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fuzzywilson's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Toxic relationship, Ableism, Mental illness, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicide attempt, Vomit, Death, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Medical content, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Body horror, and Cursing
Moderate: Alcohol and Slavery
Minor: Car accident and Abandonment
booksafety's review
5.0
Book safety, tropes and tags down below.
I'm struggling with finding the words to describe this book, as it's unlike anything I've read before, I think. It's a mixture of mental health, mental illness and the paranormal. Struggling alongside Scott and trying to figure out if what he sees and hears is a result of his schizophrenia, or if it's ghosts, or if it's just reality was very unsettling at times.
"You belong in a cell like that,” Finch said, and Scott flinched, looking up into the other man's face with a pit in his stomach. “What?” he whispered. Finch tilted his head at him. “I said, 'are you up for a road trip?' It's about an hour drive."
Also, the way some of the spirits are described gave me legit goosebumps because it was so creepy. I loved it.
What made it difficult to read however, was the descriptions of Scott's depression and struggle with mental health and mental illness. You can tell the author either has personal experience or consulted with someone who does, because it was all very real, and I imagine I'm not the only person that will be able to recognize a lot of what this character thought and felt.
"[...] Scott resigned himself to spending the afternoon pretending he was going to do the laundry. In reality, he took a nap, put on a movie on Netflix, then counted the odd numbers from 511 up to 627 and backwards by threes to distract himself from the thought of swallowing all of his remaining pills."
"What was the point of so much medication, of therapy, of feeling nothing and wanting nothing and fighting to sleep at night just so that he could wake up ready for bed again?"
The book doesn't pull it's punches when it comes to describing what it's like to live with depression and taking anti-depressants, among other medications. Scott struggles with keeping both himself and his living space clean. He can't sleep, but he can't focus on other things either. He's unmotivated, and his eventual sex life is almost ruined by the medication he's on. It's all very real and not at all prettied up for the reader. I enjoyed the snippets we got of his therapy sessions with his doctor.
Scott's mother never realized/ignored his symptoms of schizophrenia and refused to get him help. She used him for seanses and psychic 'stuff' (for lack of a better word) basically from the time he was able to. Let me tell you, this lady is a real piece of work. Spoiler -> My god, the way she messed with Scott's head and tried to convince him that he wasn't sick at all, that his psychiatrist and friends just didn’t understand... I almost had an aneurism from the anger this lady brought out in me.
I haven't even mentioned Scott's love interest yet: Finch. This book is very much centered around Scott, but I enjoyed Finch's character as well. He was relatively uncomplicated, which I think was necessary, honestly. Everything else that happens and Scott's struggles was more than enough. That's not to say that Finch's character was flat or uninteresting, he just didn't take center stage until very late in the book when we needed him.
If you, like me, enjoy reading about characters with a mental illness, or ones that are struggling with their mental health in any way, I feel like this is a must-read. The paranormal aspect was very interesting too, and is what makes the book extra unique. If both of these things pique your interest? You have to give it a try.
I'm giving it 5 stars, but there was a couple of things that bothered me. Scott is referred to as 'the brunette' what felt like a thousand times. It threw me off the first couple of times, but eventually it just felt bizarre. The second thing was the changing perspectives. I love dual POV, but I was confused several times while reading, because there was no clear markation or indication as to who's POV it was, or when it was changing, which it did in the middle of chapters, often several times.
Book safety
Cheating: No
OM drama: No
Third-act breakup: Yes
POV: 3rd person, dual
Genre: Paranormal romance, M/M
Strict top/bottom or vers: Strict roles
Pages: 267
TW/CW
Mentions of past suicide attempt
Suicidal ideation
Mental illness
Hallucinations
Medication
Schizophrenia
Struggling with reaching climax
Abusive parent
Mentions of past stay at mental institute/ward
Past physical coercion (medication)
Depression
Graphic descriptions of injuries
Explicit sexual content
Tropes & tags
Mental health
Psychic
Medium
Ghost-whisperer
Schizophrenia
Librarian
Musician
Hurt/comfort
Found family
Paranormal
Slow burn
Push and pull
Virgin MC
"'They named me Finch River Glen and then had the nerve to be pissed when they caught me smoking weed.'"
"[...] a kiss was so, so low on the list of things he ever expected to happen to him."
"He went through his regular routine of work, doctor, and shopping simply because that desperate little bit of stability kept him from killing himself."
I'm struggling with finding the words to describe this book, as it's unlike anything I've read before, I think. It's a mixture of mental health, mental illness and the paranormal. Struggling alongside Scott and trying to figure out if what he sees and hears is a result of his schizophrenia, or if it's ghosts, or if it's just reality was very unsettling at times.
"You belong in a cell like that,” Finch said, and Scott flinched, looking up into the other man's face with a pit in his stomach. “What?” he whispered. Finch tilted his head at him. “I said, 'are you up for a road trip?' It's about an hour drive."
Also, the way some of the spirits are described gave me legit goosebumps because it was so creepy. I loved it.
What made it difficult to read however, was the descriptions of Scott's depression and struggle with mental health and mental illness. You can tell the author either has personal experience or consulted with someone who does, because it was all very real, and I imagine I'm not the only person that will be able to recognize a lot of what this character thought and felt.
"[...] Scott resigned himself to spending the afternoon pretending he was going to do the laundry. In reality, he took a nap, put on a movie on Netflix, then counted the odd numbers from 511 up to 627 and backwards by threes to distract himself from the thought of swallowing all of his remaining pills."
"What was the point of so much medication, of therapy, of feeling nothing and wanting nothing and fighting to sleep at night just so that he could wake up ready for bed again?"
The book doesn't pull it's punches when it comes to describing what it's like to live with depression and taking anti-depressants, among other medications. Scott struggles with keeping both himself and his living space clean. He can't sleep, but he can't focus on other things either. He's unmotivated, and his eventual sex life is almost ruined by the medication he's on. It's all very real and not at all prettied up for the reader. I enjoyed the snippets we got of his therapy sessions with his doctor.
Scott's mother never realized/ignored his symptoms of schizophrenia and refused to get him help. She used him for seanses and psychic 'stuff' (for lack of a better word) basically from the time he was able to. Let me tell you, this lady is a real piece of work. Spoiler -> My god, the way she messed with Scott's head and tried to convince him that he wasn't sick at all, that his psychiatrist and friends just didn’t understand... I almost had an aneurism from the anger this lady brought out in me.
I haven't even mentioned Scott's love interest yet: Finch. This book is very much centered around Scott, but I enjoyed Finch's character as well. He was relatively uncomplicated, which I think was necessary, honestly. Everything else that happens and Scott's struggles was more than enough. That's not to say that Finch's character was flat or uninteresting, he just didn't take center stage until very late in the book when we needed him.
If you, like me, enjoy reading about characters with a mental illness, or ones that are struggling with their mental health in any way, I feel like this is a must-read. The paranormal aspect was very interesting too, and is what makes the book extra unique. If both of these things pique your interest? You have to give it a try.
I'm giving it 5 stars, but there was a couple of things that bothered me. Scott is referred to as 'the brunette' what felt like a thousand times. It threw me off the first couple of times, but eventually it just felt bizarre. The second thing was the changing perspectives. I love dual POV, but I was confused several times while reading, because there was no clear markation or indication as to who's POV it was, or when it was changing, which it did in the middle of chapters, often several times.
Book safety
Cheating: No
OM drama: No
Third-act breakup: Yes
POV: 3rd person, dual
Genre: Paranormal romance, M/M
Strict top/bottom or vers: Strict roles
Pages: 267
TW/CW
Mentions of past suicide attempt
Suicidal ideation
Mental illness
Hallucinations
Medication
Schizophrenia
Struggling with reaching climax
Abusive parent
Mentions of past stay at mental institute/ward
Past physical coercion (medication)
Depression
Graphic descriptions of injuries
Explicit sexual content
Tropes & tags
Mental health
Psychic
Medium
Ghost-whisperer
Schizophrenia
Librarian
Musician
Hurt/comfort
Found family
Paranormal
Slow burn
Push and pull
Virgin MC
"'They named me Finch River Glen and then had the nerve to be pissed when they caught me smoking weed.'"
"[...] a kiss was so, so low on the list of things he ever expected to happen to him."
"He went through his regular routine of work, doctor, and shopping simply because that desperate little bit of stability kept him from killing himself."
mschaeff's review
5.0
This book was so freaking unique and charming. It's a thoughtful take on mental illness and its impact on relationships, with two fundamentally decent characters who take care of each other and work through their challenges with kindness and compassion. It also has some PHENOMENALLY creepy ghosts - I slept with the lights on after this one - that were super amazing. (Honestly, I would completely read a sequel that was just ghost hunting.) Highly recommended.
emster52's review against another edition
emotional
2.75
I wanted to love this so much more than I did. 😕
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