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Reviews tagging 'Blood'

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

672 reviews

hagwife's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring tense 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

4.75

Cemetery Boys undeniably centers on Latinx and LGBTQ+ voices and amplifies those voices in a beautifully intense and wickedly fun supernatural mystery. This book contains such warmth, such love for the people and lives it represents; Thomas masterfully navigates all of the joys, sorrows, and tensions that come with family, culture, and personal identity.
 
I actually don't want to say any more about it because I just want people to read it, to meet Yads, Jules, and Itza and share in their stories. 
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sabrinamari's review against another edition

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challenging inspiring mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.0

Loved it! So beautiful to read a romance between two lovely people who show themselves exactly how they are. I also love that this is set in a Latinx/Latino community, and that it centers on a priesthood of Santa Muerte.
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kickitupanotch7's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.75

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briannagriffin567's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective tense medium-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

I would give this book all the stars if I could. I rarely write a review, but want to remember how perfect I thought this book was. It was beautiful, funny, touching, and overall so much more than I thought it would be when I picked it up to read on a whim.
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bree_h_reads's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

I really wanted to like this book. And I had enjoyed it for the most part until the very end, which is why I think this feels so disappointing.

I thought the book had a pretty strong intro. It established the world effectively and did so in a way non-Latin readers could understand. I had a quick grasp on relationships and dynamics. I think the book ended up being a bit heavy handed in foreshadowing with this establishment of the world, but I still appreciated it and that there was foreshadowing.

I also really liked the complexity in the family dynamics. It didn’t feel like Yadriel’s family was villainised for not fully understanding him. It was upsetting, you understood Yadriel’s pain, and (at least with his father) you felt like he was TRYING. And when Yadriel revealed he had become a brujo how PROUD he was of Yadriel. It felt realistic and I appreciated that aspect. This also leant well to the story being told of Yadriel’s struggle as a trans teen, which was compelling and provided such great insight into what trans teens go through in trying to find comfort in their own body.

The biggest issue I had with the book was the romance. I had such a hard time buying into it, especially considering how short of a time the book takes place over. When it did fully turn to romance it felt sudden and like the story hadn’t properly built to it. I felt the book would have been better if it had been about forming a friendship instead of a romance. Especially considering how isolated Yadriel felt as the only noted “friends” outside his family were his cousin’s friends. This was only emphasised when in the ending there was a dramatic declaration that the Julian had feelings for Yadriel and all I could think of was the Sassy Gay Friend video for Romeo and Juliet. I had a couple other issues with the end, but they’re spoilers so I’ll refrain from sharing them.

Overall a book with a strong start that fumbled the ending.
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river23's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional inspiring mysterious 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

4.75

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sp00ky_girl28's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional funny inspiring mysterious medium-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

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zydecovivo's review

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-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? No

5.0

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withlivjones's review against another edition

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emotional funny sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

I loved the celebration of Latin American culture in this book, and I learned a lot. Yadriel is a great protagonist who is very easy to root for, and the romance between him and Julian was very sweet. I was expecting Julian to be a little more brooding and standoffish since he’s immediately described as a “bad boy”, but I ended up quite enjoying his golden retriever boy personality. I also felt like the ending was a little rushed in terms of pace, considering the first half of the book was pretty slow-paced.
I also thought that the ending was a little too tidy and happy? Idk, Yadriel being able to bring everyone back like nothing had happened and surviving doesn’t sit quite right with me.
Overall, though, I really enjoyed this! 
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billiekate's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

This was so cute. Definitely a teen novel, but it got me to giggle at the romance as an adult. Loved to see a trans Latinx boy as a main character & the romantic interest having no problem with that. The main tension in the story is the murder mystery, not the trans identity of the main character. Which I love.

I will say like 2/3 of the book is gay longing and 1/3 is plot/action. So the pacing was a little off for me, but I was encouraged to keep reading & I'm glad I did!
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