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deldc's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
3 or 3.3?
lol i have lots of mixed thoughts and feelings regarding this book. probably bec it only became interesting (at least for me) at 60%, and it didn't even get to superb.
but then a few good things must be said:
it's either i started with the wrong book to judge miss talia hibbert's writing and novels, or she really still has room for improvement, like all novelist, after all.
this one wasn't so bad. i liked a few plot representation in some one-liners -- which i didn't expect i'd be able to decipher given that i don't usually see through such. in connection to that, i liked her metaphors. it's just that sometimes the meanings became repetitive. some dialogues were too cheesy and forced for my taste, especially during intimate scenes that usually have few expected conversational exchanges. there's also a moderate amount of unnecessary side comments that confused my attention.
so again, i want to try more of talia hibbert and i look forward to reading the next of this series. i feel that she has something important to put out there through her novels. for example, in this, she conveyed topics such as fibromyalgia and chronic pain struggles (i expected the story would somehow center on this so it's a bit frustrating that it wasn't.) , the stigma that comes to people dealing with illnesses, coping and moving on with past trauma, abusive relationships, and my favorite: opening oneself to a relationship despite having unresolved trauma and learning to work it out even if it means a simultaneous cycle of effort and pain.
wholly, i didn't like this at first. i didn't admire the lust that consumed this book halfway. i thought this was problematic to tolerate for a romance genre at least (and so was chloe and red's blooming relationship) hence, it made the book hard for me to read. i expected conflicts later on in chloe and red's relationship, aside from the fact that romance plots typically go that road, but also because they were both unready to deal with themselves to be able to care for each other beyond the promise of lust. then, change happened and i was in for it. i was rooting. thank my reading challenges, i couldn't drop this. the change made my rating go higher above 2 lol. i'm glad that this didn't turn out so bad.
Graphic: Sexual content
Minor: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, and Gaslighting
_alyssar_'s review
- 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? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Sexual content and Chronic illness
Minor: Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Ableism, Car accident, Cursing, Death, and Racism
auudrey's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Sexual content, Medical content, and Chronic illness
Moderate: Classism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Ableism, Gaslighting, and Physical abuse
fanboyriot's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Plus Sized MC
Switching POV
Chronically ill MC
Light Enemies to Lovers
Graphic: Chronic illness, Mental illness, Cursing, and Classism
Moderate: Sexual content, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, Gaslighting, Ableism, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Body shaming
Minor: Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Car accident, Drug use, Racism, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Fatphobia, Medical trauma, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship
kayleejanes's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Gaslighting, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Chronic illness, and Emotional abuse
theverycraftyvegan's review against another edition
- 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
Chloe and Red are both adorable characters, with lots of their own baggage. Seeing them work through things together as well as on their own was wonderful to read. And their email banter had me grinning the entire time.
I can’t wait to get to know Chloe’s family better in Talia Hibbert’s other books!
If you’re looking for a cute, funny, heartwarming, and sexy read look no further!
Graphic: Chronic illness, Classism, Sexual content, Panic attacks/disorders, and Medical content
Moderate: Ableism, Drug use, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, and Cursing
Minor: Alcohol, Physical abuse, Violence, Car accident, and Racism
chanelwritesromance's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Moderate: Chronic illness, Classism, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, and Gaslighting
chloelj27's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Chronic illness and Sexual content
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, and Gaslighting
Minor: Domestic abuse and Cursing
nefariousbee's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
it was funny, having ME/CFS this is the first time I saw an MC who faced similar everyday challenges that me so I loved that, the lvoe interest made me wonder if I could be with a man after all. sex scenes are 10/10.
oh and the relationship trauma is portrayed beautifully.
what else could one want from a romance book, really
Graphic: Chronic illness and Sexual content
Moderate: Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Ableism, and Toxic relationship
divine529's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
This follows our main protagonist Chloe Brown, who has fibromyalgia, who almost gets hit by a car and uses that as a wake up call to "get a life" and she creates a list and enlists her lovely superintendent Red to help her with her list and things go from there.
I absolutely loved the chronic pain/illness and healing from a toxic relationship representation in this. As someone who can relate to both of those things, I really loved both Chloe and Red and saw myself in both of them.
I also loved the ending of this book. I know a lot of people really struggle with the miscommunication trope, but I thought it fit really well with the characters and their experiences and it was done well. Plus miscommunication is something that's pretty common in real life too.
As for the romance, overall I liked it, since it shows a healthier relationship and promotes loving people as they are without wanting someone to change, and all kinds of body positivity and all of that was great, however, there were some things that I felt like were just a bit much (for me personally). I don't mind smut in books, but I'm not a huge fan of public sex and lust at all times. It just makes me feel a bit uncomfortable. I also wish that things between Red and Chloe were a bit more fleshed out as the pacing felt off at times (I particularly would've loved to hear more about when they first met and what it was that made them dislike each other so much, we got a little, but I needed just a little more)
I also wish we got to spend more time with Chloe's family (I know Dani and Eve get their own books, but I wanted more of their interactions with each other) and with Red's family and with Annie and Vik. I really enjoyed all of the interactions we got, but I would've loved for more.
All in all, I really enjoyed this (and honestly read this at exactly the right time) and I'm looking forward to picking up the others!
Graphic: Chronic illness, Sexual content, Cursing, Toxic relationship, Drug use, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Classism, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Medical trauma, and Physical abuse
Minor: Grief, Car accident, Sexism, and Ableism