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Moderate: Bullying, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Death of parent
Minor: Drug abuse, Abortion
Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Deportation
Moderate: Biphobia
Minor: Abortion
Han needs a way to be able to stay in the US as a citizen and after his job falls through. His best friend Kenny figures out the predicament that Han is in and offers to get married so that Han can stay.
Going into it, however, I was expecting a bit more of a romcom, and that is definitely not what this is at all. It is very serious and very emotional, definitely check the content warnings before you go into it. Also, based on the synopsis, I thought that Kenny's ex would only be in the beginning of the book and that is not true at all, they are in the majority of the book, which unfortunately I really didn't care for.
While I appreciated the harder topics and the discussion around them, to me the relationship/romance was underdeveloped. They had too many other things going on to really have a lot of time to transition from friends to lovers and so I didn't really feel the romantic tension or connection between them. It also felt like there was a lot squeezed in having to do with the ex that maybe didn't all need to be there, I think the story about trying to get married without ICE figuring out what's going on would have been plenty and allowed the main issue and the relationship to take center stage.
I did think the friendships and family relationships were very well done and I loved how everyone tried to look after each other. I also really enjoyed the representation in the book and how much of it there was. I definitely felt how deep the friendships were, including Han and Kenny, and how much the characters loved each other in the friendships and being able to talk to each other and call each other out when needed. Also how they tried to protect both Han and Kenny.
Overall, I enjoyed my experience and I would recommend.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Gaslighting
I received this digital copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Deportation
Moderate: Drug abuse, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Transphobia, Police brutality, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Alcohol
Minor: Mental illness, Vomit, Abortion