Reviews with content warning for Toxic relationship - Nora schrijft haar eigen verhaal

I had to take some time to process this book before I could write my review. But even now that I have, I'm still not entirely sure what my opinion is. I have very complicated feelings about this book, let me get into it:

When I first heard of this book I was very excited. It sounds right up my alley and it has good reviews so I was already pretty sure I would like it. Once I actually started reading though I was just confused. The writing was strange and didn't manage to capture me at all. I had no idea what was even going on and I was mostly just annoyed by the characters. For the first third of the book I continuously just wanted to dnf it. We start off with our mom protagonist who meets a bunch of actors and producers who are shooting a movie on her yard. The movie was written by Nora herself about how her ex-husband left her. And said ex-husband gets played by the most handsome and famous actor ever, Leo Vance. Leo is a weird and entitled guy. He's also an alcoholic. He is constantly in her house (where he shouldn't be) and takes her things (mainly alcohol, some of which is very expensive) and fills out her crossword puzzles which she loves doing. It's safe to say I was very annoyed by him and I was just hoping that he isn't the love interest (he is). After filming is done Leo just won't leave. He hides on her porch and sleeps there and no matter what Nora tries he just doesn't leave. So eventually she allows him to stay for a week in exchange for 1000$ per day. That one week turns into two, turns into a month and Leo and Nora grow close. Until Leo leaves to go film a movie and is never heard from again. He told her he loves her and he will come back but suddenly he just doesn't respond to her texts or calls. He just sends her a bunch of money.

This is when the story actually becomes interesting. Noras struggle with being left once again was very interesting. Leo grew close to her kids as well so now she doesn't just have to deal with her own broken heart but also be strong for her kids who are still hurting from when their father left. It's a very tough situation especially because everyone constantly asks after Leo and where he is and when he will come back. Nora eventually finds out that Leo had just been broken up with by his co-star, a very famous and beautiful actress and now apparently they are back together again. This breaks her heart again and when she sees him at the movie premier and he doesn't even look at her or acknowledge her existence she has to leave. I did like the aspect of trust & abandonment issues and her trying to pick herself up again but I didn't really root for the two of them. In the end I think this book would have been better if it was about an actually toxic relationship and Nora dealing with how to be happy on her own without a man. The miscommunication was stupid and there would have been SO MANY WAYS that they could have avoided all this happening. The proposal in the end felt rushed and unneccesary. I also don't really feel the chemistry between Nora and Leo. I think this book was mainly written as escapism and fantasy for stressed out moms who want to date a hot rich famous guy. Which is fine, I can just not relate much to that and the book didn't really give me much else.

All in all this was a strange book. The characters where quite boring and I mean it really says a lot that the huge stupid miscommunication is my favourite part about this. Because it's the only interesting thing happening. I enjoyed certain aspects of the book but I just don't think it was very good. I don't think I will read another book by this author.

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justagirlwithbooks's review against another edition

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3.0

"If you own up to not being perfect, life gets easier."

This was a short and sweet listen that I flew through! I loved the characters, and Nora's kids were also great. But I don't like the miscommunication trope that happened in this book. I felt like it could have been resolved easily. It didn't really stand out for me. But it was short and sweet for sure!

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meghanm404's review against another edition

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hopeful lighthearted reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

3.75

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thatsssorachael's review against another edition

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funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

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

3.5

This book is cute and fluffy and very light, I overall enjoyed it.

I did find that I really struggled to stay focused and invested, especially with the miscommunication trope. Why wouldn’t she just text him “hey, are we over?” like ???!!!! Because of that, I was honestly angry at the real reason they stopped speaking because a 4 minute conversation would have resolved all the drama. I also struggled a lot with the time line, a movie filmed in May is not winning an Oscar in March. I wish there was way more pining as the romance was a bit love-bomb-y to me and moved FAST.

I liked Nora and the kids, and I liked Laurel Ridge as a setting. I thought this book was sweet and cozy, and I liked the ending.

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readwithkb's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing fast-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

5.0

woah immediately need to read all her other books

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stormeno's review against another edition

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emotional funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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