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filipa_maia's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
sad
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? Yes
5.0
After reading 'Bride' I was not expecting to love this book as much as I did. I think my brain was conditioned to expect one thing and got the exact opposite.
I loved this story so much. I really like Mallory (although I found her annoying sometimes) - I appreciate her sense of family and the fact that she simply feels like supporting them; and I really like Nolan - he's just a good guy who learned the hard way how to grow up alone surrounded by cameras. They are perfect for each other.
And I loved the ending - everything was exactly as it should be.
P.S.: I love Oz, he is my favorite character.
I loved this story so much. I really like Mallory (although I found her annoying sometimes) - I appreciate her sense of family and the fact that she simply feels like supporting them; and I really like Nolan - he's just a good guy who learned the hard way how to grow up alone surrounded by cameras. They are perfect for each other.
And I loved the ending - everything was exactly as it should be.
P.S.: I love Oz, he is my favorite character.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Sexism, Death, Dementia, Medical content, Grief, Mental illness, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Misogyny
Moderate: Infidelity, Abandonment, and Bullying
Minor: Car accident and Sexual harassment
lilawsahar's review
emotional
lighthearted
sad
fast-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
Mallory Mallory Mallory. I really related to her as an eldest daughter. I feel like there are a lot of responsibilities taken on as an eldest daughter that aren’t acknowledged, but taken advantage of. I think the mom could have helped by not putting the burden of the whole household onto her. It was weird how the mom crushed off Mallory’s troubles by her not asking for help when the mom depended on her to make money, buy groceries, and take care of her younger sisters. Like can you take responsibility for not helping or getting help yourself? I feel like the friend did the same thing. She blamed Mallory for not reaching out enough, but you didn’t even respond to her text messages??? Shitty friend. The only one who was kind to Mallory was her chess community. Nolan literally saved her from a shitty situation.
I love how this romance also includes the importance of friendship, family, and having safe sex. Great book for teens to read and relate to.
I love how this romance also includes the importance of friendship, family, and having safe sex. Great book for teens to read and relate to.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Sexual content, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Sexism, Misogyny, and Grief
modernmatilda's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
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
4.0
This was a sweet romance about the game of chess, how people navigate in circles dominated by the opposite gender, and intimidation theory (which is basically this idea that people perform worse if they are afraid, especially when gender is a factor).
I really love "he fell first" love stories - they are so CUTE - and I loved love loved reading about a protagonist who feels the stress and weight of money, caring for a sick parent, and providing for her siblings. The sister dynamic was wonderful.
This is very random, but I promise it makes sense. If you love The Lizzie McGuire movie, you should read this book.
Also, we love the bi rep!
I really love "he fell first" love stories - they are so CUTE - and I loved love loved reading about a protagonist who feels the stress and weight of money, caring for a sick parent, and providing for her siblings. The sister dynamic was wonderful.
This is very random, but I promise it makes sense. If you love The Lizzie McGuire movie, you should read this book.
Also, we love the bi rep!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Car accident and Infidelity
emilywemily6's review
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Ugh. I really loved some things about this book but was bothered by so much. I liked the backdrop of chess, though I felt like while chess was a main focus of the book, it was pretty superficial throughout. I loved Nolan- he was the sweetest! But I didn’t see any reason for him to be in love with Mallory. Honestly there was no chemistry. The voice of this book was hilarious and I laughed a ton at some of the phrasing. But I despised Mallory. She carried too much burden, a lot of which was not her burden to bear, and she didn’t communicate her needs to her family. She ran away from any smidgeon of conflict and was really daft when it came to Nolan for most of the book. And the third act conflict was totally because of her misconceptions and her pouting. It was really dull to keep reading about her stupid choices outside of chess matches. Also, this book mentioned sex/spicy stuff and yet was super vague! So I still wasn’t convinced about Mallory and Nolan’s relationship. And the ending totally skipped over the final chess match which was a missed opportunity, though I liked the epilogue. I’m glad I didn’t buy this book, but my time feels a little wasted because this book went a lot of places I didn’t like.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Mental illness, Classism, Grief, Death of parent, Sexual content, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Infidelity
memoirsofabooklover's review
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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
4.0
another banger by ali hazelwood. i loved these characters and reading this after just bingeing the queen’s gambit for the first time was the perfect pairing. it was sweet and emotional and funny and enjoyable like all of ali’s books.
the only difference is that there was no spice, it was more of a fade-to-black. which i was initially disappointed by as i enjoy ali’s spice but then i remembered that she wrote the fmc to be 18.
to be honest i completely forgot until i was reminded, as the way she wrote character felt more early to mid 20s as i related to a lot of what she did and felt and the character wasn’t in school, had a full time job and was the parent of the household so she felt much older than she was. but it didn’t take away from the story at all and i really enjoyed it, even all the chess!
the only difference is that there was no spice, it was more of a fade-to-black. which i was initially disappointed by as i enjoy ali’s spice but then i remembered that she wrote the fmc to be 18.
to be honest i completely forgot until i was reminded, as the way she wrote character felt more early to mid 20s as i related to a lot of what she did and felt and the character wasn’t in school, had a full time job and was the parent of the household so she felt much older than she was. but it didn’t take away from the story at all and i really enjoyed it, even all the chess!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, Abandonment, Death of parent, and Gaslighting
Minor: Car accident, Forced institutionalization, Infidelity, Outing, Alcoholism, Dementia, and Alcohol
isacarvalho91's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexism, Misogyny, Car accident, Gaslighting, and Chronic illness
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