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dwinn5's review against another edition
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
I have to say, I was pretty disappointed by this book. It was hard for me to like Dominic right from the beginning (I can’t stand people who are rude to servers) and it basically never got better. I felt bad for him and I understood his trauma, but he never learned the lesson that every other character was literally screaming at him the entire book: you can’t use your trauma as an excuse to treat other people terribly. He’s manipulative and controlling even when he’s supposed to be winning her back and he never listens to her. She spends the whole book telling him that she doesn’t want his money and it’s very clear that she wants emotional support, so what does he do? Throws money at every problem (despite her explicitly telling him not to), ices her out at every chance he gets, and makes decisions for her like some kind of patronizing a-hole. I like Ally and I genuinely think she deserves better, I basically wasn’t rooting for them at all by the end.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Infidelity, Cursing, Terminal illness, Death of parent, Sexual violence, Classism, and Chronic illness
quietmarki's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Adult/minor relationship, Dementia, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment
you_had_me_at_romance's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
slow-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
3.5
Check out my instagram @you.had.me.at.romance for all of my thoughts about By a Thread🪡 by Lucy Score!
Star Rating⭐️: 3.5/5
Spice🌶: 3/5
Butterflies🦋: 3.5/5
Humor😂: 3.5/5
Character Development📈: 3/5
Predictability🙄: 4/5
Writing Style✍️: 4.5/5
I had high hopes for this book and Lucy Score. While I fell in love with the initial story and the comedy interwoven throughout, I was ultimately left feeling dissatisfied with the ending. In fact, my overall rating dropped by an entire point just from the last 10% of the book alone. Personally, I hate rushed endings, and I hate that Ally being pregnant was essentially half of the epilogue. I just felt like that plot wasn't necessary to their story, at least not in the way that it was done.
Too much was covered across a short span, especially after such a slow burn between Ally and Dominic.
I loved the RomCom vibes and the Maleficent/Charming bit. However, Dominic was too hot-and-cold for me. Sometimes he gave me butterflies, but I hated the wishy-washy hell he put Ally through, especially when it came to their relationship at the end. I was also sorely disappointed in Ally’s inconsistency in standing up to him at the end.
I loved the idea of both Ally and Dominic being in their forties, but I had a hard time picturing them as such. Other than comments about physical ailments after sex and looming bills, the plot line, to me, fit that of people in their late twenties instead. I did, however, appreciate the realness of financial stress in the lives of successful professionals. Yes, Ally had a job, but she also had a lot of bills. The fact that she was always strapped for cash made her more relatable in a sense.
Similarly, I loved the The Devil Wears Prada vibes that exuded from Label. But, the manner in which Ally acquired her job at Label was very far-fetched to me and took away from Ally’s overall relatability.
Overall, I really like Lucy Score’s writing style, and I will be reading more of her books in the future. It was just the last 10% of this book that fell flat for me. Maybe it was just my mood, or maybe I’m not as huge a fan of the Grumpy/Sunshine trope as I thought. I can’t say I’ll be re-reading, but I would still recommend this book. The Com side of this RomCom is definitely worth it at least.
Star Rating⭐️: 3.5/5
Spice🌶: 3/5
Butterflies🦋: 3.5/5
Humor😂: 3.5/5
Character Development📈: 3/5
Predictability🙄: 4/5
Writing Style✍️: 4.5/5
I had high hopes for this book and Lucy Score. While I fell in love with the initial story and the comedy interwoven throughout, I was ultimately left feeling dissatisfied with the ending. In fact, my overall rating dropped by an entire point just from the last 10% of the book alone. Personally, I hate rushed endings, and I hate that
Too much was covered across a short span, especially after such a slow burn between Ally and Dominic.
I loved the RomCom vibes and the Maleficent/Charming bit. However, Dominic was too hot-and-cold for me. Sometimes he gave me butterflies, but I hated the wishy-washy hell he put Ally through, especially when it came to their relationship at the end. I was also sorely disappointed in Ally’s inconsistency in standing up to him at the end.
I loved the idea of both Ally and Dominic being in their forties, but I had a hard time picturing them as such. Other than comments about physical ailments after sex and looming bills, the plot line, to me, fit that of people in their late twenties instead. I did, however, appreciate the realness of financial stress in the lives of successful professionals. Yes, Ally had a job, but she also had a lot of bills. The fact that she was always strapped for cash made her more relatable in a sense.
Similarly, I loved the The Devil Wears Prada vibes that exuded from Label. But, the manner in which Ally acquired her job at Label was very far-fetched to me and took away from Ally’s overall relatability.
Overall, I really like Lucy Score’s writing style, and I will be reading more of her books in the future. It was just the last 10% of this book that fell flat for me. Maybe it was just my mood, or maybe I’m not as huge a fan of the Grumpy/Sunshine trope as I thought. I can’t say I’ll be re-reading, but I would still recommend this book. The Com side of this RomCom is definitely worth it at least.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Alcohol and Cursing
Minor: Sexual harassment
weelasswithabook's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
CW sexual harrassment, SA, casual ableism, dementia, medical debt and money struggles
⭐ Rom-Com
⭐ Enemies to lovers
⭐ Office romance
⭐ Forced proximity
This. Was. So. Good!
I find it hard sometimes to commit to a romance over 350 pages, as it usually suggests to me that there's going to be a lot of unnecessary conflict. This, however, was delightful. Dealing with quite heavy topics such as dementia as and workplace sexual assault, Lucy Score managed to write a great love story which didn't overshadow or detract from the heavier parts of the storyline. It also still managed to be genuinely funny and steamy. So the length (500+ pages) of the novel was more than justifiable.
There's a lot of push and pull in here, combined with both characters being so strong willed and having such high standards for themselves that they can't show vulnerability to one another in an equal balance.
The enemies to lovers aspect of this was genuinely funny. It's so petty and childish (spelling out insults in foodstuffs, subtly giving each other the finger in the middle of important meetings, stuff like that), but I just thrived in it.
⭐ Rom-Com
⭐ Enemies to lovers
⭐ Office romance
⭐ Forced proximity
This. Was. So. Good!
I find it hard sometimes to commit to a romance over 350 pages, as it usually suggests to me that there's going to be a lot of unnecessary conflict. This, however, was delightful. Dealing with quite heavy topics such as dementia as and workplace sexual assault, Lucy Score managed to write a great love story which didn't overshadow or detract from the heavier parts of the storyline. It also still managed to be genuinely funny and steamy. So the length (500+ pages) of the novel was more than justifiable.
There's a lot of push and pull in here, combined with both characters being so strong willed and having such high standards for themselves that they can't show vulnerability to one another in an equal balance.
The enemies to lovers aspect of this was genuinely funny. It's so petty and childish (spelling out insults in foodstuffs, subtly giving each other the finger in the middle of important meetings, stuff like that), but I just thrived in it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Dementia, Cursing, and Sexual content
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
Minor: Ableism, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, and Outing
khloereads86's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.0
I actually really enjoyed this book. It didn’t start great. But once she started working at Label it picked up and I thought it was really good.
The mmc was actually really sweet - I mean, he adopted a rescue dog, did everything he could to try to make sure she was taking care of herself (I always love when guys check in to make sure she’s eating enough), and tried to help out with her financial situation even before he knew what was going on. Given, the strip club part probably wasn’t the best way to go about doing it, but…
He was a bit overbearing at times and I totally understand why the fmc would get frustrated about not feeling like he was listening or being fair to her. She was a little frustrating in some of her actions, like when you’re that desperate and you have friends who are willing to give you a loan or help you out, and the consequences are what they were, it’s time to put your pride aside as much as it would suck.
Anyways, this was probably one of my favourite romances I’ve read this year. It was not without its flaws but I really enjoyed it.
The mmc was actually really sweet -
He was a bit overbearing at times and I totally understand why the fmc would get frustrated about not feeling like he was listening or being fair to her. She was a little frustrating in some of her actions, like when you’re that desperate and you have friends who are willing to give you a loan or help you out, and the consequences are what they were, it’s time to put your pride aside as much as it would suck.
Anyways, this was probably one of my favourite romances I’ve read this year. It was not without its flaws but I really enjoyed it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Cursing
Moderate: Dementia, Infidelity, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Kidnapping and Abandonment
soniajoy98's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Cursing, Violence, Alcohol, Dementia, Sexual content, and Sexism
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Sexual assault
Minor: Pregnancy and Classism
chaoticace's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Mental illness
Moderate: Cursing
Minor: Death and Death of parent
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