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merlesstorys's review against another edition
emotional
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
4.0
“Something to talk about” by Meryl Wilsner is a lovely book that is easy to read (which I read in one day because I just couldn’t stop).
Both Jo and Emma felt age appropriate and, even though I’m a tad younger than Emma, I could heavily emphasize with her. Their relationship with each other built up more or less nicely, even though the lack of communication really fucked me up sometimes (like I wanted to tell Jo that she should tell Emma things that the latter was related to) and with that also a lot of missed character understanding for each other.
Their relationships with other persons in the book were rather in the background/they kinda only ever talked about their love interest.
I do loved that their running gags were happing out of situations on and not off page (re: Asthma)
What I definitely didn’t like were the things teased but never or way less detailed - why I’ll briefly mention because I don’t want to spoiler anyone.
The leak and the persons behind. Emma’s personal thoughts on Avery/her feeling left behind. The pretty uncomfortable scene with Emma’s idol. Search for new assistants. Life on set. Writing a script. More Hollywood glamour.
And that’s probably not even all I kind of missed.
But, in general, I enjoyed Jo and Emma’s story very much.
Both Jo and Emma felt age appropriate and, even though I’m a tad younger than Emma, I could heavily emphasize with her. Their relationship with each other built up more or less nicely, even though the lack of communication really fucked me up sometimes (like I wanted to tell Jo that she should tell Emma things that the latter was related to) and with that also a lot of missed character understanding for each other.
Their relationships with other persons in the book were rather in the background/they kinda only ever talked about their love interest.
I do loved that their running gags were happing out of situations on and not off page (re: Asthma)
What I definitely didn’t like were the things teased but never or way less detailed - why I’ll briefly mention because I don’t want to spoiler anyone.
The leak and the persons behind. Emma’s personal thoughts on Avery/her feeling left behind. The pretty uncomfortable scene with Emma’s idol. Search for new assistants. Life on set. Writing a script. More Hollywood glamour.
And that’s probably not even all I kind of missed.
But, in general, I enjoyed Jo and Emma’s story very much.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol, Chronic illness, Xenophobia, Sexual harassment, Homophobia, Sexism, Outing, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, and Death of parent
kshertz's review against another edition
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
It’s a love story…kind of. It’s mostly how a boss and the assistant are very good friends for basically the whole book and fighting their attraction to each other. It’s a cool story but way too platonic for me. Nothing happens until the last like 30 pages! But it’s set up well. It’s probably meant for someone who doesn’t need smut and just wants a sweet little love story ❤️
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Racism, and Sexism
cambelle's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
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? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual assault and Sexual harassment
bookishmillennial's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
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? It's complicated
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
I really enjoyed this slow burn, forced-proximity, workplace, will-they-or-won’t-they, age gap sapphic romance !!! I do think it dragged on a bit during the middle, but I appreciated the setting against Hollywood and the film / tv industry in general. It was familiar, fun, and I could absolutely see this being adapted on tv as a fluffy little romcom 😍 Jo & Emma were such goobers and played into the trope I like to call “two idiots who need to kiss already” 😅😂😇
I thought Meryl took such great care with the topics touched upon, such as sexism, power dynamics, homophobia, ageism, racism, the lack of diversity “in the room” in Hollywood, the invasive American paparazzi, & parasocial relationships. Even though it wasn’t my favorite book by Meryl Wilsner, I am still their stan forever!
💨 Steam: 1/5
Find me on Instagram: @bookish.millennial or tiktok: @bookishmillennial
I really enjoyed this slow burn, forced-proximity, workplace, will-they-or-won’t-they, age gap sapphic romance !!! I do think it dragged on a bit during the middle, but I appreciated the setting against Hollywood and the film / tv industry in general. It was familiar, fun, and I could absolutely see this being adapted on tv as a fluffy little romcom 😍 Jo & Emma were such goobers and played into the trope I like to call “two idiots who need to kiss already” 😅😂😇
I thought Meryl took such great care with the topics touched upon, such as sexism, power dynamics, homophobia, ageism, racism, the lack of diversity “in the room” in Hollywood, the invasive American paparazzi, & parasocial relationships. Even though it wasn’t my favorite book by Meryl Wilsner, I am still their stan forever!
💨 Steam: 1/5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism and Racism
Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexual content
marcylikesbooks's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
tense
slow-paced
3.5
3.5 stars. This is a good book, especially for a debut and I’m honestly really impressed with the authors work so far. I picked this one up after reading their other book Mistakes Were Made because I loved their writing so much.
This one was different and I was pleasantly surprised at the authors range within sapphic romance. This one is a very slow burn and for 96% it’s so chaste which is kind of adorable. I liked the slow burn, I liked the characters, the setting, the writing. It’s very easy for me to step into the world they’ve made and that’s one of the things I truly love about reading.
The story has a few things I didn’t like but also didn’t hate, just things that maybe could have been done better (but again, debut book so that makes sense).
I really like slow burn generally but this is too slow, there still needs to be progress. It’s pretty angsty which I also like as long as it goes somewhere but the progression in their relationship stalls or regresses for long periods of time which ends up feeling drawn out which can be little frustrating to read at times.
They also don’t actually get together until right at the very end which it almost feels like a cliffhanger because you don’t get to see them be a couple at all. It’s almost like the book ends when their romance is at the 60 or 70% mark because the book is getting long and too much time was spent drawing things out.
The first real conflict they face felt kind of silly and manufactured to me where a non-issue becomes this source of hurt and the drama that’s generated from it seems incongruent with what actually happened.
The book is also set in Hollywood and one of the plot points explores the systemic sexual predation of women in that culture which I’m conflicted about. On one hand I think it’s really important that more people talk about it and being set in Hollywood it makes sense to and it was handled well. On the other hand I personally don’t like reading about creepy sexual predators in my romance books and it’s possibly the biggest mood killer I can think of.
I really need to learn how to write reviews that don’t just outline the things that could have been better because I did really enjoy it. Honestly this story was a good, enjoyable read with potential to be great and given how much the authors next book improved, I’m really looking forward to what they write next because I’m sure it’s only going to get better and better.
This one was different and I was pleasantly surprised at the authors range within sapphic romance. This one is a very slow burn and for 96% it’s so chaste which is kind of adorable. I liked the slow burn, I liked the characters, the setting, the writing. It’s very easy for me to step into the world they’ve made and that’s one of the things I truly love about reading.
The story has a few things I didn’t like but also didn’t hate, just things that maybe could have been done better (but again, debut book so that makes sense).
I really like slow burn generally but this is too slow, there still needs to be progress. It’s pretty angsty which I also like as long as it goes somewhere but the progression in their relationship stalls or regresses for long periods of time which ends up feeling drawn out which can be little frustrating to read at times.
They also don’t actually get together until right at the very end which it almost feels like a cliffhanger because you don’t get to see them be a couple at all. It’s almost like the book ends when their romance is at the 60 or 70% mark because the book is getting long and too much time was spent drawing things out.
The first real conflict they face felt kind of silly and manufactured to me where a non-issue becomes this source of hurt and the drama that’s generated from it seems incongruent with what actually happened.
The book is also set in Hollywood and one of the plot points explores the systemic sexual predation of women in that culture which I’m conflicted about. On one hand I think it’s really important that more people talk about it and being set in Hollywood it makes sense to and it was handled well. On the other hand I personally don’t like reading about creepy sexual predators in my romance books and it’s possibly the biggest mood killer I can think of.
I really need to learn how to write reviews that don’t just outline the things that could have been better because I did really enjoy it. Honestly this story was a good, enjoyable read with potential to be great and given how much the authors next book improved, I’m really looking forward to what they write next because I’m sure it’s only going to get better and better.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual harassment
Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Racism, and Homophobia
wintah's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
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? It's complicated
4.0
very cute, very light-hearted, i like them both a lot
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault
Moderate: Sexual harassment
jkeishia's review against another edition
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual assault and Xenophobia
erica_0000's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This book was an entertaining read that kept me captivated and was easy to get through. The plot follows the two main characters in dual POV, Jo a famous Hollywood figure, and her assistant Emma. While the book was entertaining enough and did have a few lines that made me chuckle, it was not the best Rom-com I have ever read. I did enjoy the representation, but I definitely think that the chemistry between the characters could have been a little stronger as well as giving them both a bit more depth. That being said, I think both the main characters were interesting, but my favorites were the side characters of Jo’s best friend Evelyn, and Emma’s sister, Avery. I think they added a lot to the plot and made the book flow better. Overall, I did enjoy the read and it kept me captivated but could have been improved on as well.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault
Moderate: Racism, Sexism, and Homophobia
india_pullinger's review
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault
Minor: Racism and Biphobia
cjblates's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment