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3.12 AVERAGE
3.12 AVERAGE
emotional
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Acephobia/Arophobia
Minor: Miscarriage
informative
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review (also, I usually don't do book-reviews, so bear with me).
This was my first book written by Elin Annalise, but it will not be my last. I really enjoyed it!
It has a classic “enemies-to-lovers” trope, with the backstory nicely explained through flashbacks. Both of the main-characters had a different feel to them, and I liked how they were at different places in their journeys to figure out their asexuality - Courtney having known for years and Sophie just figuring it out, and still questioning some parts about herself and her identity. It gave the author a chance to inform readers about different aspects of the asexual spectrum, without forcing it on people, and I really liked that.
While some of the plotpoints seemed a bit silly and cliché, it did not make me enjoy it any less. Maybe I’m just a sucker for a good cliché?
If you find yourself in need of a nice, light queer book, this book is definitely worth a read.
This was my first book written by Elin Annalise, but it will not be my last. I really enjoyed it!
It has a classic “enemies-to-lovers” trope, with the backstory nicely explained through flashbacks. Both of the main-characters had a different feel to them, and I liked how they were at different places in their journeys to figure out their asexuality - Courtney having known for years and Sophie just figuring it out, and still questioning some parts about herself and her identity. It gave the author a chance to inform readers about different aspects of the asexual spectrum, without forcing it on people, and I really liked that.
While some of the plotpoints seemed a bit silly and cliché, it did not make me enjoy it any less. Maybe I’m just a sucker for a good cliché?
If you find yourself in need of a nice, light queer book, this book is definitely worth a read.
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
I bought this one on kindle some time ago, curious to read more books with ace rep. I'm not part of the asexual community so can't comment on the rep but I enjoyed that element of the book and thought the call center idea was a creative way to approach sharing information and resources.
We follow two central characters: Courtney and Sophie. Rivals all through their school years until one takes things too far and their relationship turns sour. Now enemies, the girls hardly acknowledge one another's presence and happily lose contact after school. Years later, both now adults, their paths cross again as Sophie moves in upstairs from Courtney.
This book was at times a challenging read. The author delves into a lot of heavy topics for such a short book and I felt like some were vastly underdeveloped. These topics include: domestic abuse, addiction, health issues, toxic family systems, bullying, sexuality, acephobia, self acceptance and self esteem. For a roughly 200 page book, I just felt that this was a little too much to cover and a lot of the issues remained unresolved and not meaningfully explored, in my opinion. The book could have either done with being longer, allowing for more depth on these issues, or the number of topics could have been reduced, thus giving the story more focus. This was the most disappointing element of the book for me as a reader.
The romance was a little predictable, though I felt that I had to suspend disbelief about the way it played out. I also felt that there were some really deep issues that one character could have done with more support to heal from, and there was an implication that the romance was a balm on those wounds somehow, which I felt a little icky about.
The review sounds very negative but I finished the book - something which I don't always do - so that shows that there were things that I liked about it. Let me also talk about those.
I liked that we get to meet Courtney's friendship group and that they are formed as characters in their own right. I would have liked to know more about them, or feel that there was some closure on some of their experiences in the book, but I'm still glad that they weren't written as cardboard cutouts of characters as can sometimes happen to side characters in romance books.
I liked the author's use of flashbacks to help us understand the history between the two characters and the way their dynamic had formed and then soured.
And I also liked that Courtney was very secure in her identity as asexual and was even working to support other people who were struggling with their identity and trying to learn more about asexuality.
All in all, there was some good and some less good about the book, so I rated it a middle of the road 2.5 stars.
We follow two central characters: Courtney and Sophie. Rivals all through their school years until one takes things too far and their relationship turns sour. Now enemies, the girls hardly acknowledge one another's presence and happily lose contact after school. Years later, both now adults, their paths cross again as Sophie moves in upstairs from Courtney.
This book was at times a challenging read. The author delves into a lot of heavy topics for such a short book and I felt like some were vastly underdeveloped. These topics include: domestic abuse, addiction, health issues, toxic family systems, bullying, sexuality, acephobia, self acceptance and self esteem. For a roughly 200 page book, I just felt that this was a little too much to cover and a lot of the issues remained unresolved and not meaningfully explored, in my opinion. The book could have either done with being longer, allowing for more depth on these issues, or the number of topics could have been reduced, thus giving the story more focus. This was the most disappointing element of the book for me as a reader.
The romance was a little predictable, though I felt that I had to suspend disbelief about the way it played out. I also felt that there were some really deep issues that one character could have done with more support to heal from, and there was an implication that the romance was a balm on those wounds somehow, which I felt a little icky about.
The review sounds very negative but I finished the book - something which I don't always do - so that shows that there were things that I liked about it. Let me also talk about those.
I liked that we get to meet Courtney's friendship group and that they are formed as characters in their own right. I would have liked to know more about them, or feel that there was some closure on some of their experiences in the book, but I'm still glad that they weren't written as cardboard cutouts of characters as can sometimes happen to side characters in romance books.
I liked the author's use of flashbacks to help us understand the history between the two characters and the way their dynamic had formed and then soured.
And I also liked that Courtney was very secure in her identity as asexual and was even working to support other people who were struggling with their identity and trying to learn more about asexuality.
All in all, there was some good and some less good about the book, so I rated it a middle of the road 2.5 stars.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Biphobia, Body shaming, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Toxic relationship, Violence, Stalking, Acephobia/Arophobia, Outing, Classism
i read another book in this series and thought it was terrible but I wanted to check this out bc it's ace f/f, and like. maybe it'd be better (the author's YA thriller was okay?) but yeah I don't think I can get past 20 pages of this, sorry
only really reading for the fact that I keep track of aspec books and the way this is beating you over the head with explanations about asexuality plus portrayals of aphobia that are so unnuanced it feels like a joke.....yeah wouldn't recommend. i can tell that this is trying to tackle too many things and doesnt have the subtlety or quality of writing to do that well
only really reading for the fact that I keep track of aspec books and the way this is beating you over the head with explanations about asexuality plus portrayals of aphobia that are so unnuanced it feels like a joke.....yeah wouldn't recommend. i can tell that this is trying to tackle too many things and doesnt have the subtlety or quality of writing to do that well
3.5 stars, but giving it 3 stars felt harsh.
This book was overall pretty good. I really enjoyed the portrayal of asexuality. I loved the two main characters and I loved their relationship, which I felt had a lot of nuance and was very fun to see unfolded. I liked how the book talked about serious issues like ace phobia, domestic violence or bullying.
That being said, I had a few problems with the book too. One of them is that didn’t like the prank stuff, it felt forced and not super interesting. I think there were better ways to create an excuse to get the characters close. I also have to admit that the ending felt pretty rushed: there were several interesting plot line (their relationship, Sophie’s ex and her step mom…) but the ending arrived quickly and I ended up feeling a bit disappointed by how quickly it came to an end. I wish we could remove the prank stuff and replace it by a bit more development for those plots.
But overall, I enjoyed the book. Not the best romance ever but still pretty enjoyable.
This book was overall pretty good. I really enjoyed the portrayal of asexuality. I loved the two main characters and I loved their relationship, which I felt had a lot of nuance and was very fun to see unfolded. I liked how the book talked about serious issues like ace phobia, domestic violence or bullying.
That being said, I had a few problems with the book too. One of them is that didn’t like the prank stuff, it felt forced and not super interesting. I think there were better ways to create an excuse to get the characters close. I also have to admit that the ending felt pretty rushed: there were several interesting plot line (their relationship, Sophie’s ex and her step mom…) but the ending arrived quickly and I ended up feeling a bit disappointed by how quickly it came to an end. I wish we could remove the prank stuff and replace it by a bit more development for those plots.
But overall, I enjoyed the book. Not the best romance ever but still pretty enjoyable.
Aphobia and not a big fan of enemies to lovers
This book is considered part of a series but it's just because of the common "theme" (at least one of the main characters being ace) so, if you haven't read the other two yet, you can start with either of the three, it doesn't make any difference. All are sweet romances, perfect for ace readers but not only - anyone who doesn't insist on "hot" scenes in romance could enjoy the plots.
This one is F/F (the others are both M/F), which I read less often so it's a nice change (not that it changes much) and I like that Sophie is bi and ace, which I'm sure many people think is not possible. And the other helpline callers provide more opportunities for ace readers to find a situation that sounds more like theirs.
I also enjoyed the pranks (even if the TV show doesn't really go according to plan) and the flashbacks chapters that allow us to see how the rivalry got really out of control at school.
This one is F/F (the others are both M/F), which I read less often so it's a nice change (not that it changes much) and I like that Sophie is bi and ace, which I'm sure many people think is not possible. And the other helpline callers provide more opportunities for ace readers to find a situation that sounds more like theirs.
I also enjoyed the pranks (even if the TV show doesn't really go according to plan) and the flashbacks chapters that allow us to see how the rivalry got really out of control at school.
It's Always Been You caught my attention when I was looking for wintry romances to help me make the yuletide gay. I liked the ace representation and thought that the enemies-to-lovers relationship between Courtney and Sophie had a lot of potential, but I couldn't connect with any of the supporting characters or the whole prank war plot. I felt like there were too many extraneous details and unrealistic moments, and I just wanted the book to settle down and focus.
Firstly, this book starts cute; I like the characterization and while I am not often a fan of duel points of view, this is interesting insight into each love interest’s backstory. They are both fully fleshed out, with motives for their actions that make sense, and they each have different types of worries that affect their life.
Secondly, a childhood enemies to lovers story is a great cliche. I more like childhood rivals to lovers, but enemies can be good as well. So, off to a great start.
Here comes why I ended up DNF-ing it, which it’s been a little while since I read it, and I kept telling myself I would go back to it, but my library copy had to be returned and I am to lazy to put myself back on the waitlist.
While the writing is wonderful and I like the characters, there was not mention of a humiliation game in the summary and I do not like embarrassment whatsoever. Even a hint of it. This planned drawn out embarrassment immediately turned me off the story and while I did love the characters (so I kept telling myself I’d go back), I can’t handle it, especially planned harassment. The rest of this I’m going to put behind spoilers:Courtney and Sophie were childhood rivals in a rich boarding school with Courtney having a scholarship and Sophie being ‘new money’. This meant neither of them were on the top of the totem pole. Sophie’s mean old money friend outs Courtney before she knows she is ace and accuses a teacher of being in a relationship with Courtney at the same time. Sophie know this is big time wrong and tries to retaliate against her friend, even promising Courtney she would fix it, but is browbeaten by her Dad who needs a ‘cash infusion’ to his business from old money families (while still reeling from her mother’s tragic passing a few years ago). Courtney is let down and Sophie can’t explain, rivals turn to enemies and life moves on. There is never an extreme embarrassment scene (as of the end of chapter 12) in the flashbacks, just very tragic misunderstandings. The story starts with Courtney as an adult who works on an ace help/hotline and takes the call of Sophie (freshly out of an abusive marriage to a man and in hiding away from him) who thinks she might be asexual. Courtney recognizes Sophie, but doesn’t say anything because Sophie is calling for help. This is also not the awful bit. Sophie moves in with her stepmother (who was only married to her dad for a small time before he died) to hide from her soon to be divorced from ex because he is after her. Courtney lives in the same building and doesn’t know this, vows to drive her out by, very badly, pretending there is a ghost in the building. This is have lead to a great moment where Sophie confides about her ex and her fears to Courtney and them reconciling the different traumas they went through, but instead Courtney’s friends convince her to ask Sophie to create a prank war reality tv show (because Courtney knows that Sophie always wanted to be an actress) in the hopes to get revenge on Sophie, with an agreement put in place that justifies the harassment, probably full of evil editing to make Sophie look bad and force Sophie to move as well. This is awful. I hate prank wars. I hate harassment via prank wars.
I hate everything about the round about way this revenge is happening, especially as we the reader know that Sophie wasn’t responsible, couldn’t explain the awful pressure and is on the run an living in terror that her soon-to-be-ex might find her. I hate everything about this. Obviously, I DNFed when Courtney started filming herself for the first harassment/prank. I just couldn’t get past this.
This book is perfect for someone, but not me.
Secondly, a childhood enemies to lovers story is a great cliche. I more like childhood rivals to lovers, but enemies can be good as well. So, off to a great start.
Here comes why I ended up DNF-ing it, which it’s been a little while since I read it, and I kept telling myself I would go back to it, but my library copy had to be returned and I am to lazy to put myself back on the waitlist.
While the writing is wonderful and I like the characters, there was not mention of a humiliation game in the summary and I do not like embarrassment whatsoever. Even a hint of it. This planned drawn out embarrassment immediately turned me off the story and while I did love the characters (so I kept telling myself I’d go back), I can’t handle it, especially planned harassment. The rest of this I’m going to put behind spoilers:
I hate everything about the round about way this revenge is happening, especially as we the reader know that Sophie wasn’t responsible, couldn’t explain the awful pressure and is on the run an living in terror that her soon-to-be-ex might find her. I hate everything about this. Obviously, I DNFed when Courtney started filming herself for the first harassment/prank. I just couldn’t get past this.
This book is perfect for someone, but not me.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Acephobia/Arophobia, Outing, Toxic friendship, Classism
Minor: Death of parent