cakey ~.~'s Reviews > Book Lovers

This was okay.

In fact, it was more than okay. And Emily Henry remains to be my favorite romance author, because she has that magical ability to weave believable backstories with clever banter and piping-hot chemistry. She always has a story to tell outside of the romance, without it taking away from the romance (but in fact bolstering it with depth and realism), a feat considerably difficult to pull off.

I had high hopes for this one, especially when I’ve heard it being the best out of the three romances she’s released so far.

So why was it only 3 stars for me?

Good question. And I won’t dance around it.

There are two main reasons—first is the writing style. For some reason, the writing in this one felt a little too manufactured, sometimes even impersonal, and Nora’s way of showing the reader she has feelings for Charlie is ultimately summarized into “my heart does a flip.” The writing employs multiple variations of the same thing, and maybe it’s a me thing, but it didn’t really work for me. Maybe it’s also a me thing, but there was too much telling instead of showing here.

Second reason is the relationship between Nora and Charlie itself. While they seem very supportive of each other’s individuality, ironically enough I feel like there was a bit of codependency between them. Their attachment style didn’t seem secure. Nora just got out of a codependent relationship with her sister—a main point in her arc and the story in general—and in my opinion, she needed more time just being by herself. Learning how to be 100% confortable being alone before jumping into a relationship.

Otherwise, I really enjoyed this. But ultimately, Beach Read is still the one to beat for me. (Here’s to hoping Happy Place takes the throne soon!)

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ah, yes, one (1) reason to continue living