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A review by booksafety
The Sunny Side by Lily Morton
4.0
Audiobook ARC review
Book safety, tropes and tags down below.
I’ll start by saying that Joel Leslie is so incredibly talented. The amount of different accents he does during this book, seamlessly, is beyond impressive. He made it really easy to enjoy this book. Any book is safe in his hands lol.
Alright folks. I’ve heard that Dean was a part of previous books (which I have not read), and therefore my understanding of his character will probably be different from those that know him as the stoner. The Dean I read about here needs to be protected at all cost. What a precious man. It’s heartbreaking reading about sweetheart characters with no self worth because people have constantly been putting them down. Dean thinks all he has to offer the world is that he’s pretty. He’s shocked when sex isn’t transactional for once, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. He has a learning disability and therefore believes he isn’t smart. The fact that family and teachers, literally everyone who should have supported him all his life has repeatedly told him so, doesn’t help.
I listened to this on audio, so I don’t have any quotes to add here, but this book surprised a laugh out of me on several occasions. Very rarely do I actually laugh out loud while reading alone, but this one got me even though there wasn’t the constant jokes and forced laughs that many rom-coms suffer from. I enjoyed the balance of funny and serious.
Jonas was an unexpectedly complex character, and he definitely underwent some growth during the book (thankfully lol). He was very much affected by his own upringing, which seemed to be very cold and austere. His daughter was growing up with focus on summer school and homework at 5 years old instead of playing in the dirt with friends. He loved Dean helplessly, and messed up majorly at one point, which he had to work hard to make right. We’re talking some delicious groveling.
Dean’s interactions with Ruby were so cute, and while he may not be the most booksmart in the room, he understands humans and their emotions like few others.
It’s not 5 stars for me simply because it’s such a long book. It kinda dragged for me in places and I got a little bored before it picked up again.
Book safety
Cheating: No
OM drama: Both men are hit on by other people, but nothing happens with other people
Third-act breakup: Yes
POV: 1st person, dual
Strict top/bottom or vers: Strict roles
TW/CW
Mentions of past drug use, withdrawal from weed, a lot of talk about food and body weight/looks, sexual harassment, explicit sexual content, cheating mentioned by side characters (nothing between MCs), mentions of broken bones and hospitalization of a child
Tropes & tags
Age gap, boss/employee, model/agency owner, single dad, divorced, pie-eating (the dirty kind), dogs, dyslexia, groveling, pining, british MC, french MC
Book safety, tropes and tags down below.
I’ll start by saying that Joel Leslie is so incredibly talented. The amount of different accents he does during this book, seamlessly, is beyond impressive. He made it really easy to enjoy this book. Any book is safe in his hands lol.
Alright folks. I’ve heard that Dean was a part of previous books (which I have not read), and therefore my understanding of his character will probably be different from those that know him as the stoner. The Dean I read about here needs to be protected at all cost. What a precious man. It’s heartbreaking reading about sweetheart characters with no self worth because people have constantly been putting them down. Dean thinks all he has to offer the world is that he’s pretty. He’s shocked when sex isn’t transactional for once, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. He has a learning disability and therefore believes he isn’t smart. The fact that family and teachers, literally everyone who should have supported him all his life has repeatedly told him so, doesn’t help.
I listened to this on audio, so I don’t have any quotes to add here, but this book surprised a laugh out of me on several occasions. Very rarely do I actually laugh out loud while reading alone, but this one got me even though there wasn’t the constant jokes and forced laughs that many rom-coms suffer from. I enjoyed the balance of funny and serious.
Jonas was an unexpectedly complex character, and he definitely underwent some growth during the book (thankfully lol). He was very much affected by his own upringing, which seemed to be very cold and austere. His daughter was growing up with focus on summer school and homework at 5 years old instead of playing in the dirt with friends. He loved Dean helplessly, and messed up majorly at one point, which he had to work hard to make right. We’re talking some delicious groveling.
Dean’s interactions with Ruby were so cute, and while he may not be the most booksmart in the room, he understands humans and their emotions like few others.
It’s not 5 stars for me simply because it’s such a long book. It kinda dragged for me in places and I got a little bored before it picked up again.
Book safety
Spoiler
Cheating: No
OM drama: Both men are hit on by other people, but nothing happens with other people
Third-act breakup: Yes
POV: 1st person, dual
Strict top/bottom or vers: Strict roles
TW/CW
Spoiler
Mentions of past drug use, withdrawal from weed, a lot of talk about food and body weight/looks, sexual harassment, explicit sexual content, cheating mentioned by side characters (nothing between MCs), mentions of broken bones and hospitalization of a child
Tropes & tags
Spoiler
Age gap, boss/employee, model/agency owner, single dad, divorced, pie-eating (the dirty kind), dogs, dyslexia, groveling, pining, british MC, french MC