Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Icebreaker by Hannah Grace

30 reviews

theverycraftyvegan's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted 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? Yes

4.0

I really enjoyed the story of finding love where you don’t expect it, friends who are there for you no matter what, toxic people getting their comeuppance, and that while having a team/partner beside you is great you can also do things solo and be okay. 

That being said, I found this book to be too sexy? Like there was so much sex it was eventually just background noise. Definitely not an audiobook to listen to with the kids around, but by about half way I could have skipped through the sex scenes and still enjoyed the book. 

All sex aside, I loved the communication between all the characters (friendship and romantic relations) and the amount of times Nate and Stas mentioned therapy and how beneficial it was. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Alcohol, Blood, Bullying, Toxic friendship, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Cursing, and Sexual content

Moderate: Grief, Infidelity, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Chronic illness, Violence, and Vomit

Minor: Sexual assault and Pregnancy

kaydeedickins's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful 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

So very good! The third act conflict felt true to the characters and was well written, not just some random miscommunication like some romance books. I love the communally theme and the lack of damsel-in-distress storytelling. Only reason I didn’t finish it one day is because I have a toddler who wants to read his books. But it’s that good.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Sexual content, Alcohol, Fatphobia, Emotional abuse, Eating disorder, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, Death of parent, Violence, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, and Gaslighting

Minor: Terminal illness and Medical content

macykey's review against another edition

funny lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

This book is very long and there were some things I felt could be cut out, some relationships I felt could be tamed down. But overall, I really enjoyed this! The spicy scenes were excellent. Nate as a character is phenomenal. He’s a great example of what healthy masculinity looks like without being perfect. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Cursing, Sexual harassment, Toxic friendship, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Eating disorder

Moderate: Gaslighting, Vomit, Pregnancy, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, and Grief

sarahflanders's review against another edition

emotional 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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcohol, Death of parent, Vomit, Cursing, Death, Eating disorder, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Pregnancy, and Cancer

writewithapendragon's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted 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? Yes

4.0

Really liked this novel-good spice level, medium to low stakes, quick read! Loved the modern setting, the characters were a lot of fun. I do think some of the heavier subject matter was a little clunky but not mis-handled. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Body shaming

Moderate: Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Gaslighting, Grief, Sexual content, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, Alcohol, Body shaming, Cursing, Death of parent, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, and Medical content

demy_summer's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Body shaming, Death of parent, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Body horror, Bullying, Cursing, and Violence

redefiningrachel's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Body shaming

Moderate: Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Vomit, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, and Grief

Minor: Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Violence, and Eating disorder

sea_tea_books's review against another edition

emotional tense

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No

3.0

Brief Summary: I'm in the Henry fan club, and I'm not down with binge drinking.
 . . . . . 
Could have done without that particular ending. Also, I'm not a fan of the binge drinking/alcoholism and excessive swearing in this story. Maybe I just don't like college romance books? I would have liked to read more about the connections that developed between the various characters when they weren't drunk. 

Plenty of spice. Seriously, it was a lot. 

Maple Hills had almost cozy vibes . . . but only if the character had a trust fund or was connected to someone with money. We weren't privy to the "other side" of Maple Hills. 

There were so many characters that were introduced but not developed so I tripped on a few characters that I didn't recognize sprinkled throughout the story. As far as characters go, Henry was the most likeable. I'd read another Maple Hills book if he was the main character. (hint hint)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fatphobia, Dysphoria, Cursing, Classism, Alcohol, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Vomit, Body shaming, Alcoholism, and Eating disorder

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Gaslighting, and Grief

Minor: Pregnancy, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Accidental pregnancy

ashleycmms's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted tense 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? No

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Sexual content, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Death of parent, Grief, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Eating disorder, and Body shaming

Minor: Sexual harassment and Infidelity

aublyn105's review against another edition

dark emotional funny inspiring lighthearted sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

this book was literally everything i like in a book. it was so easy to read, loved the characters (minus aaron), loved the tropes, everything. nathan was such a good book boyfriend though. the spice, the communication, the quotes, etc. he was just perfect for stas. the only two things that led this to a potential five star to a four isssss…..the stupid ass pregnancy trope. and the fact stas kept calling nate BUB?! love you stas, but absolutely not. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Mental illness, Eating disorder, and Cursing

Minor: Grief