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acaffeinated_bookworm's Reviews (253)
I absolutely adored this rom-com! The characters were lovable and sure, the plot was maybe a bit far-fetched and slightly predictable, but what rom-com isn't? The dialogue was fantastic, and I loved the emotional depth this story provided. I wish I could read this one again for the first time!
What a great BOTM selection! I absolutely devoured this novel! It has instantly loveable and relatable characters, including a dog, with a friendship I'm low-key envious of. The romance builds well, and there's deep emotional development for the characters. I'm a sucker for a small-town southern setting, and this one provided some reminiscing on my college days in Virginia. Go pick this one up!
As a former "gifted" student now grown up, I was fascinated by this story - it was interesting to see these school programs through the parental vantage point! If you like a slow burn with quality early story development, this is the read for you. The characters felt so real to me, probably because I've known a Rose, Azra, Samantha, and Lauren (and their children), and the "gifted" pressures were immaculately depicted.
What a great BOTM selection and fun, refreshing read! I really enjoyed this one. Historical fiction had been a bit out of my wheelhouse, but I've recently been enthralled with stories such as this one.
This was right up my alley from the start. Female in STEM? Rowing? I felt like I was looking in the mirror.
The chemistry references were wonderful, and I loved how the writing style really reflected the personality of Elizabeth. It was very easy to slip into her world and explore a woman's experience in STEM long before my own. So much has changed (and will continue to).
I didn't see Calvin's death coming, and I was shocked, finding myself re-reading the chapter. It felt oddly fitting, though. I felt that the story really got going at this point.
As a former coxswain and rower, I got a chuckle out of the rower stereotyping and coxing scene early in the book. I only wish that the rowing sub plot had been tied up a bit more at the end... I felt like it was mentioned as an after thought but not explored as deeply at it could have been.
Overall, what a joy to read! I will certainly be recommending this one to my book-loving friends and family. There's a little bit of everything in this novel, so any reader should be able to enjoy it to some degree.
This was right up my alley from the start. Female in STEM? Rowing? I felt like I was looking in the mirror.
The chemistry references were wonderful, and I loved how the writing style really reflected the personality of Elizabeth. It was very easy to slip into her world and explore a woman's experience in STEM long before my own. So much has changed (and will continue to).
I didn't see Calvin's death coming, and I was shocked, finding myself re-reading the chapter. It felt oddly fitting, though. I felt that the story really got going at this point.
As a former coxswain and rower, I got a chuckle out of the rower stereotyping and coxing scene early in the book. I only wish that the rowing sub plot had been tied up a bit more at the end... I felt like it was mentioned as an after thought but not explored as deeply at it could have been.
Overall, what a joy to read! I will certainly be recommending this one to my book-loving friends and family. There's a little bit of everything in this novel, so any reader should be able to enjoy it to some degree.
Ok, I'm not gonna lie... I saw the TV adaptation first and read the book second. While the show set the bar high, my expectations were exceeded in this novel! The characters and storyline transported me back in time and I quickly devoured every page. What a great poolside read.
I wanted to like this one, but I found it to be incredibly boring and extremely forgettable. Characters? Boring. Dialogue? Booooring. Probably a 2.5 star but I'll round up to 3. It wasn't bad, but it just wasn't great either.
DNF at 50%. I picked this one up because I loved The Gifted School, and initially I liked the premise of this one, too. The writing style was enjoyable, and I found myself tearing through the early chapters of the book. Unfortunately, it took a downhill dive very quickly...
The story is all over the place, attempting to tackle several world issues all while jamming wokeism down your throat, effectively isolating and irritating a sizeable portion of the reading audience. I've never understood why authors take this approach, but it must be arrogance leading to a lack of self awareness. There's no other way an author could deem it appropriate to mention the political divide in this country followed by degrading, judgemental attacks against conservatives that only reveal how out of touch and privileged the author really is. At least have some understanding or research on the other side before you go opening your mouth and improperly representing gun owners and the unvaccinated, for example. It's ludicrous. I guess I can thank the author for a couple laughs when I realized his lack of understanding of conservatives.
Don't bother with this one. The characters end up being very unlikeable idiots anyway.
The story is all over the place, attempting to tackle several world issues all while jamming wokeism down your throat, effectively isolating and irritating a sizeable portion of the reading audience. I've never understood why authors take this approach, but it must be arrogance leading to a lack of self awareness. There's no other way an author could deem it appropriate to mention the political divide in this country followed by degrading, judgemental attacks against conservatives that only reveal how out of touch and privileged the author really is. At least have some understanding or research on the other side before you go opening your mouth and improperly representing gun owners and the unvaccinated, for example. It's ludicrous. I guess I can thank the author for a couple laughs when I realized his lack of understanding of conservatives.
Don't bother with this one. The characters end up being very unlikeable idiots anyway.
DNF at only page 75. I was really looking forward to the Outer Banks vibes, but it's tough to enjoy a thrilling treasure hunt when the authors are too lazy to build a proper villain and instead resort to political stereotypes to create an insufferable character. This had so much potential, but I don't have any interest in the out of place conservative bashing. I miiiight give this another shot later on, but probably not.