Reviews tagging 'Religious bigotry'

Stars in Your Eyes by Kacen Callender

14 reviews

bookobsessedmommy's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad 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

4.75

While reading this, I kept thinking "this isn't really a romance", but that's not true. I'm used to light and fluffy romances filled with witty banter, meet cutes, and quirky characters. Matt and Logan's relationship is frequently raw and uncomfortable, and they restle with trauma, anxiety, drug addiction, depression, and that's only the beginning. Their journey is so real that it caught me off guard, but it is still a romance. Not 'realistic' per se, but a heartfelt exploration of pain and suffering and how living happily ever after takes work and sacrifice and patience. The audiobook has a full cast and some mixed media elements, which really brought the story to life. This was an emotional read but beautifully written, and I can't wait to read more from Kacen.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Grief, Addiction, Homophobia, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Child abuse, Biphobia, Suicidal thoughts, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Religious bigotry, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Racism

amanda_mh's review

dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-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

5.0

This book … I took my time with it, I’m glad I did, it had me sobbing throughout almost every chapter. This is my first Kacen Callendar book and I will be reading their other books now. Major and multiple trigger warnings so please check before reading. This is going down as one of my favourite books, some really important messages in this story. So much care went into telling Matt and Logan’s story 💜

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Panic attacks/disorders, Homophobia, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Addiction, Bullying, Cursing, Drug abuse, Rape, Body shaming, Physical abuse, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Biphobia, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Death of parent, Cancer, and Adult/minor relationship

evawondergem's review

dark emotional 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Rape

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Religious bigotry, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Adult/minor relationship

ashtont's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad 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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Self harm, Drug use, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Rape, Panic attacks/disorders, Emotional abuse, Drug abuse, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Adult/minor relationship, and Addiction

Moderate: Homophobia, Religious bigotry, Biphobia, and Toxic relationship

jennp28's review

emotional hopeful 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

5.0

Oh I love love loved this. I binged it in one day. I’ve liked and appreciated Kacen Callendar’s YA books but this one was next level. The characters are not just reduced to tropes, no one magically  fixes another person, and like one character says, there’s no forced happily ever after that feels fake (if temporarily satisfying) in a lighter, more traditional romance. Huge trigger warnings for sure and this will not be for everyone. I cried through the last quarter of the book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape and Child abuse

Moderate: Alcoholism, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Biphobia, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Homophobia, Emotional abuse, Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, and Drug use

Minor: Infidelity, Racism, and Panic attacks/disorders

henriettaenam's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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? Yes

4.0

This was fun and heavy all at once, wholesome I should say 

I'm grateful for the trigger warnings by the author, that was really in place and right 

Some that I discovered 

•  sexual assault/ harassment
•  drugs/sex/violence
•  homophobia/ biophobia
•  suicidal ideation
•  depression
•  cyber bullying
•  parental neglect/ abuse
•  pedophilia

This would have been an easy 5 I loved it from start to finish and those cut in stories were also great but it was really that one traumatic conflict too long
 
Those social media retorts ; brutal !
 
I was fulfilled in the end and I loved how our really bad boy;
 
Logan ( more like disturbed) grew and found his way back to himself and to the really beautiful thing he had with Matt (saviour lol) and yh I must say it was yucks the way his (Matt's) flaw was being too good but we'd take it, haha
 
Thanks libro fm and hachette audio for my ALC, the narration was great too
 
Recommended!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Bullying, Abandonment, Homophobia, Addiction, Self harm, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Religious bigotry, Rape, Pedophilia, and Racial slurs

megelizabeth's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

5.0

"You learned how to live in a world that was harmful to you. Now, it’s time to thank your younger self for helping you survive this long. Now, it’s time to find another way to exist."

I completely and utterly LOVED this book. It's both one of the most traumatic and the most beautiful books I've ever read. While I went into it knowing it deals with really difficult themes - and really appreciated the author's note at the beginning - it still ended up being something which I wasn't quite prepared for and which did have me spiralling a little, so PLEASE do heed the content warnings if you're going to pick this up. However, it ended up, for me, capturing just the right balance between dealing really frankly and honestly with the characters' traumas and still telling a beautiful love story and allowing the characters to grow productively and to experience joy. It plays with the romance genre so, so cleverly and makes incredible points about what we expect of love stories and how, so often, these are unrealistic. We get both Mattie and Logan's points of view and they're both such brilliantly rounded, complex characters and I loved that we get to see them both grow and develop as individuals before they ultimately come together. I absolutely CANNOT recommend this enough (if you're in a good enough place for it) and it has cemented my love for Kacen Callender and his writing.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Biphobia, Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Homophobia, Rape, Sexual violence, Drug abuse, Religious bigotry, and Violence

Moderate: Racism

warlocksarecool21's review against another edition

challenging emotional inspiring 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

3.75

Stars In Your Eyes was a powerful book about trauma and healing. On the surface it seems like it’s going to be a fun celebrity fake-dating romance but it’s a lot more than that. If you go into it just expecting that I think you’ll be disappointed. We follow Mattie and Logan, two actors co-starring in a rom-com. They’re forced to fake date to save the publicity for the movie and of course they start to develop real feelings for one another. Callender takes it a lot further than that, exploring themes of sexual trauma and how that manifests years later, the abuse that is hidden by the film industry and the process of healing and self-recovery. I think Callender handles these ideas very well, especially through Logan’s character development as he realizes he needs to process his previous sexual trauma and how he heals from it. I thought the journey that Mattie and Logan’s relationship went through was very well-done. Callender doesn’t shy away from the fact that while they did love each other, they were hurting one another and both needed to grow/heal in their own way before they could have a healthy relationship. I really liked that aspect, as I think a lot of books try to force a third act breakup and then rush to get the characters back together, but in this book it was very deliberate and meaningful. It anyone is looking for a powerful story about healing and growth, you’ll like this.

The only reason I didn’t rate it higher was because I had some technical issues with the writing style. It might seem overly critical but the only reason I felt that strongly about it was because I thought the writing in Felix Ever After was more resonant than this book. The writing in this book was too simple at times for me, with a lot of the characters feelings being directly told to us. There was a lot of repetition in the characters’ inner monologues that led me to skim certain sections. I still enjoyed the book and I appreciate the commentary and themes. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug use, Violence, Rape, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Drug abuse, Religious bigotry, and Sexual content

Minor: Racism

reviewsandreadathons's review

challenging emotional hopeful reflective fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Addiction, Biphobia, Rape, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Homophobia, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Religious bigotry, and Violence

Moderate: Abandonment and Drug abuse

imstephtacular's review

emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Rape, Mental illness, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Biphobia, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Alcoholism, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Homophobia, Bullying, Violence, Abandonment, Classism, Racism, Drug abuse, and Drug use

Minor: Grief, Medical content, Pedophilia, Ableism, Cancer, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Religious bigotry