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therobinjoyce's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
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? No
4.0
So after reading Beth O'leary's two other books I didn't hold much hope for this one. I loved the sound of the synopsis and thought I would give Beth one last chance to try and wow me with her work and...well...I was very pleasantly surprised.
The writing was well done, I really enjoyed the plot line, the characterization was just gorgeous, I loved the two main characters, their differences, their likeability...it was just a brilliant story. The plot was very well executed, the sexual tension, the suspense, everything to do with Richie and his trial, Justin as the stalkery ex, and tiffy and Leon trying to find their way towards each other throughout the whole book was just wonderful.
Beth O'leary's writing is wonderful in this book, the story was magical, and I can understand now where the buzz for Beth's work began as, with this debut novel, no wonder she was shot right into the headlights of the bookish community.
On that note I do have to say I could not, in good faith, rate this book the five stars that it does deserve purely for the fact that Beth O'Leary did NOT include a trigger warning content at the beginning of the book.
If she'd have included the trigger warning for the content on this book I could have easily rated this 5-stars but since she didn't, I picked up what I thought was a good romantic comedy and instead felt very triggered by some of the content especially that to do withTiffy and Justin.
Justin is the typical textbook manipulator ex-boyfriend and having suffered with gaslighting, emotional abuse, as well as PTSD to do with those things, I found it very difficult to read about what Justin was doing Tiffy and and not feel triggered.
While it was handled very well and rather respectfully, and I love seeing Leon's accommodation to Tiffy's PTSD, for someone who has had to go through an abusive relationship and who is been gaslighted before it is very very hard to read a story about someone else suffering the same treatment and either not being strong enough to stand up for themselves or not being able to stand up.
It's not that I wish if wouldn't write about these kind of topics because I don't see any harm in her writing about these topics and discussing it respectfully and bring it more out into the open. I fully and wholeheartedly agree that it should be talked about more and there should be more cases of it in the media that we consume, namely in book form.
I agree that it added a lot to the story and that a lot of it belong there and because it was handled respectfully, I'm fine with it being in there and it did add to the story and make it better. That being said, and I can't stress this enough, there should have been a trigger warning printed in the beginning of the book.
If I had picked up this book 2-years ago and started reading it under the pretence that it was a simple romantic comedy about two people falling for each other despite never having physically met, I would have been seriously affected by it and a lot of the information that is discussed and the treatment thatTiffy has to endure would have made my own experiences and my own PTSD magnified tenfold it would not have been healthy for me and it probably would have sent me into a breakdown. And that is not ok
Trigger warnings aren't there to stop people reading the book . They're to warn readers that this content is in there and if they chose to put it down and come back to I because they're not strong enough to deal with that, then it's ok. By not putting them in, when this subject matter is finally revealed, it is hard-hitting and painful to a reader who is dealing with these issues. Protect your readers mental and physical health.
The writing was well done, I really enjoyed the plot line, the characterization was just gorgeous, I loved the two main characters, their differences, their likeability...it was just a brilliant story. The plot was very well executed, the sexual tension, the suspense, everything to do with Richie and his trial, Justin as the stalkery ex, and tiffy and Leon trying to find their way towards each other throughout the whole book was just wonderful.
Beth O'leary's writing is wonderful in this book, the story was magical, and I can understand now where the buzz for Beth's work began as, with this debut novel, no wonder she was shot right into the headlights of the bookish community.
On that note I do have to say I could not, in good faith, rate this book the five stars that it does deserve purely for the fact that Beth O'Leary did NOT include a trigger warning content at the beginning of the book.
If she'd have included the trigger warning for the content on this book I could have easily rated this 5-stars but since she didn't, I picked up what I thought was a good romantic comedy and instead felt very triggered by some of the content especially that to do with
Justin is the typical textbook manipulator ex-boyfriend and having suffered with gaslighting, emotional abuse, as well as PTSD to do with those things, I found it very difficult to read about what Justin was doing Tiffy and and not feel triggered.
While it was handled very well and rather respectfully, and I love seeing Leon's accommodation to Tiffy's PTSD, for someone who has had to go through an abusive relationship and who is been gaslighted before it is very very hard to read a story about someone else suffering the same treatment and either not being strong enough to stand up for themselves or not being able to stand up.
It's not that I wish if wouldn't write about these kind of topics because I don't see any harm in her writing about these topics and discussing it respectfully and bring it more out into the open. I fully and wholeheartedly agree that it should be talked about more and there should be more cases of it in the media that we consume, namely in book form.
I agree that it added a lot to the story and that a lot of it belong there and because it was handled respectfully, I'm fine with it being in there and it did add to the story and make it better. That being said, and I can't stress this enough, there should have been a trigger warning printed in the beginning of the book.
If I had picked up this book 2-years ago and started reading it under the pretence that it was a simple romantic comedy about two people falling for each other despite never having physically met, I would have been seriously affected by it and a lot of the information that is discussed and the treatment that
Trigger warnings aren't there to stop people reading the book . They're to warn readers that this content is in there and if they chose to put it down and come back to I because they're not strong enough to deal with that, then it's ok. By not putting them in, when this subject matter is finally revealed, it is hard-hitting and painful to a reader who is dealing with these issues. Protect your readers mental and physical health.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Stalking, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Vomit, Violence, Chronic illness, Alcohol, and Drug abuse
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