Reviews with content warning for Ableism - Happily Ever Afters

Reviews tagging 'Ableism'

Happily Ever Afters by Elise Bryant

40 reviews

onarosebeam's review

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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

3.0

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lastingliterature's review

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hopeful inspiring lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Happily Ever Afters is a story about a girl named Tessa who enrolls in an arts school to follow her dreams of creative writing. After her first day, she hits a major writer’s block due to imposter syndrome and her growing anxiety about not being good enough. Her friends help her create a “Happily Ever After Plan” where she will follow classic romcom moves to see if she gets inspired to write again.

The parts of this book I love:

-There is great representation. There are characters of multiple races and cultures, lgbt characters, a character who has disabilities, and more. It wasn’t forced or tokenized, which I appreciated.

-There are many instances of microagrressions, ableism, racism, etc. that are handled wonderfully. Tessa has no problem calling these out!

-Mental health has a large focus. It is specifically focused on anxiety, and as someone who struggles with this, I thought it was done pretty well.

-Very sweet, clean romance. Although Tessa’s mission throughout the book is to find love, the story is more so about her growing and becoming more confident in herself.

The parts I didn’t love:

-Tessa is very selfish. Her friend does call her out on this, but it annoyed me how blind Tessa was to it

-Nico did nothing for me. He so clearly only acted “woke” when Tessa called him out on things. Other than him being cute, there wasn’t anything else mentioned that drew Tessa to him

-Tessa and her friends all being fine with, and actively encouraging!!, Tessa trying to steal Poppy’s boyfriend. It shouldn’t matter that they are on-again/off-again! They were in a relationship for this entire plan. Of course Poppy is going to hate you!

-The constant lies felt unnatural for Tessa’s character. Despite her struggling with anxiety, the immense number of lies to her parents and friends didn’t seem to bother her much

While this wasn’t the perfect book for me, I know many will adore this one. I definitely believe many young girls will find this very relatable and comforting, and that is amazing! I look forward to more of Bryant’s work.

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

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olyally's review against another edition

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funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing 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

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hansbookshelf's review

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

4.5

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meganelise's review

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emotional funny lighthearted relaxing slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This book will possibly make you want to eat all of the baked goods.

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perpetualpages's review against another edition

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challenging hopeful reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

CWs: Instances of ableism and ableist language (from supporting characters), some allusions to infidelity, incurred racism, extensive HP references, and the (presumably accidental) deadnaming of a famous trans person

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booksinthemountains's review

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lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I wanted to love this book but it fell short for me. Yet there were really important components. Here's our set up: Tessa has just moved to Long Branch and away from her best friend Caroline. She's struggling to adjust to her new location and taking on a lot of responsibilities with her older brother who is disabled. The one thing that seems exciting is her new school for those kids talented in the arts. Unfortunately when she arrives she is overwhelmed with imposter syndrome and as a result she suffers from writer block. Desperate to get her voice back and also to connect with her long distance best friend, Caroline and Tessa come up with a plan: to use romance tropes to get Tessa's new crush Nico to fall in love with her. But what about nerdy adorable neighbor Sam?

Here's the positive portions, I think this story about imposter syndrome and feeling isolated as a BIPOC is an important theme, as well as there being mirrors for Black girls struggling with feeling out of place. Tessa's fierce love and protective nature for her brother touched me (especially the section "my brother is my brother and I don't want him to change. I love him for him"). Also Sam is swoon worthy. Unfortunately these positives get lost in the mess, lies, and high school drama. You will get frustrated with the main character (but remember she's a teenager growing up). For me the hunt to be popular and get the generic boy's attention no matter what was too much. I really felt like I went back to high school and not in a positive way. Ultimately, it didn't work for me, but at the same time I think flipping through for the positive parts would be a really good read? Anyway, it's a neutral for me.

Thanks to Edelweiss for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

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ellenreading_theend's review

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

I had been looking forward to this book since I read the description months ago, and I’m happy to report that it’s just as dreamy as I imagined it would be! I’m not an author, so when Tessa lost her ability to write, I didn’t expect it to affect me, but the feeling she has of being lost and overwhelmed is something I think so many of us have been through and struggled with. Tessa’s growth as a character is wonderfully explored, and the YA romantic issues are are painfully perfect. I literally facepalmed at one point, which is how I know I am reading a good YA book. It also touches on microaggressions that Tessa experiences, and the emotional impact they have on her. I finished this one with a big contented sigh. I’m pretty sure @beingabookwyrm put this on my radar way back when, so thanks to Bezi for that!

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mfieldshalva's review

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective tense medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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natrosette's review

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DNF at 63%. I really like the MC and her family, but neither of the love interests hold my attention and the plot is a bit too much for me. I keep cringing in secondhand embarrassment and find myself impatient for the end when I know Tessa will figure out that what she thinks she wants isn't what she actually wants. It's a good story, but just not for me.

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