Scan barcode
rlisaacs's review
4.0
I don't think I can even begin to properly explain how much I loved this book. Which is strange for me, cause it was filled with angst and tears and... AH!!! It took me a bit to read the first one. This one? Nuh-uh. No way. I had to know what happened next. I HAD TO KNOW!
I'm going to try not and not be too spoilery... but you guys who read my reviews know me, and those who haven't before, you are officially warned. Potential spoilers ahead. If you don't want to risk it, just know that, even though there were considerably less romantic moments in this one then the first one, I still ended up loving it better. Johnny and Maggie?! AH! I love them!
-
-
-
-
-
-
For those wanting to brave potential spoilers, here we go. From the very beginning, I knew I wasn't going to be able to stop and put the book down. We figure out something very big at the beginning. Something that, while I almost expected it, broke my heart to find out was true.
Maggie and Johnny both go through a lot in this book, but I feel the most for Maggie. I think that's the romantic in me hating how much she was hurting because of what had taken place. I absolutely love her for how she handled everything and how she never abandoned Johnny, even when he pissed her off. At the same time, I did feel for Johnny too. For his confusion and his just utterly being lost now that he wasn't in his own time.
Roger Carlton proves to be an even bigger ass than we originally thought in this book. There's a darkness about him that I would've liked to seen expanded upon in this book. Maybe it was just him. Maybe he was just a wicked person and that's all it was. But Maggie and Lizzie both made it seem like it was somehow more, and I would've liked that explained better. But in the end, all you really need to know is that Roger is a A-grade asshole, a demon in his own evil right, and I am glad he ended up the way he did. (That is probably terrible of me in some way, but I can't help it.)
Shad... I still don't like Shad. Ugh, talk about annoying. It's like he thinks he has some right still to lay a claim on Maggie when he has absolutely none whatsoever. For all that I disliked him though... it was like he just vanished after a certain point. Like he was there in his small way until fifty or sixty percent of the book, and then we never see him again. And I know I'm annoyed with him and not his biggest fan, but I was rather hoping I'd get to see him pull his head out of his ass and grow up a little. We don't see that. We don't see him again at all after a certain point. He's not even brought up in the epilogue to tell us what might've happened with him, and this bothers me a little.
Also... I think I would've preferred if the epilogue had been longer. If we'd gotten to see more of Maggie and Johnny after that near tragedy in the Cadillac at the burnt down school. I wanted more about what happened, where they ended up, how they were doing now. The book briefly explains what changes and what stays the same after that whole episode there at the end, but it doesn't really fill us in on how it looks like the future is going to unfold, and I wanted that. I wanted more of an idea of where these two were headed.
For all my complaints though, I loved my time spent with this book. It'll tug at your heartstrings. It'll make you think you know what's going on, and you might even be almost right. But Amy Harmon manages to keep enough mystery throughout this entire book that, for all that I knew how and when certain things might happen, I could never guess everything. And the things I couldn't guess had me gasping, had me panicking, and had me wanting to throw my kindle across the room for fear that if I kept reading I'd start crying. I was constantly on the verge of wanting to write a strongly worded letter to Amy Harmon, letting her know that if she ripped my heart out at any point here in this book, I would come find her and it would not be pretty. (I'm kidding... kind of.)
There is so much heartache and sadness here, but also so much joy and laughter. So much love and understanding. I loved it. I will be adding more of this author's books to my to-read list. This was time well spent, and I have no regrets.
I'm going to try not and not be too spoilery... but you guys who read my reviews know me, and those who haven't before, you are officially warned. Potential spoilers ahead. If you don't want to risk it, just know that, even though there were considerably less romantic moments in this one then the first one, I still ended up loving it better. Johnny and Maggie?! AH! I love them!
-
-
-
-
-
-
For those wanting to brave potential spoilers, here we go. From the very beginning, I knew I wasn't going to be able to stop and put the book down. We figure out something very big at the beginning. Something that, while I almost expected it, broke my heart to find out was true.
Spoiler
If you want to know, when Johnny does finally wake up... he has no memory of Maggie. No memory of Purgatory or their time together. The last fifty-three years he spent as... whatever he was... it's just gone for him. He remembers none of it.Maggie and Johnny both go through a lot in this book, but I feel the most for Maggie. I think that's the romantic in me hating how much she was hurting because of what had taken place. I absolutely love her for how she handled everything and how she never abandoned Johnny, even when he pissed her off. At the same time, I did feel for Johnny too. For his confusion and his just utterly being lost now that he wasn't in his own time.
Roger Carlton proves to be an even bigger ass than we originally thought in this book. There's a darkness about him that I would've liked to seen expanded upon in this book. Maybe it was just him. Maybe he was just a wicked person and that's all it was. But Maggie and Lizzie both made it seem like it was somehow more, and I would've liked that explained better. But in the end, all you really need to know is that Roger is a A-grade asshole, a demon in his own evil right, and I am glad he ended up the way he did. (That is probably terrible of me in some way, but I can't help it.)
Shad... I still don't like Shad. Ugh, talk about annoying. It's like he thinks he has some right still to lay a claim on Maggie when he has absolutely none whatsoever. For all that I disliked him though... it was like he just vanished after a certain point. Like he was there in his small way until fifty or sixty percent of the book, and then we never see him again. And I know I'm annoyed with him and not his biggest fan, but I was rather hoping I'd get to see him pull his head out of his ass and grow up a little. We don't see that. We don't see him again at all after a certain point. He's not even brought up in the epilogue to tell us what might've happened with him, and this bothers me a little.
Also... I think I would've preferred if the epilogue had been longer. If we'd gotten to see more of Maggie and Johnny after that near tragedy in the Cadillac at the burnt down school. I wanted more about what happened, where they ended up, how they were doing now. The book briefly explains what changes and what stays the same after that whole episode there at the end, but it doesn't really fill us in on how it looks like the future is going to unfold, and I wanted that. I wanted more of an idea of where these two were headed.
For all my complaints though, I loved my time spent with this book. It'll tug at your heartstrings. It'll make you think you know what's going on, and you might even be almost right. But Amy Harmon manages to keep enough mystery throughout this entire book that, for all that I knew how and when certain things might happen, I could never guess everything. And the things I couldn't guess had me gasping, had me panicking, and had me wanting to throw my kindle across the room for fear that if I kept reading I'd start crying. I was constantly on the verge of wanting to write a strongly worded letter to Amy Harmon, letting her know that if she ripped my heart out at any point here in this book, I would come find her and it would not be pretty. (I'm kidding... kind of.)
There is so much heartache and sadness here, but also so much joy and laughter. So much love and understanding. I loved it. I will be adding more of this author's books to my to-read list. This was time well spent, and I have no regrets.
silver_and_vengeance's review against another edition
5.0
I loved the sequel to [b:Slow Dance in Purgatory|17412073|Slow Dance in Purgatory (Purgatory, #1)|Amy Harmon|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1361723165s/17412073.jpg|19243068] almost as much as I loved the first book. It definitely made my All-Time-Faves list.
karinanne's review
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
browneyedbookworm's review against another edition
hopeful
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
decima_blanc's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
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? Yes
4.5
saminseattle's review against another edition
3.0
Not 5 stars simply because I HATE the lost memory trope
midnightmomreader's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-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? Yes
4.5
saradavcamp's review against another edition
5.0
I would have given it four stars right after reading it, but after thinking about it some and figuring things out in my head and re-reading a couple parts, I now give it 5 stars.
There are many parts in this book where you go--oh no! Now it will never work out. They're such star-crossed lovers.
It is like reading Twilight in that they are two people who shouldn't be in love and probably can't make it work, but they're both strong characters who fight for their love and against all odds, make it happen. She even makes a reference to the Twilight series during the first book. Anyhow, it's fabulous and I thoroughly enjoyed the two books.
There are many parts in this book where you go--oh no! Now it will never work out. They're such star-crossed lovers.
It is like reading Twilight in that they are two people who shouldn't be in love and probably can't make it work, but they're both strong characters who fight for their love and against all odds, make it happen. She even makes a reference to the Twilight series during the first book. Anyhow, it's fabulous and I thoroughly enjoyed the two books.