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kb33's review against another edition
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol and Sexual content
Moderate: Vomit
Minor: Child abuse, Self harm, Abandonment, and Alcoholism
lunahale's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
this felt just a little too surface level. it seems like so many of the important parts of this beeok happened off page and we only got to hear about it. (sebastian going to therapy being a big one). anyway, i could’ve done with fewer time jumps and more on page happenings. HOWEVER, ziggy has my heart, and i’m so happy to finally read her story 🫶🏼
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse and Alcoholism
Minor: Car accident
megnut's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, and Child abuse
Minor: Alcohol and Drug use
hazelgirl21's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness and Sexual content
Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Abandonment
Minor: Pregnancy
lisettemarie's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol and Child abuse
headinthepages's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment, Alcohol, Bullying, Car accident, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Vomit, Child abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, and Violence
unsuccessfulbookclub's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
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
3.5
The latest installment in the Bergman Brothers series had some great moments, but ultimately didn’t work as well for me as some of the other books in this series. There were some things I loved (ACOTAR references!! Believable friends-to-lovers!!) and some things that didn’t work as well for me.
The main characters (Seb and Ziggy) spend a lot of time apart and there was a missed opportunity for some epistolary elements (texts, emails, letters even!). I am a total pushover for epistolary and it made me sad to miss out. I feel like we just had pages and pages of them “being apart” while they both worked a lot. I’m a total simp for epistolary, so the missed opportunity to incorporate letters and texts made me especially sad.
I enjoyed Seb’s growth in the story. There were some great moments between him and each of the Bergman Brothers. The thing I missed was detail about how he was “bad.” We heard a lot of how he “let people down” and “broke people’s hearts,” but I wanted more!! Is he a cheater? Did he have a substance abuse problem? Is he a flake? An a**hole? Just misunderstood? As readers, we never find out because I think we’re supposed to focus on Seb getting past all of that - but it’s hard to trust that he does “clean up his act” when we never know what his “act” was. It’s also hard to appreciate his growth when we never see him making amends and/or apologizing to people he has wronged with his actions. The one time that happens, he gets very sketchy about it with Ziggy and won’t tell her details, so we also never get details. I AM NOSY. GIVE ME THE DETAILS PLEASE.
The one thing Chloe never misses is including a great variety of characters with different types of disabilities and neurodivergence. In this book, Ziggy is autistic and Seb is dealing with a chronic illness (mild spoilers, listed below in the content notes!). Additionally, Ziggy is bisexual and Seb is pan, and it’s a very casual, NBD thing when they tell each other that.
I still wish we had more characters of color in this series. The Bergmans are Swedish, so I get it, but they live in Southern California and many of them play pro sports… why is it that they RARELY encounter anyone who isn’t white?
Recommended! All in all, I enjoyed this but it didn’t knock my socks off. If you are a fan of new adult sports romances, you will probably enjoy this a little more than I did, and if you are looking for a soft contemporary with no third-act breakup? This is the book for you! You can read this series out of order but the Bergman family is BIG so it helps provide context if you read them in order.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Child abuse, and Abandonment
Moderate: Drug use and Sexual content
this_momma_is_booked's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
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
4.5
Holy moly, Batman. I loved this one! Brother's best friend?! YES PLEASE. I loved Ziggy and how fiercely independent she was, how big she loved, how well-developed she was written. And Sebastian? I love me some tatted up bad boy with a heart of gold. This was one a joy to read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism
Minor: Child abuse
vicwaltz's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol and Child abuse
groskrmc's review against another edition
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book felt like coming home. It’s such a good story and then the last 10% was just thing after thing that made me fall even more
Content Warnings
Minor: Cursing, Child abuse, Chronic illness, and Ableism