omniqueen's Reviews (559)

Cleat Cute

Meryl Wilsner

3.5

funny lighthearted 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

Formula One: The Pursuit of Speed: A Photographic Celebration of F1's Greatest Moments

Maurice Hamilton

4.0

informative fast-paced

I bought it for the pictures and they are spectacular. If you are looking for in depth F1 history, you'll be disappointed. Just appreciate it for what it is, a book of stunning pictures with some facts about F1 sprinkled in there.

Palestine

Joe Sacco

4.5

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense

Near Miss

Haley Warren

5.0

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

If you are going into this book expecting a light and funny sports romance, don't.
This book is a deeply emotional exploration of love and healing and family roles and learning to overcome the overwhelming weight of expectations.
The narration and writing style felt like a love letter to books. I love that both the MMC and FMC are deeply emotional and introspective people. Their internal dialogues are beautiful and devastating. I love how they see each other in a way no one else sees them
As someone who has had panic attacks, Greer's were very well written and felt so real. My heart ached for her and for what she went through and what her mind continued to put her through. I love that she's not magically fixed by him and by his love. By the end, she's still a full person with virtues and flaws, and that still struggles with her mental health.
The football aspect of the plot is not like other sports romances. It's there to explore the MMC's need to be liked and what happens when people stop liking him and he needs to start liking himself. He doesn't like himself very much and isn't kind to himself, and it's something he needs to learn through the book. Football is the catalyst for that. I would say it's a plot device, not a plot point, which I loved.
Having said that, I hate hate hate the MMC's parents. I truly can't overstate how much I hate them. I know they are flawed people doing their best, but there are a few things in this world that I hate more than parents that parentify their children and then turn them into walking wallets.
And while we are at it, I also hate the FMC's family, including the sister. They act like her reminding them to take care of themselves is this huge inconvenience for them, and they don't acknowledge the incredible sacrifice she made and continues making for them. She's just supposed to move on like nothing happened.

And they can't see it until she spells it out for them.

Fuck them.

Content Warnings