Scan barcode
bree_h_reads's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
This was a little bit of a disappointing read. I had really high hopes for a sapphic vampire story, but just felt it fell short in a lot of aspects.
To start, there were some aspects I enjoyed. The world building felt solid and pretty realistic, which can be hard to do in urban fantasy settings with trying to balance the supernatural world in a way that feels realistic to the real world. I also thought some of the less touched ideas that were handled subtly were really well done. Specifically Kat and dealing with people’s sense of entitlement to hot people. There was also a really solid exploration of comp het in Kat’s development and discovery of her sexuality. Kat’s journey in sorting out her sexuality also felt ready well done and relatable.
Outside of that though, the book kept falling short. I think the book’s themes could have been handled well, but we were constantly being whacked over the head with them. It felt like someone who didn’t really get the topics the book was exploring was trying to explain them. It’s being shoved down your throat that discovering your sexuality is a journey and you aren’t entitled to know things about people, but then punishes/shames characters for being on that journey and/or not having the support systems to safely explore that.
On top of that I found every character pretty unlikable. I want characters to have flaws and blind spots, however there’s also only so much I can deal with before I decide the character’s just not a good person. Which is what I felt like every character fell into. Entitlement to know someone’s sexuality who you haven’t seen in three years, putting down more fem girls for being fem and not masc, ignoring boundaries setup by other characters (especially in the romance), and thinking someone is faking a panic attack for attention who has never displayed that kind of behaviour are just a few examples.
The final biggest issue is a really weak plot and ending. The book spent its entire run meandering about, occasionally dropping crumbs of plot, and then speed ran the entire plot in the last 25% or so. It just felt poorly done. Pair that with a poorly thought out ending (they took down the Big Bad Evil Conservative Capitalist and suddenly everyone everywhere was super accepting and no more bigotry happened) just mixed so well together to make the plot feel as flimsy as a piece of single-ply.
Overall it had a lot of potential and could have handled its complex themes in a nuanced, subtle way. However, it just ends up feeling like the author bit off more than she could chew.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Bullying, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Classism, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Cursing, Chronic illness, Misogyny, Death, Murder, and Sexism
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, Death of parent, Rape, and Sexual assault
lunep's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Alcohol, Blood, Cursing, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Death of parent, Grief, Murder, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Classism, Colonisation, Infertility, Racism, Sexual content, Suicide, and Violence
ezwolf's review
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.5
To be completely honest I read this because of the controversy it gained on BookTok and I wanted to read it for myself so I borrowed it from the library. I don't think it was as discriminatory as people made it out to be, but I also wouldn't recommend this to anyone.
The plot seemed to just be "high school but with vampires" for a good chunk of the book and when it did finally introduce other plot points it left them unresolved.
This book is told from Kat and Taylor's POVs and I disliked both of them. I didn't really like anyone in the book. I don't know if that's because I'm older and they're very teenager-y or if they were actually unlikable. Taylor suffered from "I'm not like other girls" syndrome and Kat came off borderline homophobic for a good chunk of the book. Also both of them were white but the narrative pushed very hard to show us how they were the only (or some of the only) vampires who cared about diversity and equality and yet the only characters that were not white were one of the mean girls who bullied both Taylor and Kat and the popular rich boy who was unaware of rich vampire privilege.
Also Galen's parent's whole backstory???
The plot seemed to just be "high school but with vampires" for a good chunk of the book and when it did finally introduce other plot points it left them unresolved.
This book is told from Kat and Taylor's POVs and I disliked both of them. I didn't really like anyone in the book. I don't know if that's because I'm older and they're very teenager-y or if they were actually unlikable. Taylor suffered from "I'm not like other girls" syndrome and Kat came off borderline homophobic for a good chunk of the book. Also both of them were white but the narrative pushed very hard to show us how they were the only (or some of the only) vampires who cared about diversity and equality and yet the only characters that were not white were one of the mean girls who bullied both Taylor and Kat and the popular rich boy who was unaware of rich vampire privilege.
Also Galen's parent's whole backstory???
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Blood, Toxic relationship, Classism, Death, and Homophobia
Moderate: Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Sexual content, Racism, and Lesbophobia
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Infertility, and Cursing
bubbly_lara's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-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? No
4.0
What a fun read! After having watched Netflix's "First Kill", I was in the mood for more vampire stories and had seen this on Bookstagram.
And it did not disappoint! Was the plot predictable? A little - but that did not take away one single bit of the enjoyment :) plus I'm not the original target audience. I immensely enjoyed this read and would recommend it to anyone who'd interested in a vampire story set at an elite boarding school, with a murder mystery to solve and a childhood-friends-to-enemies-to-lovers storyline.
And it did not disappoint! Was the plot predictable? A little - but that did not take away one single bit of the enjoyment :) plus I'm not the original target audience. I immensely enjoyed this read and would recommend it to anyone who'd interested in a vampire story set at an elite boarding school, with a murder mystery to solve and a childhood-friends-to-enemies-to-lovers storyline.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Stalking, Sexual content, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Racism, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Death of parent, Classism, Blood, Bullying, and Alcohol
Minor: Colonisation, Domestic abuse, War, and Child death
More...