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lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I started reading this book with my interest in seeing an athlete's story from Ali Hazelwood and from a technical perspective the story seems solid, but I just wished there was MORE. I would have wanted to read more on the olympic trials, for example, but the setting just felt like a flimsy backdrop to the exploration of the FMC and MMC's relationship.
Scarlett's underlying problem is being scared of feeling out of control, and it's juxtaposed with her sexual kink of being submissive, where she lets her dominant partner do whatever they want with her. On the other hand, Lukas being a kind of masochist with trying to withstand against whatever it is that he wants is discussed but is resolved pretty quickly.
I know the author wanted Penelope to NOT be the villain in the story--just a girl with unfortunate circumstances and unmanaged feelings (she probably needs to go to therapy) but she comes off as disingenuous and fake to me and whatever friendship Scarlett feels for her felt like it had to be justified every step of the way.
I previously read (and loved!) The Love Hypothesis so it was fun seeing Olive and Adam in this book, particularly how Scarlett interacts with the two.
The Epilogue in particular felt more like it was just written to satisfy readers' curiosity into what the Scarlett and Lukas' domestic life looks like in years, showing snippets of how they're still together despite Scarlett thinking that things might not work out between them and didn't really add to the narrative but it was fun to read.
Scarlett's underlying problem is being scared of feeling out of control, and it's juxtaposed with her sexual kink of being submissive, where she lets her dominant partner do whatever they want with her. On the other hand, Lukas being a kind of masochist with trying to withstand against whatever it is that he wants is discussed but is resolved pretty quickly.
I know the author wanted Penelope to NOT be the villain in the story--just a girl with unfortunate circumstances and unmanaged feelings (she probably needs to go to therapy) but she comes off as disingenuous and fake to me and whatever friendship Scarlett feels for her felt like it had to be justified every step of the way.
I previously read (and loved!) The Love Hypothesis so it was fun seeing Olive and Adam in this book, particularly how Scarlett interacts with the two.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Minor: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail