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kaiyakaiyo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Opal was a funny as shit protagonist, and Arthur was so sad and pathetic in a very cute way. I love when men are described as ugly and annoying at first sight but by the end of the book your heart is like vVvVvV. do you get me
I also loved the narrative style; things were kept from Opal, but not from the reader; Arthur’s chapters were deliciously revealing while Opal still went 100mph towards answers. Loved it.
Jasper was sweet and made my older sister heart grow 3 sizes. your baby brother that you spent so long protecting becoming a protector in his own right is so !!! the sibling relationship was everything
Eleanor… my unhinged queen and ally white woman… incredible work
the funky little lesbians also made my day, Opal being the most oblivious straight to ever het only added to her charm lmao
10/10 read, buying this is print but thank you to BCPL for the ebook <3
Graphic: Death and Death of parent
Moderate: Alcoholism, Slavery, Car accident, Alcohol, Blood, Incest, Adult/minor relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Sexual assault, and Misogyny
Minor: Xenophobia and Racism
pineapplebunnies's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Gorgeous writing. I literally wanted to live in the world, drink in the atmosphere of it all. I haven’t felt so attached to characters in a while but I loved Opal and Arthur and Jasper and Charlotte!! And Bev. Bev deserves a mention. The structure of the novel and interludes of footnotes and articles were so unique and really made the book feel like a work of art. And the character arcs were truly satisfying. Knocking a few points off because the ending (I feel like this is a common theme for me) felt a bit anticlimactic and tied up a bit too neatly.
Opal x Arthur forever!!! Love that the book also made sure to mention how ugly they both were lmao . Give us conventionally unattractive people some romantic hope
Moderate: Car accident and Grief
Minor: Incest, Violence, and Slavery
lianaet's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
And weirdly in the nature of this book, that just makes sense.
The unsettling vibes of the writing were amazing and just sucked me right in all the way through. It felt slow to progress but never in a bad way. And Opal as a flawed woman protagonist was an amazing character.
Graphic: Death of parent and Violence
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Death, and Slavery
Minor: Vomit and Incest
vaguelyredhead's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Grief, Car accident, and Death of parent
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Racism, and Blood
Minor: Incest, Sexual content, and Slavery
szuum's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death of parent, Car accident, Grief, Death, and Classism
Moderate: Misogyny, Incest, Sexual content, and Racism
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Slavery
lue_moon's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
It also is not a perfect book and I'm sure not for everyone. It does have a slow build, some characters that I viciously hated (rightfully so), some potential plot holes, and a couple things left unanswered or that I wish got to be expanded upon. And still something about it struck a chord with me.
Graphic: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Car accident, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Classism and Racism
Minor: Incest and Slavery
mpbookreviews's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Moderate: Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Death of parent, Sexual content, Death, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, and Slavery
hannnah_besss's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Death of parent and Racism
Moderate: Slavery and Incest
ksilvio's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Car accident, and Blood
Moderate: Vomit and Slavery
Minor: Racism
livlamentloathe's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I also wanted more of the book to touch on the racism Jasper faced in Eden. I wanted Jasper to better scold Opal for the way she ignored about that part of him. She made a comment later on that alluded to her getting it in part. But she also definitely was very forgetful of his race. The book itself barely even acknowledged his race. It took until the middle of the book for me to determine his ethnicity - maybe that's my bad and I missed an early tell. But I think overall, this book wanted to hide details and it didn't always handle that well. It would be evasive and add extra page time instead of being a bit more upfront about things. Maybe that was purposeful too with Opal's personality. But it felt like it was just trying too hard.
The premise felt like a cross between The Hazel Wood and Book of Night. I thought it was meant to be horror, but it wasn't horror so much as gothic. More of a magical realism/low fantasy romance. This book could've been great but I think it needed further editing and less evasive plot points. I get it. Most details were meant for "reveals" later but it became excessive when I got lost wondering what the point of the book was. Or what was going on period.
P.S. I'd have loved more of a violent ending for the Gravely family and Elizabeth Bane.
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Blood, and Classism
Moderate: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Car accident, Stalking, Slavery, Racism, Sexism, Alcoholism, Bullying, Violence, Grief, and Police brutality
Minor: Homophobia, Hate crime, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Incest, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, and Animal death