Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

Don't Want You Like a Best Friend by Emma R. Alban

4 reviews

relin's review

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

Very silly premise that is followed through in an enjoyable way! Characters all have delightfully human problems and concerns they are navigating.

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madlysoph's review

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funny hopeful inspiring 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? No

4.0

This book was a delightful read! It was so much fun despite the unfortunate realities imposed upon the characters due to the time period. While it does have more serious moments and plot points, at the heart of it this book is a fun sapphic historical romance. Them ending up as stepsisters
and with a shared half-sibling on the way
does feel a bit weird, but the author both makes it work and makes it charming. This whole book is delightfully charming, the characters are bright and witty and made me laugh out loud on more than one occasion while reading. I absolutely adored Qwen and Beth, their friendship was delightful to watch blossom, and their romance even more so. The immediate obsession they have with one another is so indicative of first love (and being in one's early 20s) and is achingly sweet. Their parents are both fully fleshed-out people independent of their children and are positively adorable together. Both of them are full of heartache which they are beginning to mend with one another by the end of the book. After all we learn about Beth's mother specifically and her marriage, seeing her happy and free at the end of the book is so lovely. The marriage act subplot was clever and tied into the greater story very nicely. The third-act crisis was handled wonderfully and added to the story rather than detracted from it. I loved the extended cast of friends and family that forms by the end of the book, which sets up the sequel rather nicely, which I am highly anticipating and am at the top of the holds list for! The only "detractor" for this book was that the author tended to kind of skim over/forget about the timeline, randomly throwing in that it had been a month or a few months that had passed rather than showing it, aside from that the writing was great and I had a fun time! This is a great read and I highly recommend it. 

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brynalexa's review

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

3.25

I picked this up, exactly as the marketing team wanted, because the title referenced Taylor Swift as does the sequel, apparently. It was cute (can’t go wrong with queer historical fiction)but could have been shorter without changing anything. Don’t believe the blurb on the front about it being spicy… there was one scene. 

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stardustandrockets's review

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adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful lighthearted sad tense 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

5.0

I was given an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book was everything! I absolutely love the hijinks Gwen and Beth come up with to get their parents together so they don't have to get married themselves. Not realizing they're both queer until it's too late, this was an absolute joy of a book. Mixing my love of historical romance, queer discovery stories, and badass ladies.

The cast of characters was great. Aside from the main duo, Albie was a stand-out to me. Same with Meredith. They were both so accepting of Gwen and Beth and probably realized they had a thing for each other before they did.

I absolutely adored this book and cannot wait to read the sequel!

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