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4.19 AVERAGE
4.19 AVERAGE
emotional
hopeful
slow-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
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I don’t know what it is about Peyton Corinne’s writing, but this is the second book of hers that I couldn’t put down. And it wasn’t from suspense or compelling word play, it was the vibes. I just instantly cared about the characters and wanted to stay in their world. Definitely a must read if you have read Unsteady (her other book).
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Death of parent
before i review i just need to say, this is my new favorite book!
Unloved is the second book in the series and follows Matthew Fredderic a star hockey player at Waterfell University who needs to get accommodations for his various learning disabilities but has not gotten the help he needs. Now he’s in a class with a professor he has a past with and needs help to pass. Insert, Rosalie Shariff a tutor at Waterfell and Sadie’s best friend (from the first book, Unsteady). She’s in an on/off relationship with her boyfriend, Tyler and is trying to find herself while working towards an amazing grad program. They start to build a friendship and the rest of the book unfolds from there. Below is a more in depth review about some of my favorite parts of the book. Thank you to Peyton Corinne and NetGalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review!
i have never read a pair of books that flow so well together. this is the second book of the series and is happening at the same time as the first book. you meet so many characters in the first book but you only learn about them at the surface level as there was a lot going on in the first book. but in this book you not only learn more about your main characters but all your favorites and every pov views them differently. giving you snippets of information for future books (bennett and his girl IM SOBBING). the friendships within this book run so much deeper than you first anticipate. the ro and sadie friendship plot line rips my heart to shreds because they both just want to be good enough for each other. sadie thinks ro does too much for her and is too good to her and ro just wants her to know she's not leaving and that sadie is her best friend. the freddy in the trio plot line does me in EVERY TIME!! freddy is SO MUCH more than he was made out to be in Unsteady. getting to read that again in preparation for this i really saw how much he just wanted to be there for his friend, the man he looks up to. the friendships in this series are the most profound form of love i've ever seen. i cannot emphasize enough how much i loved this book. no book after it could compare, and i had a major book hangover because all i could think about were ro and freddy. nobody is ready for how these pathological people pleasers slowly find love in each other and heal through patience, kindness, and trust.
things i will never get over about this book in no particular order:
"i think you'd be really easy to love"
freddy mad at rhys in the hospital for how he talked to ro
ro defending freddy's accommodations (as someone who works in a disability office, this hit so close to home)
the SHOELACE (this flashback had me SOBBING, and thinking back to Unsteady when freddy snaps at rhys to not touch his shoes)
the bucket list and how healing it was for ro to do it with freddy
it's rosalie and matt not ro and freddy
"but i'm the school slut right" (LITERALLY A PUDDLE OF TEARS ON THE GROUND)
ro never wanting to objectify freddy
meeting ro's dad and saying matt
"do you like him because he's smarter than me" (this was a stab to the chest)
freddy's love for rhys
TORENS TATTOOS (and halloween costume) (actually just toren kane)
the locker room scene where freddy defends himself (remember that stab to the chest? this was the knife twist)
remembering coffee orders
freddy finally feeling safe enough to tell someone what happened
"I think it's hard for people to like me. And I try really hard." (I LOVE YOU BABE!!)
ro googling tips for helping students with disabilities
"let me make you feel good...i'm good at that, at least, right?" (this was the point my heart shred into a million pieces)
the concept of lets be lonely together
"can i use your computer while you're in there princess?"
"what about your prom?...."i look great in baby blue princess" (the hug i wanted to give this man)
homesick daughter meets i miss my mom son
"all i have to do is ask?"
bennett reiner bennett reiner bennett reiner (i'm itching for his book)
"i'll take care of him, i vow to her silently. i promise." (on the floor sobbing)
in the end, this book covers a lot of hard topics and was written beautifully. peyton honored what it can be like to be a college student with a disability while covering abusive relationships of all kinds, and creating multifaceted characters that are made to reflect the parts of us we may not love but learn to accept anyways. ro and freddy learned to love all the sides of themselves whether or not someone else loved it while facing real day to day struggles. their build up of friendship made their relationship special because freddy learned what didn't serve ro without her telling him and vice versa. they learned each other better and took the time to trust because nobody had ever been careful with their hearts, until now. i will recommend this book to everyone i meet, thank you so much for this arc. i’m so excited that my very first netgalley arc is for one of my very favorite authors so thank you again :)
Unloved is the second book in the series and follows Matthew Fredderic a star hockey player at Waterfell University who needs to get accommodations for his various learning disabilities but has not gotten the help he needs. Now he’s in a class with a professor he has a past with and needs help to pass. Insert, Rosalie Shariff a tutor at Waterfell and Sadie’s best friend (from the first book, Unsteady). She’s in an on/off relationship with her boyfriend, Tyler and is trying to find herself while working towards an amazing grad program. They start to build a friendship and the rest of the book unfolds from there. Below is a more in depth review about some of my favorite parts of the book. Thank you to Peyton Corinne and NetGalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review!
i have never read a pair of books that flow so well together. this is the second book of the series and is happening at the same time as the first book. you meet so many characters in the first book but you only learn about them at the surface level as there was a lot going on in the first book. but in this book you not only learn more about your main characters but all your favorites and every pov views them differently. giving you snippets of information for future books (bennett and his girl IM SOBBING). the friendships within this book run so much deeper than you first anticipate. the ro and sadie friendship plot line rips my heart to shreds because they both just want to be good enough for each other. sadie thinks ro does too much for her and is too good to her and ro just wants her to know she's not leaving and that sadie is her best friend. the freddy in the trio plot line does me in EVERY TIME!! freddy is SO MUCH more than he was made out to be in Unsteady. getting to read that again in preparation for this i really saw how much he just wanted to be there for his friend, the man he looks up to. the friendships in this series are the most profound form of love i've ever seen. i cannot emphasize enough how much i loved this book. no book after it could compare, and i had a major book hangover because all i could think about were ro and freddy. nobody is ready for how these pathological people pleasers slowly find love in each other and heal through patience, kindness, and trust.
things i will never get over about this book in no particular order:
"i think you'd be really easy to love"
freddy mad at rhys in the hospital for how he talked to ro
ro defending freddy's accommodations (as someone who works in a disability office, this hit so close to home)
the SHOELACE (this flashback had me SOBBING, and thinking back to Unsteady when freddy snaps at rhys to not touch his shoes)
the bucket list and how healing it was for ro to do it with freddy
it's rosalie and matt not ro and freddy
"but i'm the school slut right" (LITERALLY A PUDDLE OF TEARS ON THE GROUND)
ro never wanting to objectify freddy
meeting ro's dad and saying matt
"do you like him because he's smarter than me" (this was a stab to the chest)
freddy's love for rhys
TORENS TATTOOS (and halloween costume) (actually just toren kane)
the locker room scene where freddy defends himself (remember that stab to the chest? this was the knife twist)
remembering coffee orders
freddy finally feeling safe enough to tell someone what happened
"I think it's hard for people to like me. And I try really hard." (I LOVE YOU BABE!!)
ro googling tips for helping students with disabilities
"let me make you feel good...i'm good at that, at least, right?" (this was the point my heart shred into a million pieces)
the concept of lets be lonely together
"can i use your computer while you're in there princess?"
"what about your prom?...."i look great in baby blue princess" (the hug i wanted to give this man)
homesick daughter meets i miss my mom son
"all i have to do is ask?"
bennett reiner bennett reiner bennett reiner (i'm itching for his book)
"i'll take care of him, i vow to her silently. i promise." (on the floor sobbing)
in the end, this book covers a lot of hard topics and was written beautifully. peyton honored what it can be like to be a college student with a disability while covering abusive relationships of all kinds, and creating multifaceted characters that are made to reflect the parts of us we may not love but learn to accept anyways. ro and freddy learned to love all the sides of themselves whether or not someone else loved it while facing real day to day struggles. their build up of friendship made their relationship special because freddy learned what didn't serve ro without her telling him and vice versa. they learned each other better and took the time to trust because nobody had ever been careful with their hearts, until now. i will recommend this book to everyone i meet, thank you so much for this arc. i’m so excited that my very first netgalley arc is for one of my very favorite authors so thank you again :)
emotional
funny
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:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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
challenging
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
i genuinely love ro and freddy so much. freddy is a loverboy down to his BONES. only reason it’s not 5 stars for me is because there were no real consequences for dr tinley. like yes ro withdrew from her program but at the end of the day she is still a professor at the school and something worse should’ve happened!
I love this series and these characters so much! The depth, the found family, romance etc. It’s so sweet and I love the couple in this just as much as the first book. I didn’t get as attached to the story as in the previous book but I still loved it. It’s so much depth in these and I love that, this is about grief and love and how the two work together. Their relationship was just so sweet and special I can’t wait to see whose story we get next in this series. I looove the men in these books they’re so emotionally intelligent and I love that. They have gone through a lot and communicate with each other and support each other. I also love that we got more of Rhys and Sadie from unloved, they’re so cute.
I struggled to even get this far, so I'm calling it quits on this one
dark
hopeful
slow-paced