Reviews with content warning for Toxic relationship - 40-Love

Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

40-Love by Olivia Dade

4 reviews

theverycraftyvegan's review against another edition

funny lighthearted medium-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

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Olivia Dade is fast becoming my favourite author! My number one read author of 2023.

Her characters break the mould of what MCs “should be” and they never disappoint.

This story was about unexpectedly finding love, an age gap, and the pairing of a plus sized body with an athlete. The MFC and MMC both struggle with chronic pain and their empathy for one another warmed my heart. MFC was very vocal about hating mess (like being sweaty) and MMC was happy to shower for her comfort. It got super steamy quite a few times.

I cannot recommend Dade’s novels enough.

Content Warnings

bookishmillennial's review

Go to review page

funny lighthearted reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

disclaimer if you’ve read other reviews by me and are noticing a pattern: You’re correct that I don’t really give starred reviews, I feel like a peasant and don’t like leaving them and most often, I will only leave them if I vehemently despised a book. I enjoy most books for what they are, & I extract lessons from them all. Everyone’s reading experiences are subjective, so I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not, regardless if I add stars or not. Find me on Instagram: @bookish.millennial or tiktok: @bookishmillennial

premise:

contemporary fictional romcom
second book in an interconnected series of standalone romances
told in third-person limited POV
Tess Dunn, 40-year-old aspiring principal of Marysburg High School, goes on vacation to an island (can't remember which one, sorry lol) with her best friend, Belle, who moved to Chicago recently
She runs into 26-year-old Swedish tennis player, Lucas Karlsson, as he helps cover her and get a towel when a wave takes off her bikini top in the ocean (lmao only in romcoms, amirite!?)
She has no idea he was a former pro-tennis player and Belle sneakily signs Tess up for nightly 1:1 lessons with Lucas for the two weeks they are on vacation
Tess has chronic knee pain, while Lucas has post-surgery struggles with his wrist; they connect beyond a vacation summer fling, even though Tess adamantly tries to deny their chemistry
tropes: grumpy x sunshine, opposites attract, summer romance, instalove, age gap
cw: fatphobia, diet culture, infidelity, sexual content, gaslighting, toxic relationship, ageism
steam: 3/5

thoughts:
I am *not* an instalove honey. However, I had a lot of fun with this one! Tess & Lucas were both such sweet characters that I couldn't help but root for. They are pretty much the epitome of "when you know, you know!" and I'm not mad at them for it!

Besides the romance, I loved the topics that Lucas and Tess discussed:

ageism: I think people forget about how deeply seeded our biases are about age, especially those who are younger. When we talk about the -isms, I feel like I don't see as many people talk about this, and of course, I am privileged to be 31-years-old but I remember the ageism I experienced as a teenager up until a few years ago, and sometimes, even now because I "look young". I know I will experience it again at its height when I'm in my retiring age (crossing my fingers I make it that far<3). Sure, there are absolutely some young kids and new adults who are absolutely horrible and represent their age groups terribly. However, I loved that Lucas called Tess out for her ageism, as she was judging him and was completely off base! Her lived experience with her ex was valid, but she shouldn't have projected that onto everyone 20-something within her proximity.
body neutrality: I recently struggled with another book that did not mindfully tackle body image issues, fatphobia, and diet culture. However, I think Olivia Dade did a beautiful job of illustrating what body neutrality sounds and looks like as Tess talked about her body and her health.

"From what he could tell, she hadn't used the word fat as a pejorative. There had been no venom in the adjective, no bitterness or sadness, no implicit plea for his denial. It had served only as a descriptor, rather than a sign of self-loathing. Matter of fact. Value-neutral.

And he wasn't going to protest that she wasn't fat. They both knew better. Contradicting that would be patronizing as hell, insulting in its own way. More importantly, protesting might imply that being fat was somehow bad. Somehow the worst thing she could be, rather than merely one aspect of a complex, fascinating woman."

Overall, this was a fluffy romcom with steamy scenes (literally still thinking about the steamy scene in the shower asdakjdhaksdhgahgsd) and Lucas is the king of emotional and physical aftercare. A Swedish, goofy king. No choice but to stan!!!!

Content Warnings

hazelgirl21's review

Go to review page

emotional funny lighthearted 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

3.75

Content Warnings

sebrittainclark's review

Go to review page

lighthearted relaxing 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

4.0

Content Warnings

More...