Love and Other Sins

What a rollercoaster of a book! This book has me wanting more and learning more about each character.

Mina and Oliver are the two main characters. Mina is a girl that seems to have it all, her whole life planned out. Until Oliver arrives in town. Oliver has the bad boy image but a dark deep and hurtful past. Once they get to know each other, you keep routing for them.

I did not like how the book ended... But maybe there is a part two coming! Great book all around.

Thank you NetGalley for giving me the audiobook for a review.

Synopsis: Mina's life is going according to plan; she's acing AP Calc and is perfectly content with her nonexistent social life. Though only a high school junior, Mina knows time is an investment, and she's putting all her capital into academics. Oliver, a child abuse survivor who grew up in the foster care system, is ready to burn down his old life and start from scratch-complete with a new name and emancipation papers-in L.A. When the two are thrown together through circumstance and develop an unexpected connection, they discover how hard it is to keep the past in the past.

My thoughts.

Wow WOW wow.

I don’t read many indie authors and this reminds me on why I should. This book was absolutely wonderful.

First, the character development is the absolute best I have ever read. The author took the time to really make sure we knew the important details of the two main characters. I was enthralled by both main characters and every page was better than the last. Mina reminds me of the song Brutal by Olivia Rodrigo.

Now- this book made me feel things. Like emotions that haven’t been unlocked since I was a teen - First real loves, teen angst, social norm being questioned, realizing the world isn’t as nice as we grew up to believe, and overall just being a teenager.

The audiobook is amazing. So worth the download. Both narrators have amazing voices. The female voice was my favorite because she was so soothing.

This a duet novel, so don’t get upset with the cliff hanger, it was stated and you have been warned.

This book is offered free if you have Kindle Unlimited.

I’m am pumped for the second book.

Content warning: sexual assault, recollections of child abuse, discussions of suicidal thoughts, and mention of miscarriage.

There are lots of content warnings, but they are discussed in the blurb and within the book before the prologue. They are in the past but appear pretty vividly at times.

I looooved this book! It pulled my heart in all the ways. The characters all felt alive and their pain was so powerful. Everything was written in a respectful way and I never considered the struggles with mental illness to be ‘faked’ or ‘forced’ like some other YA books. I highly recommend! The audiobook version had a great narrator for the Russian accent and it really sold the mother/daughter relationship and the prejudice experienced by those characters.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review thanks to the publisher through NetGalley.

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.

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.

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.

This book was amazing! First of all, always good with trigger warnings in the beginning, even if it gives some of the story away. I was listening to the audiobook and usually, when I do that, I zone out every once in a while, but not with this book. I was sitting at the endge of my saddle (I was biking while listening to it) with anicipation and I couldn't wait to find out more. The characters were great and especially Oliver really touched my heart. And then the ending. How dare you, Emilia Ares?! I was not expecting it to be a part of a series and I was definitely not prepared for it to end like that. I guess this is the problem with reading ARCS - you have to wait even longer for a sequel!

Mina and Oliver are 2 young adults who have each had their fair share of trauma happen when they were kids. They were classmates when they were younger and reconnect in present day. The chemistry and natural allure they both have for each other is written very convincingly and packs a punch when listening to their deep, inner monologues about the other.

When they finally give into their desires, their relationship is seemingly the thing they need at that time and they’re able to help each other. Throughout the story, Mina and Oliver share their pasts and gives the reader a look into what has shaped their lives. In the end, the relationship is very satisfying for a YA/New Adult book. The books ending is equally a nice set up for the next book and left me saying, “What!?”

This is my 2nd audiobook I’ve listened to, and the first from @netgalley. I really enjoyed my time being able to listen and dig into this new, young adult romance that seemed completely real. Major props to the narrators who blew me away with their devotion to the material and the emotions they gave whilst narrating. Make sure you check trigger warnings as this book talks briefly about sexual assault, miscarriage, violence, suggestive behaviors.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you @netgalley for allowing me to listen to the beautiful book.

I couldn’t put it down when I was reading the ebook ARC and the audiobook is just as good! Both voice talents, Karissa Vacker and Will Collyer, portrayed Mina and Oliver perfectly with such a wise array of emotions.

Here is my review for Love and Other Sins, Thank you to the publisher SERA Press for the ALC in exchange for an honest review.
I couldn’t put it down. I have to know what happens next. When Mina meets Oliver, she loses her mind a bit but that’s exactly what happens sometimes. Mina isn’t a perfect main character at all but that’s what makes her real. And Oliver’s story is absolutely heartbreaking. You’re routing for him from the beginning. That’s partly because he is charming and smart but mostly because you have a clue as to what he has overcome in his life from the start. The author doesn’t use Oliver’s background as some sick secret that she divulges slowly, she warns us right away that his past will not be easy to swallow. But only in the end is the full horror of it fully divulged and fleshed out. Love and Other Sins is not for everyone. But it has this special way of making you feel exactly the way you did when something special was happening in your life: that fluttering in your stomach sensation. It’s an own voice novel about youth and immigration. From what I saw on tiktok, Emilia Ares wrote this right after high school. It’s a fresh and unique perspective full of interesting dialogue, complex dynamics between mother and daughter, and the romance has you pining.

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.

This is quite full on, full of trigger and difficult to address issues.
I do feel these issues have been dealt with well and in the right light.
Nina and Oliver are both complex characters, that were a pleasure to get to know better.
I enjoyed the audiobook, but was gutted it ended on such a cliffhanger. I will have to watch out for the next book in the series..


I voluntarily read and reviewed this book, all thoughts and opinions are my own.