Reviews with content warning for Terminal illness - Lemon

i don't know how i feel.... i think i went in with really high expectations and that's why i was so disappointed :( the characters were confusing & it felt really fast-paced for the type of feelings the author wanted to convey. the characters also felt a bit flat to me & i found myself not really caring for them. idk if it was lost in translation or just the set up of the chapters that just made it all around confusing... the ending was so... i don't know. i don't think i would read again :( just wasn't for me:( i can understand why that ending was chosen, especially because this novel is more about processing grief & trauma, but i unfortunately, think it felt short of doing so & i'm not sure if that's bc of how short it is or what...

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tristinrose's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective fast-paced

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

3.25

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mals_reads's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character

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withlivjones's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

An interesting exploration of grief, guilt, and the lasting impact of the death of a teenager on various people who knew her. I thought that the concept was intriguing but I expected it to be a somewhat different book, more of a murder mystery, but instead it focuses much more on the fallout of the murder rather than the murder itself. There are some lines that really pack a punch, and I particularly like the chapters where the narration is in the form of a one-sided conversation as you can get a real sense of character. I wouldn’t say that I really enjoyed this book as I just felt that something was missing from it, but I am glad that I read it nonetheless.

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kcelena's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

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helenamarijke's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

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? It's complicated

4.5

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elskabee's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

I don't think it was until the very end of this short book that I got what I was truly reading about. Don't let the synopsis misguide, this is primarily literary fiction and is about grief and tragedy rather than crime and mystery. For a book so focused on death and loss, it's ultimately bittersweetly hopeful with its emphasis on human connection and continuing to move forward in life.

The complexities of the crime aspect are fascinating at first but quickly become a backdrop to brief but powerful insights into the lives of the character's touched by the tragic death.

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