Scan barcode
zombiezami's review against another edition
4.0
You know how a common feature and critique of romance as a genre is that problems would be easier to deal with or even resolved if characters communicated openly with one another? This book takes that concept to the nth degree. I felt that the escalation of the plot did happen quickly, but also that the author took a lot of risks that paid off. For example, in the opening pages of the book, the protagonist is on a blind date. Much of the exposition of her backstory is told by the date confirming or asking about details of her life. I thought that was clever.
Also, the author is great at misdirecting expectations and thus making room for big, dramatic reveals. Sometimes, those reveals felt very silly. Other times, I felt that the reveals put you right in the headspace of particular characters in the book.
Also, the author is great at misdirecting expectations and thus making room for big, dramatic reveals. Sometimes, those reveals felt very silly. Other times, I felt that the reveals put you right in the headspace of particular characters in the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content, Car accident, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, Death, Sexual content, Vomit, Pregnancy, Blood, and Cursing
Moderate: Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Ableism, Bullying, Terminal illness, Sexual harassment, and Cancer
shelbyjo's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
fast-paced
- 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
Absolutely loved it! Started it when I woke up this morning and didn't even get out of bed until I was over 70% done. I couldn't put it down.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death of parent, and Vomit
Moderate: Car accident and Child death
liteartha's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- 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? It's complicated
2.75
this was quick and sweet for the most part, and the themes of cultural identity, immigrant families, and interracial relationships were well balanced with the lighter tone of a contemporary romance
some things i liked a little less:
from a writing perspective, i found the descriptions didn't flow super well, especially in bits where it seemed like adjectives had been thrown in last minute where they weren't needed
i enjoyed getting a look at azere's nigerian culture and family, and specifically addressing some of the experiences of immigration to canada (a perspective i'd like to read more about!) but apart from a few place names and occasional mentions of something like timbits, this experience didn't feel very rooted in its setting. there also seemed to be a big focus on explaining nigerian foods, pop culture figures, etc. to the reader, i think made things feel a little clunky and could've inspired readers to do some of their own research instead of having it spoon fed to them in the story itself
the characters felt very... impersonal. who are they? even the main characters don't really seem to have ambitions and desires beyond their love lives and relationships to their families. i would have liked to get to know them more as people, instead of through the lens of their relationships to each other
the romance at the centre of the story — which btw directly involves an unplanned pregnancy something i find odd isn't in the book's description since it occurs super early on and the entire plot of the book revolves around it — was mostly endearing, but was really rushed. it was hard to believe the depth of emotion they supposedly felt for each other because it all just happened so fast and with very little apparent change in the way they interacted with each other throughout. i also wanted to shout at these characters on multiple occasions to please just fucking communicate, but i figure that's probably something of a trope in this genre so i can't fairly knock that specifically
this last one's down to total personal preference but the references to romantic movies were super frequent throughout the book, even going as far as to describe scenes and quote many of them. this might add to the experience for people who are big fans of the genre, but it was just a lot for me as someone who has seen virtually none of the mentioned films and generally doesn't like to read work that constant references other media anyway
some things i liked a little less:
from a writing perspective, i found the descriptions didn't flow super well, especially in bits where it seemed like adjectives had been thrown in last minute where they weren't needed
i enjoyed getting a look at azere's nigerian culture and family, and specifically addressing some of the experiences of immigration to canada (a perspective i'd like to read more about!) but apart from a few place names and occasional mentions of something like timbits, this experience didn't feel very rooted in its setting. there also seemed to be a big focus on explaining nigerian foods, pop culture figures, etc. to the reader, i think made things feel a little clunky and could've inspired readers to do some of their own research instead of having it spoon fed to them in the story itself
the characters felt very... impersonal. who are they? even the main characters don't really seem to have ambitions and desires beyond their love lives and relationships to their families. i would have liked to get to know them more as people, instead of through the lens of their relationships to each other
the romance at the centre of the story — which btw directly involves an
this last one's down to total personal preference but the references to romantic movies were super frequent throughout the book, even going as far as to describe scenes and quote many of them. this might add to the experience for people who are big fans of the genre, but it was just a lot for me as someone who has seen virtually none of the mentioned films and generally doesn't like to read work that constant references other media anyway
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Vomit, and Blood
Minor: Death of parent, Child death, Death, and Car accident
More...