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laheath's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
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? Yes
4.0
Thank goodness for supportive friends because these two main characters have some issues from their past that are preventing them from having healthy personal relationships and professional success. The secondary characters were also funny and I enjoyed their stories as well, without them detracting from the main plotline. The female MC's past is briefly explained, and though her excuses and whining become an old refrain, it's not until the very end that she decides to do something about it. The male MC's past is partially explained fairly early, but the secrets he keeps also threaten to destroy their relationship. Although the meeting of the two MC's seems a little far-fetched, it's original and makes for a sweet story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Death of parent, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Mental illness, Alcohol, Cursing, and Grief
Minor: Racism and Panic attacks/disorders
dianaschmidty's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
sad
tense
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Grief, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Death of parent, Death, and Abandonment
maggies's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I think I get what the author was trying to do with this book, but it fell flat for me. I never felt the supposed chemistry between Sadie and Jack, and all of Sadie's friends were pretty one-dimensional as well. The primary conflict between the main characters is blown way out of proportion. There's way too much telling rather than showing throughout the story. It's marketed as slow burn, but actually the "attraction" starts quite suddenly fairly early on, and Sadie and Jack decide they "don't want to mess it up" by moving too fast, which came across as an authorly gimmick instead of a reasonable choice by the characters. On top of all that, Sadie's negative self-talk was honestly just annoying. It didn't come across as genuine, especially because she had gone to counseling to deal with her abusive upbringing, and apparently this still didn't help her gain a more accurate self-image? When Gemma, Harley, and Nick intervene and tell her she needs to go back to therapy, it's supposed to be some lightning strike moment, but she should have been in therapy for years prior, and they all should have known that. Most of my complaints are about Sadie primarily because the book is written in her voice and also because Jack is woefully underdeveloped, which is really unfortunate because he had the makings of an unusual leading man at the beginning, and it didn't go anywhere.
Glad to have read the book, and maybe I'll check out another book by Falon Ballard in the future, but this was a decidedly debut novel, so I won't be rushing to read the next, I think.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Child abuse, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Mental illness, and Self harm
Minor: Racism
briannaslittlelibrary's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
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? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness
Moderate: Death of parent and Grief
readingwithtrey's review
challenging
emotional
funny
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This is one of those books that I had to sit and think about after finishing. I’m still not quite sure about my feelings on it, but I know overall, it wasn’t for me.
Sadie was not a lovable character at all. She was a lot. In the beginning of the book, she was so much of a brat that I seriously thought I’d have to call it quits on this. One thing that was really off putting for me was that her and her 2 girl friends used a certain word as a term of endearment excessively. This along with the overuse of modern cliche phrases, really made me second guess continueing to read. But when Sadie accidentally responds to a roommate listing (thinking she’s on a dating app), I thought the story would get better. It was a unique plot line with a lot of potential.
I didn’t buy the relationship between Jack and Sadie. Jack’s character completely fell flat. He really lacked a personality so we didn’t get to really know him. Due to this, it seemed to come out of left field when the relationship started to turn romantic.
The were a couple of nods to diversity in this book. When I came across the first one I thought “wow, unexpected diversity. Go author.” But then it’s literally just like 2 sentences. It really read as though the author was just checking off representation boxes without going deeper than surface level.
I went back and forth between giving it 2 or 3 stars because I know that some of the things that bothered me may not bother others & I try to keep that in mind when rating books. I settled on 3 stars because I did want to know how it ended; but honestly, I probably wouldn’t recommend it🥴.
Sadie was not a lovable character at all. She was a lot. In the beginning of the book, she was so much of a brat that I seriously thought I’d have to call it quits on this. One thing that was really off putting for me was that her and her 2 girl friends used a certain word as a term of endearment excessively. This along with the overuse of modern cliche phrases, really made me second guess continueing to read. But when Sadie accidentally responds to a roommate listing (thinking she’s on a dating app), I thought the story would get better. It was a unique plot line with a lot of potential.
I didn’t buy the relationship between Jack and Sadie. Jack’s character completely fell flat. He really lacked a personality so we didn’t get to really know him. Due to this, it seemed to come out of left field when the relationship started to turn romantic.
The were a couple of nods to diversity in this book. When I came across the first one I thought “wow, unexpected diversity. Go author.” But then it’s literally just like 2 sentences. It really read as though the author was just checking off representation boxes without going deeper than surface level.
I went back and forth between giving it 2 or 3 stars because I know that some of the things that bothered me may not bother others & I try to keep that in mind when rating books. I settled on 3 stars because I did want to know how it ended; but honestly, I probably wouldn’t recommend it🥴.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing
Moderate: Mental illness, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting
Minor: Car accident, Death, and Death of parent
foldingthepage_kayleigh's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-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
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Mental illness
Minor: Child abuse and Car accident
lnzava's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
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? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Mental illness and Toxic relationship
Minor: Racism
mandapanda816's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, and Sexual content
Moderate: Death, Car accident, and Death of parent
ericaereads's review
emotional
hopeful
slow-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
4.0
The blurb on this book reads, "Beach Read meets The Flatshare" and, like, do I even need to write a review? Because that's the perfect description of this book.
The writing and Sadie's character growth saved this book for me, because otherwise it would have been a three star read; in part because Jack felt like a Mary Sue and because, at the end of the day, the romance is not what stood out about this book. Unless you count the solid romance Sadie has with the brownstone. Honestly her finding and getting to stay there was the happy ending that my millennial heart sobbed for, because who wouldn't?
Was the romance sweet? Yes. Did it sweep me into my feelings? Occasionally. But what I remember months after reading is Sadie's journey toward self-assurance and acceptance as she builds her business. Yes, Jack provides financial and emotional support, but I didn't feel like he was the one that had to provide that support. Which is more reflective of real life, but not what I want in a romance damn it!
If this had been marketed as general fiction it would have been a (perhaps) five star read.
Just because a book has a romance plot doesn't mean it is a genre romance. Come on publishers. Get with it.
The writing and Sadie's character growth saved this book for me, because otherwise it would have been a three star read; in part because Jack felt like a Mary Sue and because, at the end of the day, the romance is not what stood out about this book. Unless you count the solid romance Sadie has with the brownstone. Honestly her finding and getting to stay there was the happy ending that my millennial heart sobbed for, because who wouldn't?
Was the romance sweet? Yes. Did it sweep me into my feelings? Occasionally. But what I remember months after reading is Sadie's journey toward self-assurance and acceptance as she builds her business. Yes, Jack provides financial and emotional support, but I didn't feel like he was the one that had to provide that support. Which is more reflective of real life, but not what I want in a romance damn it!
If this had been marketed as general fiction it would have been a (perhaps) five star read.
Just because a book has a romance plot doesn't mean it is a genre romance. Come on publishers. Get with it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness and Sexual content
xlivinglikejen's review
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
4.5
I wasn’t expecting to love this book as much as I did. I cried, I laughed and I felt like I was part their friend group.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Death of parent, Car accident, Emotional abuse, and Grief
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