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instalovewithbooks's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
I really loved learning more about Shobi, Ashna's and Rico's backgrounds, I think the only thing I would recommend for Dev to change is putting names on the chapters & it being "before" or "now" kind of thing cause sometimes it was a bit of whiplash.
I knew in book 1 Bram was an awful person, but book 2 solidified it.
I can't wait to see what book 3 brings me!
Moderate: Suicide and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Sexism, Rape, Vomit, Religious bigotry, and Pregnancy
thaliareads's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
I loved the idea of the celebrity and pro cooking contest and I enjoyed seeing Ashna work through the trauma she's grown into with the death of her father and the absence of her mother.
Graphic: Addiction, Death of parent, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Death, Domestic abuse, Car accident, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Misogyny, Classism, Grief, Physical abuse, and Suicide
Moderate: Sexual assault, Rape, Sexual content, and Panic attacks/disorders
This book does have a very high amount of content warnings. Ashna's mother has had a very hard life dealing with bigotry, classism, and sexism from her father first and then the man she was forced to marry. He was emotionally abusive as well as physically abusive leading to domestic abuse and even marital rape. Ashna's father struggled with alcoholism his entire life and eventually that compounded and led to his eventual suicide leaving Ashna feeling the grief of the loss as well as the blame for not being able to prevent it, leading to the panic attacks she sometimes suffers when trying to cook. There are some mentions and discussions of how Rico lost his parents in a car accident when he was young.katemch's review
- 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
Graphic: Death of parent, Suicide, Rape, Domestic abuse, Vomit, Toxic relationship, Sexism, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Sexual violence, Alcoholism, Sexual assault, and Death
Moderate: Abortion and Pregnancy
shaipanda's review
- 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
4.75
Literally read it in just over 24 hours lol so so so good but definitely be aware of content warnings because this book may be a romance but it’s really dark and has a lot of heavy topics
Edit: switched it from 5 to 4.75 though bc I just remember like nothing about it lol and I can’t keep something rated 5 stars if i don’t remember anything about it
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Gun violence, Abandonment, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Sexual violence, Suicide, Body horror, Rape, and Sexism
Moderate: Classism and Islamophobia
Minor: Abortion
angelfireeast24's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death of parent, Rape, and Drug use
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Panic attacks/disorders, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Suicide, Sexism, Grief, and Classism
ticktock's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Moderate: Abandonment, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexism, and Suicide
accidentalspaceexplorer's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
For another, I've read Persuasion, and while you can see the bare bones of that here, it's dual POV, which makes it way more obvious how both sides feel about each other. However, I really enjoyed Rico's POV, as I thought that his slow grappling with his very complex feelings was interesting.
The key word there is slow, and I thought the book did a really good job of illustrating them slowly changing their minds and re-thinking the assumptions they'd made. However, in the ending, most of that was lost in a mad rush to the end, both in the heroine-mom relationship and in the hero-heroine relationship. I found that really rushed and kind of unrealistic, that they would suddenly decide to go all in.
Overall, though, I had an enjoyable time reading this, and I'd recommend it! You don't even have to have read Persuasion.
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders and Suicide
Moderate: Rape and Sexism
alisanti's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Moderate: Suicide, Toxic relationship, Sexism, Panic attacks/disorders, Misogyny, Infidelity, Grief, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Drug abuse, Death of parent, Death, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Addiction, and Abandonment
Minor: Rape and Sexual assault