Reviews with content warning for Mental illness - La Chica del Tiempo

I think I started this too soon after finishing Business or Pleasure because I couldn't quite separate the two in my mind. I liked both a lot, but I preferred Business or Pleasure to this one. I found Ari and Russell both incredibly likable, and loved having a fat male romantic lead!
I thought the portrayal of depression felt realistic, but ultimately the use of it as part of the conflict that led to the breakup felt incredibly cliched.
I also appreciated that Ari reflected on her relationship with her mom at the end, and understand the resentment that had built up before her own revelations about her depression and life.
Overall cute, but not quite a hit enough to bring it above 3 stars for me.

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alexisgarcia's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful relaxing slow-paced

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

3.0

i thought i would not like this book very much when i started this but i was surprised that i liked it a lot more than i originally expected. i liked some of the mental health representation but some felt a little overdone? i did like the representation of different body types (rather than the tall muscular guy and the petite girl combo i see a lot). i hated the third act and the conflict portion which brought the rating down, it felt really silly and overdramatic. overall, this had more depth than normal mainstream romance books and it was pretty enjoyable. i will definitely read other books this author writes.

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quasinaut's review against another edition

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funny 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

3.75

I have such mixed feelings about this book. Overall, I liked Ari and Russell's interactions but hated the central concept that they're trying to reunite their divorced bosses. There was such a lack of personal boundaries, and I strongly disliked that Ari and Russell would spend any of their time and money on their bosses' lives instead of finding better jobs and/or going on dates with each other (none of the weird double dates count).

Seth and Torrance, the bosses, had their own odd dynamic. They would have moments of self-reflection, even times when they would call out their toxic behavior, but then they would undercut any progress by a) continuing to make the workplace terrible, b) sharing too many personal details, or c) interfering in their employees' personal lives.

I don't know. I think even the sweet moments and positive representation were overshadowed for me by not being on board with the Set It Up/Parent Trap storyline.

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