Reviews with content warning for Biphobia - Rise to the Sun

This was so cute! Loved this face-paced sweet read. Olivia was definitely my favorite character and I so appreciated the author's representation of the complexities of her personality. I related to her a lot and I just loved how she talked about her feelings. I also loved the honesty that was so apparent in this books representation of PTSD, sexual assault/revenge porn, and abandonment issues. It is hard to unpack all of those things in a book that only takes place over 3 days, but Johnson totally did it well. I also loved Peter's character, he was so lovable and goofy.

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elmasbooks's review

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hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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lqvekanej's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful fast-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? It's complicated

3.75

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erikawynn's review

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adventurous hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I loved You Should See Me in a Crown but insta-love storylines are really not for me! I feel like it would have been stronger if Olivia and Toni remained broken up and Olivia realized she needs to learn to take romantic relationships more slowly and not take her friends for granted .

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rynstagram's review

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3.75

*review based on an ARC

A Black Girl Magic, queer love story at a music festival... aka an amazing recipe for a rom-com! I guess it wasn't super funny, but it has the feel of a rom-com.

This book had a slow start but I was crying by the end. (Good crying, though.) Toni and Olivia are so well-written that I didn't even have a favorite narrator, which is hard to do when a book has multiple narrators. The concept of the Farmland Music and Arts Festival was really well thought out and added so many layers to the story; it was the perfect venue for this romance to blossom! (Okay, sorry, I'm being a little cheesy. But rom-coms are supposed to be cheesy, right?)

A great example of how having a crush on someone doesn't have to ruin your friendship with them, how friendships and people change but that's okay, how apologizing is sometimes enough and sometimes not enough. There are some heavy topics in here, but--with incredible finesse--Leah Johnson weaves them together with the lighter and more fun parts of the narrative.

I did sometimes feel like the characters' thoughts were a bit too on-the-nose, like they were telling us verbatim what we should be getting out of a scene or moment rather than just letting us feel it. It doesn't bother me when this is done once or twice, but towards the end, there were so many moments like this that it detracted from what was happening and slowed things down more than they needed to be.

Peter was such a great character, too. He was like a puppy dog person and just the best dude ever. Everyone needs a Peter in their life to force them to look on the bright side! Plus, his random US president facts were always delightful. Peter could fit in with the characters of a John Green book easily.

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_forestofpages's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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amabel_xo's review

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adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

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

3.75

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delz's review

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adventurous emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

Rise to the Sun is a sweet story that takes place at a weekend long concert, Farmland Music & Arts Festival. Olivia drags her best friend, Imani for the weekend to get away from a decision she needs to make, back home, but she simply wants to forget. Toni has been coming to the festival most of her life, but since tragedy struck her family she wasn’t sure coming was the right decision. Toni brings her best friend Peter, he’s been the only person she’s let into her life for a while, until she meets Olivia. Olivia has secrets, Toni has secrets, but they just might learn to trust each other. The entire story takes place in one weekend, woven around a music festival. It’s sweaty and dirty, it’s loud and colorful and it romanticizes the experience of being in a shared space, with a love of music along with thousands of other people. You kind of live vicariously through the characters enjoying live, large concerts.

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