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kaywhiteley's review against another edition
hopeful
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
3.75
The good:
- Lovable characters (for the most part)
- Queer found family <3
- Diverse main characters
- Description of burnout and mental illness
The eh:
- Some of the dialogue felt incredibly unrealistic to me (like the full names)
- The more poetic, lyrical writing was very pretty but sometimes it didn’t mesh with the rest of the book
- How the hell was she surviving jobless, jumping from place to place?
If my friend told me they were having a bad time and then disappeared off the face of the earth I would be PISSED and I just feel like none of her friends were mad enough
It was a solid, quick, entertaining read but I think I was looking for more. While I related to Grace, I didn’t feel a lot of emotion.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Self harm, and Homophobia
Minor: Suicide attempt
megelizabeth's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.0
"...the person she looked up to as God for so many years is just a man. He is just her father."
This is a brilliant book in many ways. It deftly and movingly explores mental health and burnout, parental and societal expectations, friendship and love, and the experience of being in your twenties not knowing what you should do with your life. I really liked Grace's character and a lot of the side characters are fabulous too. There's more romance than I was expecting, but that wasn't a bad thing as I loved seeing Grace and Yuki connect and come together. It's also very unapologetically queer and we always love to see that!
The main thing I didn't like - or which I at least which had been properly explored - was the ethically questionable relationship between two characters. The writing style is also a bit pretentious and is overly saccharine at times, and it's very millennial (but it is literally mentioned on the blurb that the author writes for millennials and so I suppose I can't really complain about that!). As I've said, I did really appreciate this book overall and did find it to have a lot of great things to say, and despite the writing style grating on me at times, I'm still interested to see if Morgan Rogers comes out with anything else in the future.
This is a brilliant book in many ways. It deftly and movingly explores mental health and burnout, parental and societal expectations, friendship and love, and the experience of being in your twenties not knowing what you should do with your life. I really liked Grace's character and a lot of the side characters are fabulous too. There's more romance than I was expecting, but that wasn't a bad thing as I loved seeing Grace and Yuki connect and come together. It's also very unapologetically queer and we always love to see that!
The main thing I didn't like - or which I at least which had been properly explored - was the ethically questionable relationship between two characters. The writing style is also a bit pretentious and is overly saccharine at times, and it's very millennial (but it is literally mentioned on the blurb that the author writes for millennials and so I suppose I can't really complain about that!). As I've said, I did really appreciate this book overall and did find it to have a lot of great things to say, and despite the writing style grating on me at times, I'm still interested to see if Morgan Rogers comes out with anything else in the future.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness, Racism, Self harm, and Alcohol
Minor: Suicide attempt, Child abuse, Misogyny, Homophobia, and Drug use
gotem's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
For a contemporary romance it was described to me as, this was much more about mental health, deepening family relationships, and the difficulty of being seen. I think anyone who identifies as a type a person with a complicated family history may feel a little to connected to Grace than they may feel comfortable with at times.
It is a very introspective book disguised as a contemporary romance with an unsurprising plot, with remarkably real interactions between characters.
It is a very introspective book disguised as a contemporary romance with an unsurprising plot, with remarkably real interactions between characters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders and Self harm
Moderate: Racism and Suicide attempt
saeruh's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
This was incredibly beautiful writing and I loved all of the diversity included with that but I had some problems with the pacing where even though this book was under 300 pages, I often felt like I was sloughing through it. The characters also did not feel believable to me which you kinda need for a contemporary novel but it still worked for me personally.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Racism, Lesbophobia, and Sexual content
thatenbyisisreads's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
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
3.5
In a world where two beautiful women wake up to find out that they had gotten drunkenly married in Las Vegas, while only having met the night before! This was such a thrill to read!
Overall, this is a super cute, sapphic read! Definitely, such a great way to kick off this year's pride!!
Overall, this is a super cute, sapphic read! Definitely, such a great way to kick off this year's pride!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Mental illness, Racism, and Self harm
Moderate: Homophobia
Minor: Death of parent, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, and Suicide attempt
wynnieflorence's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
slow-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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Suicide attempt and Cancer
matheo's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Alcohol, Classism, Grief, Homophobia, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Racism, Lesbophobia, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Drug use, Transphobia, Xenophobia, Misogyny, Sexual content, and War
ashlislibrary's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Suicide attempt, and Self harm
cemeterygay's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-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
5.0
For college students of color struggling with racism and college burnout, this is the book for you or maybe not depending on how close you are to dropping out. I need to emphasize that if you are looking for a romance, this not the book for you because while the romance does take up a lot of the book, the book is definitely way more focused on Morgan's struggle with burnout and systemic racism in academia.
I adored Morgan so much as a primary protagonist and I wanted to watch her get the help she needed so desperately. While I didn't always like her choices, I always understood why she made those decisions. I loved her interactions with her friends and family and loved the way the book discussed how those relationships can be both provide support and pressure when moving through academia.
The emotional journey of this book is just phenomenal, I love how the romance supports it, and I cannot recommend this book enough.
I adored Morgan so much as a primary protagonist and I wanted to watch her get the help she needed so desperately. While I didn't always like her choices, I always understood why she made those decisions. I loved her interactions with her friends and family and loved the way the book discussed how those relationships can be both provide support and pressure when moving through academia.
The emotional journey of this book is just phenomenal, I love how the romance supports it, and I cannot recommend this book enough.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Mental illness, Racism, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, and Self harm
Moderate: Abandonment, Sexual content, and Suicide attempt
Additional cw: Marijuana use, past parent death (not main character), suicide attempt past by side character, past limb amputation due to war injury (side character)1ucine's review
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Mental illness, and Suicide attempt