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lizzie_b99's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
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
I really enjoyed this! The writing is light and funny but occasionally deep as it dives into the charcters' deepest insecurities. The audio book is really well done - I found myself laughing at multiple points.
The novel is a mix of contemporary day in the life, enemies to lovers romance, and navigating complicated family issues. Waxman mixes all of these almost effortlessly.
I did find the ending a bit abrupt, but I think it also fits in with the day in the life novel style. We see Nina's life day to day, soit makes sense that the ending wouldn't be drawn out or look far into the future or that all the issues in the family would be magically resolved. I still would've liked an epilogue, though. And it would've been nice if the letter delivery portion of the novel took up more space. I'm curious what the other ones said and how everyone reacted. But hey, if the biggest critique I can make about a book is that it left me wanting to learn more about the characters and world, that's a good book and good writing.
The novel is a mix of contemporary day in the life, enemies to lovers romance, and navigating complicated family issues. Waxman mixes all of these almost effortlessly.
I did find the ending a bit abrupt, but I think it also fits in with the day in the life novel style. We see Nina's life day to day, so
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Moderate: Infidelity and Alcohol
Minor: Cursing, Sexual content, Stalking, and Pregnancy
rosie_valadez's review against another edition
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Death of parent
Moderate: Alcoholism, Infidelity, and Abandonment
Minor: Sexual content and Grief
rainbowrocky's review against another edition
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
If you are a cisgender straight white millennial woman, this book is for you. If you are not, then you might want to skip this one. It wasn't written for me, and normally I don't have a problem with that if a book is well written, but this one is not. The millennial speak was too strong. For a character who is supposedly neurodivergent, Nina speaks pretty much exclusively in sarcasm, along with everyone else around her. It made all the characters come across as inauthentic to me.
It really grated on my nerves how insensitive and flippant the author was with a lot of subjects, dropping quick references to prove her "wokeness" without understand what any of it means. I should have known when "Transgender Support Bridge Night" had me side eyeing on page 9 that things would get worse from there (first of all, make it Drag Bingo Night, that's an actual thing). A trans person is not ever mentioned in this book again, and all the Harry Potter references have not aged well. Nina does have a lesbian friend at her book club we only see one time, and she is unfortunately witness to some pretty graphic body shaming about male anatomy she shouldn't have had to be apart of. Again, she never shows up in the novel after that. Nina also inherits a gay nephew later on in the book who is a regular character and I did enjoy him, but her co-worker Polly makes some subtly homophobic comments about him becoming her Gay Best Friend TM. Big eye roll from me. Also I'm just realizing he mentioned having a fiancé when they first met, and then we never saw said partner. Hello? Why wasn't he at the will reading like the other spouses? Suspicious.
There is also a healthy dose of underlying but not explicit fat shaming and ableism in this book, for anyone weary of those themes. It's odd how the author discusses mental illness despite her main character having anxiety. Lots of words like "insane", "crazy", and "psycho" get thrown around, so if you're sensitive to that please pass on this book. I did not find my own experience with anxiety validated by this novel at all.
The romance itself was incredibly lukewarm for me. Tom never even got a physical description beyond that he's tall and has stong forearms and smells like sawdust lol. What color are his eyes? His hair? Is he white? I'm assuming everyone in this novel is, given the author is and didn't describe anyone in detail (except for Nina; for some reason we got a copius amount of descriptions on her slim figure and auburn hair, but how she's not "too pretty" like she's trying too hard--insert another eye roll).
The surprise family plot was interesting, and made me think about my own experiences with these kinds of things. Blended families are more common than you would think and it's fun so see that depicted on the page. The ending was, again, lukewarm. Nina's dad is a real piece of work and his letter, which I'm assuming was supposed to be heartfelt?, was again too flippant for me to take seriously.
Maybe I'm just not a fan of such a casual writing style. I probably would have DNFed it, and should have, if not for completing it for Book Roast's Orilium Magical Readathon 2024 for my Astronomy Class, prompt "recommendation based on your zodiac sign". As a Cancer, this book hurt my heart more than it healed it.
It really grated on my nerves how insensitive and flippant the author was with a lot of subjects, dropping quick references to prove her "wokeness" without understand what any of it means. I should have known when "Transgender Support Bridge Night" had me side eyeing on page 9 that things would get worse from there (first of all, make it Drag Bingo Night, that's an actual thing). A trans person is not ever mentioned in this book again, and all the Harry Potter references have not aged well. Nina does have a lesbian friend at her book club we only see one time, and she is unfortunately witness to some pretty graphic body shaming about male anatomy she shouldn't have had to be apart of. Again, she never shows up in the novel after that. Nina also inherits a gay nephew later on in the book who is a regular character and I did enjoy him, but her co-worker Polly makes some subtly homophobic comments about him becoming her Gay Best Friend TM. Big eye roll from me. Also I'm just realizing he mentioned having a fiancé when they first met, and then we never saw said partner. Hello? Why wasn't he at the will reading like the other spouses? Suspicious.
There is also a healthy dose of underlying but not explicit fat shaming and ableism in this book, for anyone weary of those themes. It's odd how the author discusses mental illness despite her main character having anxiety. Lots of words like "insane", "crazy", and "psycho" get thrown around, so if you're sensitive to that please pass on this book. I did not find my own experience with anxiety validated by this novel at all.
The romance itself was incredibly lukewarm for me. Tom never even got a physical description beyond that he's tall and has stong forearms and smells like sawdust lol. What color are his eyes? His hair? Is he white? I'm assuming everyone in this novel is, given the author is and didn't describe anyone in detail (except for Nina; for some reason we got a copius amount of descriptions on her slim figure and auburn hair, but how she's not "too pretty" like she's trying too hard--insert another eye roll).
The surprise family plot was interesting, and made me think about my own experiences with these kinds of things. Blended families are more common than you would think and it's fun so see that depicted on the page. The ending was, again, lukewarm. Nina's dad is a real piece of work and his letter, which I'm assuming was supposed to be heartfelt?, was again too flippant for me to take seriously.
Maybe I'm just not a fan of such a casual writing style. I probably would have DNFed it, and should have, if not for completing it for Book Roast's Orilium Magical Readathon 2024 for my Astronomy Class, prompt "recommendation based on your zodiac sign". As a Cancer, this book hurt my heart more than it healed it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Body shaming, Drug use, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, Fatphobia, and Misogyny
Minor: Homophobia, Racism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Stalking, Abortion, and Cultural appropriation
sariereads's review against another edition
funny
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Sexual content
amris'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? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Minor: Sexual content
vj_thompson's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
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
3.0
I really wanted to like this book like I loved the second one, but I didn’t. Don’t get me wrong, I still liked aspects of this read. Learning more about Nina and her father’s side of the family. That was probably my favorite part.
Abbi Waxman’s books are similar to Emily Henry’s in the sense of the romance takes the back burner but it is still very relevant to the story. That’s what I was missing with this book. The romance was very dragged out and I hated the third act break up. I think there should have been more explanation or background between Nina and Tom instead of a quick they get back together like nothing happened.
I would still recommend the series as a whole. The second book was my favorite, and I cannot wait to reread it. Hopefully Polly gets her own story!!!
Abbi Waxman’s books are similar to Emily Henry’s in the sense of the romance takes the back burner but it is still very relevant to the story. That’s what I was missing with this book. The romance was very dragged out and I hated the third act break up. I think there should have been more explanation or background between Nina and Tom instead of a quick they get back together like nothing happened.
I would still recommend the series as a whole. The second book was my favorite, and I cannot wait to reread it. Hopefully Polly gets her own story!!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Death of parent
Moderate: Infidelity, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Minor: Alcoholism, Sexual content, and Grief
fromjuliereads's review against another edition
This book just really didn't work for me. I didn't like the main character - the author made her so quirky that she became unlikeable - and the supposed romance, nothing happens. The book is just a bit boring for me and I didn't want to pick it up anymore.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, Death, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, and Abandonment
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
jennysometimesjen's review against another edition
5.0
Loved it! I loved the story, I loved the references to 90s culture and TV shows (I probably missed some!)
Edit: After a re-read, this is 5 stars. I loved it. By the end of chapter 1, I'd laughed, read sentences out to my husband, and ordered my own copy (I was reading a library book).
Nina is complicated. But she brilliant. She's funny, anxious, bookish, and full of trivia. Phil the cat is amazing, everyone needs a cat like Phil to give advice.
I already want to re-read this to sit and investigate all the books mentioned.
Edit: After a re-read, this is 5 stars. I loved it. By the end of chapter 1, I'd laughed, read sentences out to my husband, and ordered my own copy (I was reading a library book).
Nina is complicated. But she brilliant. She's funny, anxious, bookish, and full of trivia. Phil the cat is amazing, everyone needs a cat like Phil to give advice.
I already want to re-read this to sit and investigate all the books mentioned.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Sexual content, Death of parent, and Alcohol
Minor: Drug use and Grief
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