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alexasolis98's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Elliot was consistently rude and yet I'm supposed to believe he can run a business with that attitude. Ama was consistently stupid about Whitney. Like girl stop being suspicious and admit the truth you are experiencing. I didn't really get the romance in this book. I could see the lust, didn't really even get they were in love until way later in the book. I think we needed a bit more time with Ama's thoughts on her averison to marriage. I felt there was a lot that could have been unpacked there. Elliot's background could have been developed a bit more as well. Like why did his mom need to be a senator? Jackie was fine but Hazel was a bit of a brat.
P.S. This whole wedding planning was stressful.
P.S. This whole wedding planning was stressful.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Toxic friendship
Minor: Cancer, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
marianaribeiro's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
tense
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: Sexual content
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Death of parent
fiwwa'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? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
i'm not even joking when i say movie producers call julie soto's agent RIGHT NOW for movie adaptation license. this is what i imagine when i think of books that feels like early 2000s romcom movies. it was hot, it was funny, it was the perfect portion of drama and comedy!! amalliot's bickering and banters got me cackling yet the second chance romance angst makes me ache sooo bad. i love it when the grump in grumpysunshine is the type of person who never loves anyone before her and can't love anyone else after her *screaming*
ps. the myth is right after all, amaryllis do fell in love with the man who loved flowers ;)
pps. i need to see elliot's tattoos.
ps. the myth is right after all, amaryllis do fell in love with the man who loved flowers ;)
pps. i need to see elliot's tattoos.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual harassment
amy_in_the_city's review against another edition
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
A second chance romance (?) between two people that don't belong together and should seek out therapy instead. It feels like it was written by one of those people who consider 500 Days of Summer a rom-com and wrote a fix-it fic for the main characters to end up together despite wanting different things. Ama clearly tells Elliot she doesn't do relationships. That should have been the end of it. She strings him along a bit, but he also lets himself be strung along because he doesn't believe her when she says "no relationships."
So much time was spent on the wedding planning plot and describing all the details and to-do lists that there was no time left for the romantic relationship or for character development in general. There were two chances to show them falling in love (past and present), but I never really felt they were in love. The past timeline mostly seemed about lust. They had sex a lot, but they didn't really have any conversations where they get to know each other in a way that makes their "love" believable. I couldn't tell you anything they like about each other besides he likes her ass and she likes his tattoos. They have maybe two conversations in the present timeline and neither show them falling for each other again.
Ama was pretty immature. I spent most of the book wondering why she never saw a therapist to deal with her feelings about her mother's many divorces and how that affects her views on relationships. You would think she would have sought out a therapist after her outlook on relationships ruined what she had with Elliot the first time but apparently not. Other than her relationship hang-ups and her career goals, she didn't have much of a personality.
Elliott was just kind of a jerk. Repeat after me: "grumpy" does not equal "being rude to everyone you're not currently banging." His first scene with Ama when she was trying to discuss a business opportunity and he was just negging her nonstop was not cute. It was also dumb as a business owner to be needlessly rude to a potential client. His inner thoughts were funny at times though, and I liked the general idea of him in theory.
A lot of reviews praise the steamy scenes but something about them felt off to me. There were some beautifully written lines in here about love but unfortunately, they felt out of character when the romance was so underdeveloped.
So much time was spent on the wedding planning plot and describing all the details and to-do lists that there was no time left for the romantic relationship or for character development in general. There were two chances to show them falling in love (past and present), but I never really felt they were in love. The past timeline mostly seemed about lust. They had sex a lot, but they didn't really have any conversations where they get to know each other in a way that makes their "love" believable. I couldn't tell you anything they like about each other besides he likes her ass and she likes his tattoos. They have maybe two conversations in the present timeline and neither show them falling for each other again.
Ama was pretty immature. I spent most of the book wondering why she never saw a therapist to deal with her feelings about her mother's many divorces and how that affects her views on relationships. You would think she would have sought out a therapist after her outlook on relationships ruined what she had with Elliot the first time but apparently not. Other than her relationship hang-ups and her career goals, she didn't have much of a personality.
Elliott was just kind of a jerk. Repeat after me: "grumpy" does not equal "being rude to everyone you're not currently banging." His first scene with Ama when she was trying to discuss a business opportunity and he was just negging her nonstop was not cute. It was also dumb as a business owner to be needlessly rude to a potential client. His inner thoughts were funny at times though, and I liked the general idea of him in theory.
A lot of reviews praise the steamy scenes but something about them felt off to me. There were some beautifully written lines in here about love but unfortunately, they felt out of character when the romance was so underdeveloped.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Cancer, Medical content, Emotional abuse, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Vomit and Alcohol
Minor: Car accident and Classism
kfmcf's review against another edition
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I enjoyed this book. Am I mad it's yet another Reylo, absolutely, but at least it was less obviously in the past timeline.
Speaking of the past timeline, that was the stronger aspects of the book to me. I loved the MMC's POV. He was so awkward and goony and it really showed their chemistry and what they both needed from each other. I missed that in the present timeline - I felt that we really didn't get any time with them together in the present and feel the draw of them coming back together. I did think having the timelines have one POV respective to each of them was a fun choice that was done well.
I also wasn't a huge fan of the cartoonishly evil villain. It was predictable and added a phony tension to the last act of the book.
This is so nitpicky - but I'm so picky about covers. Why do they both look so sickly. The color choices of purple and green, love, great, totally fine. But the characters are grey. why.
Overall, I still had a good time with this one and will keep an eye out for future Julie Soto's.
Speaking of the past timeline, that was the stronger aspects of the book to me. I loved the MMC's POV. He was so awkward and goony and it really showed their chemistry and what they both needed from each other. I missed that in the present timeline - I felt that we really didn't get any time with them together in the present and feel the draw of them coming back together. I did think having the timelines have one POV respective to each of them was a fun choice that was done well.
I also wasn't a huge fan of the cartoonishly evil villain. It was predictable and added a phony tension to the last act of the book.
This is so nitpicky - but I'm so picky about covers. Why do they both look so sickly. The color choices of purple and green, love, great, totally fine. But the characters are grey. why.
Overall, I still had a good time with this one and will keep an eye out for future Julie Soto's.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting and Sexual content
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, and Medical content
ankiaisreading's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
slow-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
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Toxic friendship, and Cursing
winanse's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
lighthearted
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? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Minor: Injury/Injury detail
naysia_reads's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
fast-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
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail
kirareadssometimes's review against another edition
funny
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Cool dual perspective book with the addition of past and present narratives. I personally haven't read a book about a wedding planner and florist before so it felt like a unique premise. There were also some things I didn't expect which was a nice surprise. A nice, casual read with all the best parts of a spicy romance book without being too overdone and repetitive.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Injury/Injury detail
btwnprintedpgs's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
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? It's complicated
5.0
I adored this book - I appreciated the dual POV of Ama in the present and Elliot in the past (for much of the book) as we see how their relationship started and how it unravelled before present day. There was a great mix of wedding planning, design, personal life, and steamy scenes that really brought the characters and their relationship to life.
I actually loved the depth it went into with the MCs feelings, as well as their work, because they were both so important to them for different reasons. The development of relationships and the secondary characters also made the book so much more fun and colourful.
I will definitely be keeping an eye out for new books by Julie Soto going forward - her writing is addictive. All in all, this is a new favourite for me!
TW: sexual content, workplace emotional abuse, injury detail; mentions cancer, death of a parent, sexual harassment
I actually loved the depth it went into with the MCs feelings, as well as their work, because they were both so important to them for different reasons. The development of relationships and the secondary characters also made the book so much more fun and colourful.
I will definitely be keeping an eye out for new books by Julie Soto going forward - her writing is addictive. All in all, this is a new favourite for me!
TW: sexual content, workplace emotional abuse, injury detail; mentions cancer, death of a parent, sexual harassment
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Emotional abuse
Minor: Cancer, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment