Reviews with content warning for Car accident - Anhelo

“For long seconds . . .”
“*insert place to fly to* on my own power.”
“_____ AF.”
“hella”
“_____. Like, . . ._____” (to say something for the second time, but slightly differently, with more emphasis)
“Nothing to do with _____, and everything to do with _____.” (Most often, the first blank is filled with “Alaska,” or “the cold.”)
“My mouth is/goes desert-dry.”
“FML”
“Freaking”
“Every hair on my body stands up straight.”
“Give myself over to . . .”
“Civil twilight”
“Listing”

+ The chapter titles are really funny and actually pretty good.

~ <slight spoiler> The way two characters said “. . .dr—“ and then corrected themselves while referring to Flint before any reveal. . . .</slight spoiler>

~ VERY predictable:

I was able to say things to my sister (while we were listening and sewing) like, “Watch, it’s Jaxon,” or, “It’s definitely not her uncle.”
<slight spoiler> My sister said to me, “Dragons?” when I told her what I thought the types of paranormal creatures that went to the school would turn out to be because what the FUCK. Of all things? </slight spoiler> I mean, I guess I can’t say it isn’t unique.

+ Some of the quirky quips are entertaining; some were even clever.

+ I did appreciate that Grace was never an NLOG. She probably knew she was very much like other girls.

# How did they release so many books in this series in such a short amount of time?

+ This isn’t a Twilight knockoff. It’s extremely different, though I’m not sure if it’s taken from other supernatural teen franchises.

+ I love Macy. She's truly the best cousin ever. The way she got everything in hot pink for Grace because that was the most recent favorite color she knew of made me do that, for lack of a better phrase, affectionate type of frown.

# Why does Grace say “freaking” so often if the author is clearly fine with using “fuck”?

———

Despite all of this, it’s a guilty pleasure read, I guess. I couldn’t help but laugh — or pause and laugh every few seconds.

Content Warnings

ashleyvharris's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

A fun, romantic vampire story that feels inspired by some of the 2000’s most popular YA series, most obviously, Twilight.

The derivativeness of book 1 is crystal clear, but Wolff never tries to hide that or pretend otherwise. She embraces the role that Twilight has played in her writing by briefly mentioning the book and acknowledges its existence in the world she’s created. Although, I think the execution of this scene isn’t quite smooth enough, I recognize Wolf’s intention.

I enjoyed the characters in Book 1 a lot. Most of them felt well-defined and dynamic. Jaxon Vega clearly a stand out as the tortured anti-hero, the final and additional chapters from his perspective were wonderful and added extra dimension to his character and those particular scenes.

Understanding this is Book 1 of a 4-book series, I couldn’t help but be a little frustrated with the ambiguity of some details. Wolff doesn’t dive into many specifics of how the supernaturals operate within the world she’s building which leaves a lot of gray area for readers. Other details, like
Amka’s note for Flint in the library or Lia and Jackson’s altercation in the gazebo
, are described but never explained.

Overall, the plot isn’t the strongest, but Wolf’s characters make up for much of it with witty dialogue and believable interactions. The real star here, much like in Twilight, is the love story. Grace and Jaxon have chemistry and tension for miles and it’s easy to root for them. I’m looking forward to what plot twists throw their course off track and how they find their way back to one another.

Content Warnings

criticalbooks's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

Content Warnings

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