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caitlinwoodington's review
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
I would have DNFed this had it not been a book club pick for a book club I have not attended before (had I attended before I would have DNFed). First of all I do not enjoy books that are described as one thing, but are actually about something else. This is described as a love story. However, the majority of the book is the back stories of the main characters plus their parents. And the portion where the main characters are together just sounds like some people who have been randomly hookup up now forced together by COVID. The book reads like vignettes and honestly feels really disjoined.
My biggest issue with the book is how sexually explicit it is. I read a lot of open door romances with no issues, but this felt uncomfortable, bordering on forcing voyeurism. It was gratuitous and unnecessary.
I also felt the way disabilities are portrayed and rape were handled poorly.
I thought I was getting a love story about two people from different religious backgrounds. But this is not it.
My biggest issue with the book is how sexually explicit it is. I read a lot of open door romances with no issues, but this felt uncomfortable, bordering on forcing voyeurism. It was gratuitous and unnecessary.
I also felt the way disabilities are portrayed and rape were handled poorly.
I thought I was getting a love story about two people from different religious backgrounds. But this is not it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Rape, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Ableism, Cursing, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Infidelity and Racism
erickaonpaper's review
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
slow-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? Yes
3.75
if you are interested in deep dives of characters, this is the one for you! you are quite literally taken on a journey of both maristela/stela and fly's ancestry and the loves of those peoples' lives. the only thing that messed this up for me is the ending! it left me a little unclear and am unsure of the plot device (covid-related, so also still working through how that was applied for this story). otherwise, i surprisingly really enjoyed this slow and introspective exploration of the characters' lives!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Abandonment
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