Reviews tagging 'Injury/Injury detail'

Stars in Your Eyes by Kacen Callender

7 reviews

vagaybond's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

this was hard to read, emotionally speaking. one of the protagonists is a multiple-times-over CSA survivor and the beginning of the story was a lot of him only for the first time realizing that people are capable of seeing him as something worthy of basic respect. it hits really close to home in a few ways that I don't think are something I want to channel in a book review.

this book is the kind of thing that you might glance over and think well, cute I love the fake relationship trope. but then it hits you with heavy catholic church scale pedophilia trauma and what it means to experience love when you don't have the capability to express or receive it. and how that traumatizes people who care about you and how it pushes people away. and what accountability for that means. and maybe closure.

I think it also just weighs on me a lot as someone who has complicated grief about an ex who met me when I was like that. I always had that sense of unresolve, but this ex died before we could talk again. it hurts and I wish I had the resources for this scale of therapy. it's hard to rate this because of how I feel about my own stuff.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Rape, Biphobia, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Racism, and Medical content

caseythereader's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, Sexual assault, Violence, Child abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Alcohol, Biphobia, Homophobia, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, and Rape

Moderate: Drug use and Racism

amanda_mh's review against another edition

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 💜

---

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

imstephtacular's review against another edition

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

---

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

wilder's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

 3 / 5

Kacen Callender's writing really shines with Stars in Your Eyes. This is a story about trauma, healing, and learning to value yourself as a person. Callender focuses on themes of consent, boundaries, and becoming the person you want to be instead of what your family or society expects you to be.

The story is mostly told through the points of view of Logan and Matt, two Hollywood actors who are co-starring in a gay romcom. Spliced between their chapters are several forms of mixed media that help narrate the story further - YouTube video transcripts, Tweets, interviews - which were pretty interesting and gave some insight into the reactions of the general public as the story progressed. Callender puts a lot of emphasis on the fans and their shows of support (or lack thereof) as the characters hit speed bumps during the movie's filming.

I went into this expecting it to be a romance - its marketed as one, after all. Around the 80% mark I realized it probably shouldn't be advertised as one, at least not as its central focus. I never really felt chemistry with the two protagonists, at least I wasn't totally convinced of it for most of the book. Mental health is really where this book shines, I just wish I could've realized that from the beginning, as I spent a lot of my reading experience waiting to feel invested in the love story.

A lot of time and love went into Logan and Matt's characters, but if it didn't have on page sex scenes (which it does), I think this could've easily been an older YA read. It definitely felt like one to me. This isn't a negative thing, but I prefer romances that feel a little older. Logan and Matt are aged 23 and 25, but many times throughout I'd just assumed they were 18-20. A lot of the themes/messages felt a bit heavy handed too, contributing to that YA feel.

Thank you to NetGalley, Kacen Callender, and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault

Moderate: Alcohol, Sexual assault, Biphobia, Sexual content, and Child abuse

Minor: Cancer, Classism, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical content

kassiereadsbooks's review against another edition

dark emotional sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Physical abuse, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Violence, Addiction, Biphobia, Rape, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, and Suicidal thoughts

shector1's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective relaxing 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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Homophobia, Drug abuse, Biphobia, Drug use, and Abandonment

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Racism, Infidelity, Rape, and Adult/minor relationship