and their voices were so calming. I didn’t love that they each gave Asmita a different accent??
If you love the friends to lovers trope, this book is perfect for you.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment and Sexual content
Moderate: Death of parent and Alcohol
Minor: Alcoholism
kld8338's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Alcohol
Minor: Alcoholism and Abandonment
victoriousbookworm's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol and Sexual content
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Child abuse
traceyanderson's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Cursing, Alcohol, and Grief
peachani's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Sexual content
Moderate: Death of parent, Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Cursing
Minor: Abandonment and Injury/Injury detail
pinesandpages's review against another edition
3.0
This one was strange bc it was angstier than I expected but also….a lot of the angst wasn’t resolved? The issues between Rahul and Jasmine were resolved for the most part, but their internal struggles certainly were not. And their internal struggles directly correlate to their issues with each other, so…
Jasmine’s especially, her issues with her mother were hinted at throughout so I thought there would be a big reveal or realization but that…just didn’t happen. We do have a scene where she and her father chat and Jasmine finally brings up her mother for the first time in years, and then their convo is summarized/glossed over. Like we didn’t hear any issues nor understood the root cause, the author just keeps it moving with a general “and then they talked” sentence or two. What??? The ENTIRE premise of the book is that Jasmine does not date nor fall in love, but we never learn exactly why + what happened with her mother that result in not dating as a coping mechanism. Also, speaking of things not being resolved, why did we hear so many times about Jasmine’s mysterious arm scar that she didn’t like to talk about, if that was never going to be addressed??
As for Rahul, he very clearly had some issues with control and putting too much pressure on himself after his dad died. And Jasmine lightly teased him about it a few times, he had some light realizations, and then one conversation with his mother, and that’s it?? He’s fixed now!
So all that to say, this certainly wasn’t my favorite Talia Hibbert book. I had been racing through her backlog, but after this + A Girl Like Her, I think I’ll take a pause.
Jasmine’s especially, her issues with her mother were hinted at throughout so I thought there would be a big reveal or realization but that…just didn’t happen. We do have a scene where she and her father chat and Jasmine finally brings up her mother for the first time in years, and then their convo is summarized/glossed over. Like we didn’t hear any issues nor understood the root cause, the author just keeps it moving with a general “and then they talked” sentence or two. What??? The ENTIRE premise of the book is that Jasmine does not date nor fall in love, but we never learn exactly why + what happened with her mother that result in not dating as a coping mechanism. Also, speaking of things not being resolved, why did we hear so many times about Jasmine’s mysterious arm scar that she didn’t like to talk about, if that was never going to be addressed??
As for Rahul, he very clearly had some issues with control and putting too much pressure on himself after his dad died. And Jasmine lightly teased him about it a few times, he had some light realizations, and then one conversation with his mother, and that’s it?? He’s fixed now!
So all that to say, this certainly wasn’t my favorite Talia Hibbert book. I had been racing through her backlog, but after this + A Girl Like Her, I think I’ll take a pause.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Abandonment, Death of parent, and Alcohol
mayareadsxo's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Alcoholism, Grief, Abandonment, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, and Blood
hyperfixd's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
3.5
i wish i could love this as much as the brown sisters triology, but i simply don't. it's absolutely not bad, it just wasn't for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Alcohol and Death of parent