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fatzbrekker's review against another edition
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
I did NOT enjoy this, and the only reason I read the whole thing was for the sake of finishing another book.
The protagonist, Nina, was quite relatable to me. I liked her a lot and understood a lot of her. But that is all I have to say about here really. She didn't stand out well enough.
There were far too many characters to the point where it got incredibly confusing. I couldn't differentiate between where each of the side characters fell into her life; none of them stood out as significant and they all seemed to mould into one personality.
Don't even get me started on the love interest. I found Tom insufferable from first meeting him. He was creepy and icky and a walking red flag. Some of the things he said to Nina were truly gobsmacking, in particular the way he acted when she initially broke up with him, and especially at the end when he said:
"What about the next time you freak out? I don't want to be with someone who's ready to throw me under the bus every time she loses her composure."
HELLO?? SHE LITERALLY HAS ANXIETY AND HAS REPEATEDLY TOLD YOU THAT!!! And I cannot fathom why Nina would choose to be with him after he said this to her PUBLICLY. So, no, I cannot accept that he was supposed to be a good love interest, or the best person for Nina, and I did not like him at all. Nina, girl, you can do so much better.
In terms of the whole "new family" aspect of the plot, I don't think it was executed as well as it could have been. It felt really forced, as though the author was trying so hard to MAKE it fit into the story. Again, the amount of characters being introduced didn't help with this at all. And the whole will reading towards the end felt so anti-climactic. Like I said, because this storyline felt forced, it didn't tie together very nicely.
Another thing that really, truly bugged the heck out of me throughout my reading process, was the writing. When you first start the book, it begins with Nina's pov, and this goes on for a while so naturally, you get used to being in the head of the protagonist and expect it to continue as such throughout. That is not the case. What made me have to stop reading a lot of the time, was the random pov changes MID-PARAGRAPH. It went from Nina one line to Tom in the next and back to Nina, And it didn't end there. Polly (one of the many side-characters, I think?) also got a pov for a few lines in one chapter. I had to go back and read it to make sure I was understanding the text properly. It didn't make for an easy, flowing read which a reader would usually expect from this type of book.
It was also very, very wordy. There was a lot of unnecessary description on characters and topics that hadn't been built up at the start. It felt congested and claustrophobic at times, reading a chunky paragraph of page on something that had no relation whatsoever to any of the characters or storylines. It definitely could have been at least 50 pages shorter, if not more.
Anyway, this was a TERRIBLE book. Don't waste your time.
The protagonist, Nina, was quite relatable to me. I liked her a lot and understood a lot of her. But that is all I have to say about here really. She didn't stand out well enough.
There were far too many characters to the point where it got incredibly confusing. I couldn't differentiate between where each of the side characters fell into her life; none of them stood out as significant and they all seemed to mould into one personality.
Don't even get me started on the love interest. I found Tom insufferable from first meeting him. He was creepy and icky and a walking red flag. Some of the things he said to Nina were truly gobsmacking, in particular the way he acted when she initially broke up with him, and especially at the end when he said:
"What about the next time you freak out? I don't want to be with someone who's ready to throw me under the bus every time she loses her composure."
HELLO?? SHE LITERALLY HAS ANXIETY AND HAS REPEATEDLY TOLD YOU THAT!!! And I cannot fathom why Nina would choose to be with him after he said this to her PUBLICLY. So, no, I cannot accept that he was supposed to be a good love interest, or the best person for Nina, and I did not like him at all. Nina, girl, you can do so much better.
In terms of the whole "new family" aspect of the plot, I don't think it was executed as well as it could have been. It felt really forced, as though the author was trying so hard to MAKE it fit into the story. Again, the amount of characters being introduced didn't help with this at all. And the whole will reading towards the end felt so anti-climactic. Like I said, because this storyline felt forced, it didn't tie together very nicely.
Another thing that really, truly bugged the heck out of me throughout my reading process, was the writing. When you first start the book, it begins with Nina's pov, and this goes on for a while so naturally, you get used to being in the head of the protagonist and expect it to continue as such throughout. That is not the case. What made me have to stop reading a lot of the time, was the random pov changes MID-PARAGRAPH. It went from Nina one line to Tom in the next and back to Nina, And it didn't end there. Polly (one of the many side-characters, I think?) also got a pov for a few lines in one chapter. I had to go back and read it to make sure I was understanding the text properly. It didn't make for an easy, flowing read which a reader would usually expect from this type of book.
It was also very, very wordy. There was a lot of unnecessary description on characters and topics that hadn't been built up at the start. It felt congested and claustrophobic at times, reading a chunky paragraph of page on something that had no relation whatsoever to any of the characters or storylines. It definitely could have been at least 50 pages shorter, if not more.
Anyway, this was a TERRIBLE book. Don't waste your time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism
Moderate: Mental illness
samanderson24's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Mental illness, and Death of parent
vanessa1982's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness and Death of parent
lindsayerin's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Abandonment
Moderate: Mental illness and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Homophobia and Racism
mswarning's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Theoretically it would be nice to crave dense 5-star books all the time, but I was in the mood for a lighthearted palate cleanser I could speedread.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Alcoholism and Abandonment
Minor: Bullying and Death of parent
readingwithwillo_'s review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
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: Mental illness
Moderate: Grief and Abandonment
angelicaw7852's review against another edition
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
there’s so much and so little happening at the same time. definitely not a romance novel so if that’s what you’re looking for this isn’t it. it’s just meaningless fiction with some fun trivia facts. idk as an anxious book lover i thought i would be able to identify with Nina but i didn’t really. we barely get to know tom and the author sometimes includes the internal thoughts of other characters and sometimes doesn’t. it was weird. idk i felt like the editor should have chopped some of it up to free room up for the main theme which tbh idk what the point really was?
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness
nicoles_reading_corner's review against another edition
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness and Death of parent
Moderate: Alcoholism and Abandonment
easypeasy17's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
I really wanted to like this book! I had been excited to read it for the past few years and the beginning started out great. However, as the book goes on I just got frustrated. It really felt the the characters were all one-dimensional caricatures. And then Nina, the main character, meets her extended family. This gave the author a great opportunity to explore this experience, but she just made the characters the same. Everyone in her family is a massive reader. When she meets her brother, he also has anxiety. And when she meets her niece, she also likes random facts. It was like the author thought that just because you are related, you have to have identical interests.
There were also moments where I thought there were some problematic elements. The main character has anxiety. At one point she has a panic attack and the love interest helps her get home. He also makes her tea and does some other stuff while she’s in the bathroom. Once she emerges from the bathroom, she tells the love interest that she needs to be alone in order to process her anxiety. He proceeds to then not leave her alone and persistently asks her if he can stay and tells her that he just wants to take care of her. SIR, the best thing you could do to take care of her is to listen to what she is telling you she needs right now. She’s not telling you to leave her forever, just that she needs to process this experience. I was so annoyed! Then at the end of the book, NINA is the one who apologizes for that event. The love interest is the one that should be apologizing. And he proceeds to describe her panic attack as a “freak out” and says, “I don’t want to be with someone who’s ready to throw me under the bus every time she loses her composure.” This is just such a dismissive portrayal of anxiety! Lastly, there were jokes throughout that were meant to be witty but they read to me as problematic which then took me out of the story. I was so disappointed by this story.
There were also moments where I thought there were some problematic elements. The main character has anxiety.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Transphobia, and Alcohol
katielaine_w's review against another edition
hopeful
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? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Death of parent
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, and Alcohol
Minor: Drug use and Grief