Reviews tagging 'Cancer'

Stars by Kristen Callihan

5 reviews

lauraelovesbooks's review against another edition

emotional hopeful 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

4.5

4.5 chatty girl stars 🌟

Gabriel and Sophie have the cutest grumpy/sunshine dynamic and I love their banter so much. From the minute they met on the plane, I was immediately invested in their relationship 

The third act conflict was a little frustrating because it felt overblown but it was resolved quickly and everyone realized their mistakes. 

Overall I really enjoyed this book! My favourite of the series so far 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cancer, Sexual content, and Death of parent

Minor: Suicide attempt

allingoodtime's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective fast-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

5.0

 

In general, I’m not a huge fan of a slow burn. I don’t hate it, but I don’t usually love it either. Of course, there are many ways an author can write a slow burn wrong. This author wrote this slow burn completely right. I swear, she could give classes on the method. Somehow I didn’t mind how long it took Gabriel and Sophie to give in to their desires because every step along the way was a smoldering fire.

Although the slow burn isn’t often my thing, this book had so many micro-tropes that make me swoon every single time. Both characters get their best sleep ever when they are in the same bed, the MMC’s surprise glasses, endearing pet names, and so much more. Gabriel is very resistant to giving in to his feelings, but once he does he is 1000% percent all in and makes sure his actions show Sophie that. He’s attentive and thoughtful and observant throughout this story, even when he’s trying his hardest not to be. We could all use a Gabriel in our lives. (Note: Everyone but Sophie calls him Scottie, so I went with Gabriel in my review. In the fandom of this book, you will most likely hear/see him called Scottie.)

This story also spoke to me on a very personal level. I have a lot of anxiety issues and one of the only things that can comfort me is when my husband touches me. Whether he is holding my hand, resting his hand on my knee, or wrapping me in his arms, my whole body relaxes. There are many instances for both Sophie and Gabriel where the other’s touch, scent, or mere presence calms them and it gave me such a warm feeling. I know that feeling of security you can get from another human, it’s not just made-up stuff for romancelandia. The author did such a beautiful job of portraying that sentiment.

When I finished this book I wanted to flip back to the beginning and start all over again. It gave me all the feels. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cancer, Grief, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Drug abuse

chrisljm's review against another edition

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content and Vomit

Moderate: Cancer, Sexual assault, Violence, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Alcoholism and Toxic relationship

bookedinsideout's review against another edition

5.0

Re-read 01/16/22: 
I took the opportunity to revisit this favourite before diving into the fourth VIP novel (Exposed) and it was just as great the second time, with so much tropey goodness (the airplane ride and then the thunderstorm and sharing a bed in the tour bus all in one book). Sophie is such a great heroine, with warmth and boldness and asserting what she wants and deserves. I took my own advice and skipped the last half of chapter 4 and that was a good choice for me.


03/06/21:
This hit so many marks for me:

•  Only-one-bed (it had all the best parts of this trope even if some of it might not technically qualify… one is an airplane bed, and then it continues when they agree to *just* sleep together for the comfort the other provides)
•  Not quite enemies, so it was never cruel, but they certainly enjoyed getting under each other’s skin and that led to some A+ banter
•  More time together than apart (so we could get as much of Scottie & Sophie as possible)
•  Scottie was tough and guarded, but I just felt so proud of him for pushing himself to be vulnerable and let the people he trusted in — not only Sophie, but also his band who had become family
•  There was a conversation that Sophie had with one of the women on tour about ambition and making your mark on the world that I feel is sometimes lost in the idea of pursuing your dream job… 

“Maybe you just haven’t found what you love to do yet.”

I shake my head and smile. “No, that’s not it. I simply don’t really care what I’m doing as long as I get to live life, be happy, and enjoy new things. Making money is great because it helps me travel, puts a roof over my head. But at the end of the day? I’m not ambitious and never will be.”

Like Sophie says, I think it’s easy to feel like there’s something wrong with you if you don’t have that drive or if your dreams feel smaller in comparison. Even if you do feel secure in your decisions most of the time, being questioned on it or falling into the comparison game can reawaken those insecurities. I love that this question was brought up because too often low career ambition can be portrayed as a negative, but just as it’s amazing to have a career-related goal and reach it, it’s just as amazing (and takes ambition as well) to know what you want for your life and pursue that — family, home, pets, travel, happiness — even if it seems the world’s telling you to go after something else.

Because of all that, I’m glad I continued, but there was a triggering scene for me (end of chapter 4) where

it’s revealed that Sophie was the photographer who took photos of Jax immediately following his suicide attempt (it was her scummy ex-boyfriend who sold them to the media even though she didn’t agree and was ashamed of what she’d done), and that Jax had met Sophie at the hotel bar earlier that night, learned she was a struggling photographer, and gave her a key to come up to his room at a certain time. She didn’t know why, and he believed he was helping her out by allowing her the opportunity to make some money off of those pictures. They were both apologetic regarding their actions and realized how wrong it was, but a few of Jax’s bandmates were understandably very upset with both of them considering everything they’d been through. I was tempted to give up there, but everything that came before that, of Scottie and Sophie meeting on the plane, was deliciously good and after that it wasn’t brought up again in detail. (Though there is an implied repeating of the past in what they fear might be another suicide attempt but is not.)

I will definitely be re-reading this book because it was overwhelmingly more light than dark, but skipping chapter 4 where Sophie meets the band.

My only other gripe as someone who hates when people fight dirty is best illustrated by Sophie: “Why is it that we’re so very good at talking and so very shitty at fighting?” Thankfully the conflict took place at the very end and didn’t last long (see: the ‘more time together than apart’ that I loved so much), but predicting what might cause trouble, I had hoped that the conflict would happen outside the couple and they would work together rather than fighting against each other and inflicting hurt. Again, this was thankfully a very small part of the book and the grand gesture made for a great ending, I just have a hard time with intentional hurt.

While those two issues took up a lot of space here, it didn’t in the book and that’s why it really was a winner for me and one of the best romances I’ve read.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cancer and Suicide attempt

Minor: Suicide

CW: discussion of past suicide attempt, discussion of completed suicide of a family member, cancer scare

talknerdybookblog's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Representation: Fat Heroine, Bisexual Supporting Character

RTC

Safety Rating: Safe

• No cheating
• No OW drama
• Does have OM drama
– The Heroine's slimy ex-boyfriend creates serious drama near the end of the book. Note the Heroine doesn't have any feelings for the OW.
• Does have the Hero and Heroine pushing each other away
• No separation

Possible Triggers: Yes

• Discussion of the suicide attempt of a supporting character
• Hero's mom had cancer and killed herself a bit after her diagnosis
• Hero's father was abusive

Ending:

HFN

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cancer, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Suicide