I was honestly trying to come up with anything other than complete waste of time with this one. Although two main characters could potentially be lovable, somehow I couldn’t care less for them, or for the story in general. Which is weird knowing that it deals with some pretty strong themes. As it seems this will be continued, I am not be among those readers.

Remy is my new favorite librarian. AND OMG THAT CLIFFHANGER ENDING! There's supposed to be a book two, though, so I'm not too worried. Also, I played the scene describing where Mina and her Mama spent time in their house on the balcony over and over again. It's such a cozy scene! I might redecorate my balcony the same way.

Thank you for NetGalley to provide this audiobook. For a brief synopsis, Mina is a Russian heritage high-schooler with a past issue and Oliver is also a high-schooler with past trauma about his foster homes. Both of them meet and have a spark that lights up throughout the way.

Because I listened to the audiobook, I feel like both of the narrator, Mina’s POV and Oliver’s POV did a very great job narrating this book. Especially when it comes to the emotions and the accent, very real it is. About the book itself, the flow is just right, most of the time it is not rushed about medium paced but it still captures the details of the scenes. But near the end, it got pretty chaotic and rushed everything that happened. I think the tip ending is not necessary, considering it can be left off easily with just a few paragraphs being erased, but if there is another book, it would be great.

The background of the character is what personally to me makes them interesting. From Mina and her Russian background and her trauma, also to Oliver and his pretty strong character. There are a few scenes that are not necessary for me and have zero impact on the plot, but it gives us more insight into the character’s feelings. Mina’s character is a bit messy, she changes throughout the book out of nowhere, and that makes her sometimes pretty unbearable. Oliver on the other hand is fine. This book can have more potential if the character’s actions sometimes make sense and have more depth.

Love and Other Sins by Emilia Ares

Commenting on the readers, as this was an audiobook I think both Karissa Vacker and Will Collyer did excellent jobs in maintaining all the voices of the characters and conveying true emotion. They made the story very emotional and engaging and I made the story a lot more easier to listen to.

Going into this book I was expecting your typical, cliche high-school stories between the new boy and shy good girl, but this story was a lot further away from that. The more I read, the more emotions I went through. At times I was laughing and others very sad. One thing I really appreciated about the book was the highlight on the power of mental health and thoughts on a person and the importance of hope. However, there were A LOT of heavy topics discussed, but the issues didn't seem properly addressed in the sense that they were randomly place throughout the book and mentioned here and there. Everything seemed everywhere.

The flow through the story was slightly disarrayed. At one point things were moving extremely slowly and then lots happened near the end that were very unexpected. Lots of information was given in bulk and other times nothing happened. There wasn't much balance.

Mina was a relatable person to me, through the hard work she puts and her love for reading. And that's about it. I didn't understand why everything about her changed so drastically, out of nowhere. She never took responsibility for her actions and I understood some aspects of why Mina did certain actions, but a lot of it made me find her slightly annoying.
I admired Oliver's independent, strong personality and in all honesty for me, he carried majority of the story for me through his practical sense of thinking.

There were definitely parts that were extremely cute and just hit your heart. The characters fall hard and fast and even though the interactions were slightly awkward, they definitely both had something to teach each other. The conversation between the characters and the monologues conveyed clear emotion through typical teenage problems, like relationships and parents but also a lot of things I wasn't expecting such as the corruption of the foster system and gangs.

However, coming towards the end there were a lot of loose ends, which felt slightly rushed and honestly didn't make all that sense. And that's when I found out there's a 2nd book coming. Will I be reading it? Probably, and hopefully it's a lot structured.



TW: Sexual assault, child abuse, suicidal thoughts, miscarriage


Thank you to NetGalley for providing this arc.

I’m a sucker for a great romance, especially one where the two have a physical attraction at first but hate each other. It’s all the drama that helps the story move forward and Mina & Oliver’s story had a lot of drama between the two of them.

Some how they managed to get through to each other despite their traumatic past. They each have dealt with different things happening in their lives, but they work through them together and build a great relationship.

I haven't researched the book before requesting it,so I had no idea when I've started to read it.
It touches heavy contents,as abuse,broken foster system,anger issues, implications in doggy affairs.
But considering this it's still a teen romance, a story of survival, overcoming,fight and learning to love and trust again.
I like the natators,and I believe it was a good job to get into the characters.
In my opinion the story line misses some elements,at the end felt as it was a rushed ending, even though I know this may be edited and the fact that there will be a sequel explains it,still I felt just cut out, before I could realise it ended.

**3.5 Stars**

Brief Synopsis: Mina is a teenage, Russian outcast who is content with her nonexistent social life. Oliver has been recently emancipated from the foster system. Both characters have past traumas that continue to impact them. When Mina and Oliver meet, there’s an immediate connection.

Thoughts: Don’t judge a book by its “title”. I’m not sure that the title or the cover fits the context of this book, but I may be in the minority here. The narrative is told through the dual POVs of Mina and Oliver. They are YA characters, so the storyline should be viewed through their YA mindset. Including the 17-year-old teenage love, drama, and attitudes. The writing was easy to follow, but sometimes the dialogue felt off between characters. There were several instances of this throughout the book (e.g. between CJ and Oliver, and the Taekwondo instructor and Oliver). It’s like real world facts are inserted but they don’t flow contextually or conversationally. I also feel obligated to mentioned that this book does end on a cliffhanger. I still felt like the story wrapped up, but some interest remains on what will happen next.

Thank you to Emilia Ares, SERA Press, and NetGalley for an audio copy of this book. I thought that the narrator for Mina’s character did an excellent job. The Russian accent needed for the characters really shined. If I were to of read this book in text format, that would have been lost. I am glad I received the audio version.

Thanks #netgallery for this audiobook in exhange for an honest review. This wasn't great but it wasn't bad. Nothing any different than most books in this genre. It was good but nothing special.

The narrator did an exceptional job. The story was just okay for me - very immature in my opinion - but the narrator kept me going through the end.

This book just wasn't for me. I didn't feel any connection to the characters and I kept getting lost in the storyline. It didn't feel like it was progressing forward at any good pace. I even tried to listen to the audiobook after having the e-book and I still couldn't get into the book. The narrators did a good job but I couldn't get into the story.

An amazing story of two young people, Mina and Oliver, with hurt, and sadness in their past who tried to face the future with hope. When they meet for the first time in class their connection is powerful and even if they fight against it they will be better together. Great audiobook, the narrators make an incredible job with their characters

This book is really good. There are lot of heavy topics that are mentioned in this book. I think that they are mentioned in a very good way. The heavy topics are written in a realistic way, not continuing stereotypes. I also liked that both of the characters had different backgrounds from typical books as one of the characters is the daughter of immigrants from Russia and the other character is a child who grew up in foster care. I feel like a lot of books have characters with cookie-cutter backgrounds that aren't relatable to most people. I would highly recommend this book. It was really cute and I listened to it all in one day. The narrators of the audiobook are really good.

Mina & Oliver both have troubled pasts, marked by family and personal trauma. They meet in high school and quickly start a friendship plagued by mystery, mistrust, and complex social situations. In the end, these two end up being the best thing that has happened to the other. Their relationship evolves into a safe harbor where they can share their emotional scars and mutually heal. 💕 I found both characters very endearing; however the plot had a lot of holes and was a little sporadic at times.

Trigger warning: sexual violence, rape, abortion, assault, drug use.

I have to say, if I was seventeen and reading this book, I probably would have liked it a lot more. I'm judging as a thirty year old who thinks these kids are reckless and disrespectful and not a teenager who can relate to the angst. I guess I'm officially old now! LOL

Mina and Oliver are both in tumultuous places in life. She's struggling with her new public school and being threatened by thugs because her father owes people money in Russia. Oliver is recently emancipated after being horrifically abused. He has anger issues and is part of a phone reselling business that seems pretty sketchy. They bond pretty quickly and both have strong feelings for the other, but they're explosive and don't bring out the best in each other.

As Mina begins pushing away her mom and best friend and Oliver struggles with controlling his emotions, I kept thinking they should break up for their own good. Each kid needed some therapy and time to mature on their own without the influence of the other person. I think they'd be better off meeting up in college in a couple years when things have calmed down and they're ready for a romantic relationship.

The ending is a cliffhanger, so be prepared for that. I won't be continuing the series, but I hope others enjoy the book!

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book and all opinions are my own. Thank you to SERA Press and NetGalley for the copy

Thank you to Netgalley and SERA press for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

First off this book has trigger warnings, relating to the foster care system and physical and sexual abuse of children. I think this needs to be made more apparent in the book due to it having a YA tag.

Mina and Olivers story is told in dual POV. Mina is focused on school, studying hard and keeping her head down. Whilst Oliver is trying to escape and survive his traumatic past. The two come together and fall instantly in lust/love with each other. This could have been a beautiful book about tortured souls, but for me personally, being brutally honest I just could not connect with either character nor did I like them very much. I opted for the audiobook version and I have to say I found the narrators especially Oliver's part very hard to listen to. In fact the accent or speed of his voice just irritated me. I wanted to feel for Oliver and for all he had gone though and survived but I feel like the author just told us all this secrets straight off, more of less ruining the book for me as I already know everything now so what is the point in reading any further. I think the synopsis was better than the actual writing. Whilst the book finished on a cliff hanger, I don't think I am invested in the characters enough to want to read another book in the series.

Expected publication date 19th October 2021.

Audiobook provided by Net Galley in exchange for an honest review. This book has a lot of trigger warnings (which can give part of the plot away). This story was promising - Mina is going back to public high school for her final year (her first three were at private school, but her mom can no longer afford it). Oliver has been in the foster system amongst a lot of other traumatic things that have happened to him. They meet and it reminds me of Twilight with the level of obsession they have with each other. For the book, I found the story details and conversations to be weak. As well, Oliver's story was flat out info dump explained at the beginning instead of letting the reader put the pieces together which was unfortunate. The audio version was really good as I enjoyed both narrators.

Thanks SERA Press and Netgalley for the ALC of Love and Other Sins by Emilia Ares.
The title might seem like a title of an erotica but it was a young adult romance with some triggering things. The characters had problematic pasts, there was romance and drama between them. But they didn't leave a lasting impression on me.
The narrators Karissa Vacker and Will Collyer were good.
Just an okay book.

Whew this book was confusing, and very triggering. Some of things in this book felt like they were put in just to be put in for sake of furthering the plot and suffering of characters. I felt like I never got to know Oliver and Mina’s personality some what changed near the end of the book and it was really frustrating. A very good premise and i’m sure the author had nothing but the best intent for this but it personally wasn’t for me.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the audiobook arc!

The story was good and it had potentials. But OH MY if the structure wasn't too weak and the details and conversations were too lame! With the kind of trauma Oliver went through since before he was born, it was unbelievable how kinda stable and fine he was! (this part could have used more work and details). But I guess I would give it another chance.

The narrators were cool and both of them delivered the emotions through their voices perfectly, if not the annoying parts were the male voice read Mina's dialogues, and the female voice read Oliver's.

This book just wasn't really the book for me. I can't really pinpoint a reason as to why. The narration was good, but the story itself made me feel a bit disappointed.