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nommie8's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I felt this novel had the makings of a 5 star read however, the writing style felt too "matter-of-fact" if that makes sense? The hopping from character to character in such short spaces also made the story too quick/harsh? in it's delivery.
What let this book down, in my opinion, was the lack of stylistic maturity. I think dedicating each characters story to a 'Part' then weaving them all together in Part 4 would've made for deeper more intimate reading experience.
There is strong story telling and each lead is phenomenal. I will be reading the next book.
What let this book down, in my opinion, was the lack of stylistic maturity. I think dedicating each characters story to a 'Part' then weaving them all together in Part 4 would've made for deeper more intimate reading experience.
There is strong story telling and each lead is phenomenal. I will be reading the next book.
baileyshanice's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
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? It's complicated
3.75
cherryblossomgirl's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
The author is a good writer. However, I just didn't like the decisions these characters kept making. They were so shallow and selfish. It's really quite a depressing read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Racism, Body shaming, Suicide, Classism, Death of parent, Fatphobia, Mental illness, and Death
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Abortion, Deportation, and Gaslighting
deidrelj's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
kiannaamaya's review against another edition
4.0
this book was ambitious but sort of fell flat towards the ending for me. for the most part i was entertained reading this but what i expected was not what i got. there were some great discussions about race in different aspects of our lives (especially as a Black woman of course) so i appreciated that. however, the 3 perspectives weren’t fleshed out the way i expected. the ending was shocking and it quite what i expected from this book based on the tone from 99% of it.
also i have to say the autism commentary (while not hugely discussed in this book) .. not the best. i feel the author should’ve maybe spoken to more autistic people. i had to kind of roll my eyes at that part. i would’ve honestly preferred it not included if she couldn’t handle it properly.
i’m torn between a 3 and 4 star rating so i’ll give it a 4 star (for my appreciation of the effort to make a compelling story about us Black women) but officially my rating is 3.60. i didn’t hate it and thought i would’ve given this 5 stars at the beginning but it just took a turn i didn’t fully enjoy.
also i have to say the autism commentary (while not hugely discussed in this book) .. not the best. i feel the author should’ve maybe spoken to more autistic people. i had to kind of roll my eyes at that part. i would’ve honestly preferred it not included if she couldn’t handle it properly.
i’m torn between a 3 and 4 star rating so i’ll give it a 4 star (for my appreciation of the effort to make a compelling story about us Black women) but officially my rating is 3.60. i didn’t hate it and thought i would’ve given this 5 stars at the beginning but it just took a turn i didn’t fully enjoy.
d_nice_'s review against another edition
Two of the three protagonists are boring and verging on unlikeable. The antagonist is cringe. The idea that he thought it was okay to inundate a woman with flowered because she didn’t say stop AND THEN FLY ACROSS AN OCEAN TO SHOW UP AT HER HOUSE?!?!? I’m not autistic but it seems like an insult to people who are to use the condition to justify such creepy, self-indulgent behavior.
I peeked at some of the reviews on StoryGraph and it doesn’t seem like things get better.
I peeked at some of the reviews on StoryGraph and it doesn’t seem like things get better.
irisel's review against another edition
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
tshepiichuene's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide
sarahmhall's review against another edition
4.0
Things I liked:
- This may be an unpopular opinion idk but I liked that there weren't perfectly wrapped up happy endings. It felt realistic because life doesn't always work out perfectly. I was left speechless at the end and I can't wait for the second book to come out so I can keep reading more of this story.
- I liked that the story shows that your socioeconomic status can't really protect you from racism. Whether you're poor, work very hard and climb your way up the corporate ladder, or end rich af you can't escape racism & the harms that come from way the world perceives you
- The plot twist with Jonny & his interest in Brittany
- I loved how the author's use of foreshadowing
Things I didn't like:
- It just made me sad that Kemi & Brittany didn't become friends, I was rooting for them!
- I wished that Muna's story connected with Kemi/Brittany more.
Note: Such a good and important story about being a black woman existing in white spaces
- This may be an unpopular opinion idk but I liked that there weren't perfectly wrapped up happy endings. It felt realistic because life doesn't always work out perfectly. I was left speechless at the end and I can't wait for the second book to come out so I can keep reading more of this story.
- I liked that the story shows that your socioeconomic status can't really protect you from racism. Whether you're poor, work very hard and climb your way up the corporate ladder, or end rich af you can't escape racism & the harms that come from way the world perceives you
- The plot twist with Jonny & his interest in Brittany
- I loved how the author's use of foreshadowing
Things I didn't like:
- It just made me sad that Kemi & Brittany didn't become friends, I was rooting for them!
- I wished that Muna's story connected with Kemi/Brittany more.
Note: Such a good and important story about being a black woman existing in white spaces
tomilola's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0