352 reviews for:

Ache

Marley Valentine

3.83 AVERAGE

ilmara's review

2.0

emotional lighthearted sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: N/A

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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 Umm.. I don't even know what to say about this one. It was an OK quick read that I finished in a day but it was also kinda stupid. How the hell did they go 10 years without either of them saying anything? Or their family not saying anything because they obviously were aware. Just plain stupid. It was not only that either. Everything happened at warp speed which made the whole book feel rushed.

The whole story would've been more enjoyable if Gael had been pretty much oblivious about his feelings and that "one crazy night in Vegas" changed everything he'd ever known. Unfortunately, that definitely wasn't the case. So major trigger warning for cheating.

I also found the book a bit over the top when it came to Gael and Jordan. With shit like "'Tell her how you feel.' I point to his heart. 'Just tell her what's in there'" and with so many more quotes like this, I cringed a little. I don't think anybody actually talks like this tbh and I apparently don't appreciate it in books either.

Also, the plot twist could be seen a mile away. I usually don't mind that story line but here it did nothing for me.

Lastly, the characters of Gael and Jordan were super underdeveloped. I had to constantly go back and check which person's POV I was reading which was frustrating as hell.

Usually, I'm a huge sucker for epilogues and I race to add myself to any email list in order to get one if it's not in the book. With Ache, I didn't even bother. The Kindle version of this book had a preview of Without You and I'm pretty sure I liked that one chapter of it better than I liked Ache. 

elsa016's review

4.0

emotional medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: N/A

Strong character development: N/A

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: N/A

sniderbeebooks's review

3.0

emotional 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: No

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A lot of deeply felt emotion in this one, I just wasn't compelled by the story telling.

mwlgal's review

4.0

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Good story, fairly predictable, but worth reading.

thepmreader's review

3.75

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

marnii2x's review

5.0

emotional funny hopeful 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

demon_queen13's review

5.0

emotional hopeful reflective fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

lacyduckie's review

4.0

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Queer as Folk meets The Hangover; Ache was aptly named. I was not prepared to cry so much. I also had planned to just read a few chapters but I ended up reading it in one sitting. Ache is the story of two lifelong best friends carrying around the weight of the world on their shoulders while secretly harboring the all consuming love they have for each other. On the precipice of one of them getting married, they take a trip to Vegas where everything comes crashing down and is changed forever. The writing was gorgeous. I highlighted so many passages I loved. There were parts I didn't love. Specifically:

Spoiler

the cheating. Usually that's an automatic dnf for me. For some stubborn reason, I stuck with story. And while it's not something you can redeem, I understand it and it's part of the story.

The ending felt like it didn't know exactly where to end but somehow it worked. The story ends on a hopeful HEA satisfying note. I will definitely be checking out more of the author's work.


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mevs_library's review

3.0

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

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The second half of the book was way better than the first, and where things actually picked up and got interesting. 

hanna_bookshelves's review

4.0

emotional hopeful medium-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: Complicated