Reham
Contains spoilers
oh, you're so boring.
My bad, I mis took this book for adult but in reality it's about some 18-19 year old girl and apparently a 21+ something dude. Even though the age gap is not as horrific, but the dialogues. God damn the dialogues!!!
She: what do they call you?
He: cold
She: oh i love winter
He: i'm colder than winter
Not only that, but this one had fmc indian rep because the author herself is half indian and she obviously took real life inspo. But then i saw all the negativity and i just-i am tired of desi diasporas painting their home and people in bad picture to feed off white prejudices. It doesnt help to fend off claims made about us.
I will not be rating this because 1. I can not know what to rate this book b. I wanted to read a book for personal enjoyment instead of obsessing over the rating I'd give.
This is technically my second book by the author, as I had dnf'ed a man called ove. This took me a bit by surprise and inserted me into the story. I laughed, well, didn't exactly cry, but my heart broke so many times for some of the characters while I wanted to kill others.
Dnf @ pg 380
I can't do it anymore. I cant stand the fmc any more than i can with her inner monologue. I like Caleb and Jake, but i find their connection so cringeworthy i cant explain it. Then the fmc wanted to add third guy who didnt even make sense in the dynamic they already established. The author could've twisted it into like two best friends and one friend? Why did it have to be a guy who doesnt even talk to them?
I was scared to read this because i knew the author is adapting Emily Henry's books. Hopefully she does better as a screenwriter than she did as an author. I understand this is her debut, but I believe as a writer of any kind - she even wrote fanfics apparently - you get the gist of a novel and how to properly write it
The first turn off about this book was the way the author consistently changed POVs. I don't mind dual POV, in fact i find them fun and interesting as they often give us both sides but here, in this book, it wasn't chapter by chapter but rather paragraph. We would be reading about Helen then suddenly it would shift to Grant, it was confusing and distracting in a way. I could immediately tell that a screenwriter wrote this. It felt like how you would transfer movie into books.
The second thing was the way Helen treated Grant in the beginning. Helen was aware that it wasn't his fault her sister killed herself but she was utterly rude and condescending. She could have been cordial at the least. We were told that she hated talking to people and crowds, but girl wasn't making the least effort even during room time. I really disliked Helen.
The romance was non-existent, to be fair. This was trauma bonding, there was no connection, no love, bo chemistry. Helen went from hating him, not even thinking about him to having wet dreams about him real quick?!
And what of her feelings with her parents? She finally says what has been bothering her and confronts her parents, and then suddenly shuts down and doesn't bring it up again?
The pacing was all over the place.
And lastly, the thing that really put me off was the third act conflict. I personally despise break up as thurd act conflicts, but more importantly, i hate when they go for months on end not seeing each other and suddenly patch up like nothing ever happened.
Actual rating: 2.5
The writing style really cringed me out. It was so detached and barely highlighted characters emotions. I could not connect or relate to them, could not find anything in their story that made me emotional. It was tragic, yes, but i read the book as one would about the weather. Everyone who recommended this, had said it's an emotional rollercoaster ride and i waited until the very end to find the hint of it.
this book has confirmed to me, more or less, that I have grown out of my smut era. Sure, i do enjoy contemporary romance books, the tension, the angst, but straight up smut has been recently putting me in a slump. The idea of the book, or the synopsis always intrigues me and hence why i opt to read it but half way through i get tired and find myself falling in a slump.
This was not a bad book, but it wasn't great either. Two years ago i would have enjoyed it more, but i liked it fine.
There were some things that didn't resonate with me, that felt weird and unnecessary. However, i rarely ever feel the angst between characters and it was present here. I teared up a bit and that alone deserved a star from me.
Some things I enjoyed/liked:
- how the fmc learned to pick herself up after downfall
- the writing
- the fact that there was not much complication in the third act
- thank GOD no pregnancy trope
What i didnt particularly enjoy:
- how josiah got to move on first even though he was reluctant to divorce. Im trying not to think too much about it but like, josiah slept with someone else while yasmen couldnt even date
- how despite therapy josiah couldnt accept that yasmen's reaction or asking for a divorce wasnt as terrible as he made it out to be
- how he downplayed deja's reactions to yasmen when she brought it up calling her senstive
It was a different kind of romance, i liked it and so 4 stars remain.
2.25
the writing is great! i liked the first story, and then it just went downhill from then on.
it did not give the rep i thought it would. As a diaspora, i was left unsatisfied. The author apparently projected her own feelings and beliefs on to the characters. They were all mother-hating, religion hating and western loving white washed women with white boyfriends. Disappointed
dash is the definition of himbo. it was refreshing in that sense to read a about a male character who doesnt have too much depth to him. with that being said, this series has been a complete hit or miss, mostly miss than hit. i enjoyed xander's story but the rest fell very much flat for me. there is literally no chemistry, no connection and no bond. the spice was also tasteless, it felt forced somehow. disappointed
