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samhogerheyde's review against another edition
emotional
sad
tense
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? Yes
3.25
jcurry447's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
kn1231's review
3.0
2.75 stars - I was really enjoying this story until the end, but then the time jump happened and I was just so frustrated. I was frustrated throughout the story with the two leads, but most of their decisions made sense so I chalked up my frustration to “necessary angst”. Then chapter 39 happened, and I was so annoyed; and then chapter 43 came and the story completely lost me.
I was pissed off with Kelsey’s choices with the drugs. Sure, she dealt with a lot with her past relationship, but the decisions on the beach were Kelsey’s to own, and that didn’t come in a way that was respectable. She continued to lie about what she had done until the very end, and that was pretty brushed over aside from a bit of anger and there were no real consequences for Kelsey’s actions. That was a real miss for me. Then for Kelsey to start losing her mind on Joy for not bringing up the possible sale of the clinic immediately? The audacity! There was a wait throughout the story for Joy and Kelsey to finally get together, and the author made what was a very realistic coming together throughout the book that I was invested in feel gross and unnatural with these poor choices at the end. I went back and forth throughout the story about which one of the leads did not deserve the other, but I very much ended the story thinking that Kelsey didn’t deserve Joy, and that’s not how I want to feel after a romance story. All of this could have been made better if less time was wasted at the beginning/middle of the book, and the events of the ending happened much earlier, to give time for a fulfilling conclusion.
I’m also curious about this author’s background. From images I have seen, the author doesn’t appear to be a person of color. If I am misjudging that, I apologize. If I am correct, I do hope the author spoke to people living the black queer experience, rather than make their own assumptions. However, I’m doubtful of this because while this is sort of alluded to, it’s very clear the racism and the homophobia Joy was exposed to was at the root of her issues. This author didn’t actually go there though, and I think that’s due to them not being able to bring that lived experience into their story.
I was pissed off with Kelsey’s choices with the drugs. Sure, she dealt with a lot with her past relationship, but the decisions on the beach were Kelsey’s to own, and that didn’t come in a way that was respectable. She continued to lie about what she had done until the very end, and that was pretty brushed over aside from a bit of anger and there were no real consequences for Kelsey’s actions. That was a real miss for me. Then for Kelsey to start losing her mind on Joy for not bringing up the possible sale of the clinic immediately? The audacity! There was a wait throughout the story for Joy and Kelsey to finally get together, and the author made what was a very realistic coming together throughout the book that I was invested in feel gross and unnatural with these poor choices at the end. I went back and forth throughout the story about which one of the leads did not deserve the other, but I very much ended the story thinking that Kelsey didn’t deserve Joy, and that’s not how I want to feel after a romance story. All of this could have been made better if less time was wasted at the beginning/middle of the book, and the events of the ending happened much earlier, to give time for a fulfilling conclusion.
I’m also curious about this author’s background. From images I have seen, the author doesn’t appear to be a person of color. If I am misjudging that, I apologize. If I am correct, I do hope the author spoke to people living the black queer experience, rather than make their own assumptions. However, I’m doubtful of this because while this is sort of alluded to, it’s very clear the racism and the homophobia Joy was exposed to was at the root of her issues. This author didn’t actually go there though, and I think that’s due to them not being able to bring that lived experience into their story.
patricia71's review
2.0
DNF boring and The jumps to The past felt unnecessary and drew me out of the story in stead of in it.
mjsam's review
2.0
This book was a little too all over the place for me. The relationship between Joy and Kelsey and the flashbacks that are in the first part of the story were intriguing, but the second part of the story it just goes off the rails.
We're told early on that Joy is in an open relationship with Vanessa, so I was expecting her to show up again, but once Kelsey and Joy started their relationship I sort of expected it would be exclusive, yet Joy goes right back to sleeping with Vanessa just days after telling Kelsey she'd happily commit to her if Kelsey was ready. Plus, there's a trail of at least five women (Kelsey to Joy to Vanessa to whomever Vanessa was sleeping with to whomever that woman was also sleeping with) yet there's no mention at all of safe sex. Unbelievable.
Kelsey's ex drama was also depressing and dragged the story down, so that by the end I didn't really like either character, nor was I overly invested in whether they got together.
This was my first book by this author, and I was happy to see a POC as a main character. I'd probably give her another try, hopefully her other stories are a bit less convoluted.
We're told early on that Joy is in an open relationship with Vanessa, so I was expecting her to show up again, but once Kelsey and Joy started their relationship I sort of expected it would be exclusive, yet Joy goes right back to sleeping with Vanessa just days after telling Kelsey she'd happily commit to her if Kelsey was ready. Plus, there's a trail of at least five women (Kelsey to Joy to Vanessa to whomever Vanessa was sleeping with to whomever that woman was also sleeping with) yet there's no mention at all of safe sex. Unbelievable.
Kelsey's ex drama was also depressing and dragged the story down, so that by the end I didn't really like either character, nor was I overly invested in whether they got together.
This was my first book by this author, and I was happy to see a POC as a main character. I'd probably give her another try, hopefully her other stories are a bit less convoluted.
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