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weelasswithabook's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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
CW graphic sexual content, parental abandonment, death of a parent, alcoholism/alcohol dependency
🌟 Friends to lovers
🌟 BIPOC Interracial romance
🌟 Forced proximity/flatmates
🌟 Cinnamon roll hero
🌈 Queer heroine
🌈 Black heroine
🌈 Muslim hero
She just never misses, does she?
I absolutely adored this friends to lovers novel about two best friends who have been forced to room. Rahul has is BAAAAAAD. If you live for a pining hero, then this is right up your street.
Sometimes a friends to lovers after a decade of pining can give "he's friends with her because he thinks he has a shot", but this was done so expertly that it was clear he was trying his best, he never pushed boundaries or disrespected her, and he genuinely continued to be her ride or die bestie.
Jasmine broke my heart, not gonna lie, her sense of self worth and being deserving of love tore me up. But she was just so good and she just couldn't see it 😭
This had such a perfect balance of sweet and tender moments, gut wrenching sad moment, hella spicy moments, and laugh out loud moments. It's hard to fit all of that into less than 400 pages without letting something drop somewhere, and it had it all in abundance. Plus a mini insight into codependency between friends and/or lovers was thrown in there too.
You need to read this if you love a solid friends to lovers book, where the friendship is literally a genuine friendship. If the prickly heroine and cinnamon roll hero due is your favourite combo, it's also ideal because they're so unbelievably different, but they just work so well!!!
🌟 Friends to lovers
🌟 BIPOC Interracial romance
🌟 Forced proximity/flatmates
🌟 Cinnamon roll hero
🌈 Queer heroine
🌈 Black heroine
🌈 Muslim hero
She just never misses, does she?
I absolutely adored this friends to lovers novel about two best friends who have been forced to room. Rahul has is BAAAAAAD. If you live for a pining hero, then this is right up your street.
Sometimes a friends to lovers after a decade of pining can give "he's friends with her because he thinks he has a shot", but this was done so expertly that it was clear he was trying his best, he never pushed boundaries or disrespected her, and he genuinely continued to be her ride or die bestie.
Jasmine broke my heart, not gonna lie, her sense of self worth and being deserving of love tore me up. But she was just so good and she just couldn't see it 😭
This had such a perfect balance of sweet and tender moments, gut wrenching sad moment, hella spicy moments, and laugh out loud moments. It's hard to fit all of that into less than 400 pages without letting something drop somewhere, and it had it all in abundance. Plus a mini insight into codependency between friends and/or lovers was thrown in there too.
You need to read this if you love a solid friends to lovers book, where the friendship is literally a genuine friendship. If the prickly heroine and cinnamon roll hero due is your favourite combo, it's also ideal because they're so unbelievably different, but they just work so well!!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Cursing, Abandonment, Sexual content, and Death of parent
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Alcoholism, and Addiction
kelsylee'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: Alcohol
Minor: Death of parent
marinajonesreads's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
slow-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
4.75
Delicious. I cannot believe that is the word of the day. But it is. This book was spicy. But also so sad. So very very sad. As someone who has a complicated relationship with my mother, I loved how the author wrote that relationship while also staying soooo true to the reality of the situation for so many of us.
I love Rahul. I love him. I love his love of Jasmine and I love how I just devoured it. Snuck away at a conference just to read it.
Chef’s kiss. It did what it need to do and then some. Love love love.
I love Rahul. I love him. I love his love of Jasmine and I love how I just devoured it. Snuck away at a conference just to read it.
Chef’s kiss. It did what it need to do and then some. Love love love.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol
reads2cope's review against another edition
4.5
Wish I had read this rather than listened to it, but the audiobook was available from my library (LOVE YOU LIBBY) before the eBook. The book was read by an older white British man (Matthew Lloyd Davies/Cornell Collins), despite the two POVs being a Black British woman and a British-Indian man in their late 20s. The narrator made Rahul sound like an Indian grandpa. The Indian accent was actually offensive - not only was it pretty clear that Rahul grew up in England, but the accent was inconsistent and strange. I thought it couldn’t get worse, but then I heard how he voiced Rahul’s mom and whatever that accent was that he gave Pinal. However, I love Talia Hibbert, so I powered through and totally enjoyed the story and characters. I plan to reread as a physical or eBook in the future!
I normally take a star off for a third-act breaks up, but this one was handled so well I was almost convinced they needed it!
I normally take a star off for a third-act breaks up, but this one was handled so well I was almost convinced they needed it!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Death of parent, Grief, and Sexual content
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Alcoholism, Blood, Abandonment, and Addiction
ruthhelizabeth's review against another edition
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Alcohol
Moderate: Death of parent and Alcoholism
notapenguin's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism and Sexual content
Moderate: Abandonment, Alcohol, Panic attacks/disorders, and Grief
Minor: Injury/Injury detail and Death of parent
viireads's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
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
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Panic attacks/disorders, and Alcohol
Minor: Death of parent
discarded_dust_jacket's review against another edition
emotional
funny
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
4.0
I will never stop saying it: men written by Talia Hibbert are superior. And to be honest, among them, I think Rahul might be my new all-time favorite (and that’s saying something)! The emotional maturity, the kind-heartedness, the overall gentle disposition (that becomes absolutely filthy in the bedroom)? We’re talking green flag after green flag, my friends.
A lot of times, the friends-to-lovers trope is a miss for me, simply because the conflict never seems believable. I just think to myself “ugh, if you’re in love, just get together already, why all the angst? It needn’t be this difficult!” But with this one, I feel like I really did empathize with Jasmine’s reluctance to see what was right in front of her (and then to sabotage it when it could no longer be ignored). I appreciated her character development a lot.
As is always the case, Hibbert’s writing is accessible and enjoyable, I would recommend this to anyone and everyone.
A lot of times, the friends-to-lovers trope is a miss for me, simply because the conflict never seems believable. I just think to myself “ugh, if you’re in love, just get together already, why all the angst? It needn’t be this difficult!” But with this one, I feel like I really did empathize with Jasmine’s reluctance to see what was right in front of her (and then to sabotage it when it could no longer be ignored). I appreciated her character development a lot.
As is always the case, Hibbert’s writing is accessible and enjoyable, I would recommend this to anyone and everyone.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Grief, Alcoholism, Death of parent, and Alcohol
Moderate: Mental illness
Minor: Blood and Injury/Injury detail
ollie_again's review against another edition
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Abandonment and Alcohol
mimi30's review against another edition
emotional
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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Abandonment, and Sexual content
Moderate: Alcohol