Scan barcode
arieslofi's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
i'm going to start with a small preface: i do understand why others would like this book. i do understand why people think this is a nice, light, comforting read. it's a no brainer, it's virtually got no stakes whatsoever, it's a ya with a love triangle. it's mindless fun. i get it! i like mindless fun too! good mourning by mgk and mod sun is one of my favorite movies!
that being said: this book is utter shit.
for starters, it's got a larger ensemble than it can possibly handle. you're writing a book for tweens, not the next agatha christie novel! when we got to the twist, i genuinely couldn't care because, with such a big cast, these two characters are virtually meaningless. they hold nothing for me.
speaking of, the characters are all so two dimensional it's not even funny. the amount of internalized misogyny coming from our main character is utterly insane, especially considering this is a book for TEENS(!!!) and came out in 2017. were we not better then? did we genuinely think a good female character shits on others for no reason other than jealousy and insecurity? you guys talk shit about twilight and bella being a "mary sue" but at least she was a girl respecter! the ensemble in general just sucks, it's spread too thin and the silly nicknames for the two brothers just made me sigh. i know this isn't for adults, but it truly did not feel endearing, just childish.
the two love interests are the classic brooding and sarcastic older guy and the sweet and protective same aged friend, which is just boring. nothing about them seemed interesting to me, and their chemistry with sophie was nonexistent. the forced moments of jealous banter were also just cringeworthy, nothing new or even plausible.
the plot itself is... something. it starts as a completely nonthreatening book, then i guess they told the author it wasn't going to sell well, so she had to throw in thriller elements that are boring and uninteresting, and then a thriller ending that is boring and uninteresting.
this also might be because of the translation, but the writing itself was pure garbage. why are there constant cliffhanger endings to the chapters? this isn't goosebumps. why is there constant lampshading that convinces me the author shoehorned the thriller aspects after her editor told her to? why is some of the dialogue so forced and unrealistic? who the fuck is pierre? literally who is that? i never went back to check because that's not my fucking job! it's your job to make me remember a character if you're going to make him be in the twist ending! which was ass, by the way. you can tell it's coming from miles away, and i'm not even a big thriller/mystery reader anymore.
tl;dr: too big of an ensemble, characters that are too shallow, writing that is too juvenile and borderline childish, cringeworthy dialogue and interactions. simply put, a waste of a whole month and space in my phone!
but it wasn't red white and royal blue, so it gets a pass for that. it could be worse!
that being said: this book is utter shit.
for starters, it's got a larger ensemble than it can possibly handle. you're writing a book for tweens, not the next agatha christie novel! when we got to the twist, i genuinely couldn't care because, with such a big cast, these two characters are virtually meaningless. they hold nothing for me.
speaking of, the characters are all so two dimensional it's not even funny. the amount of internalized misogyny coming from our main character is utterly insane, especially considering this is a book for TEENS(!!!) and came out in 2017. were we not better then? did we genuinely think a good female character shits on others for no reason other than jealousy and insecurity? you guys talk shit about twilight and bella being a "mary sue" but at least she was a girl respecter! the ensemble in general just sucks, it's spread too thin and the silly nicknames for the two brothers just made me sigh. i know this isn't for adults, but it truly did not feel endearing, just childish.
the two love interests are the classic brooding and sarcastic older guy and the sweet and protective same aged friend, which is just boring. nothing about them seemed interesting to me, and their chemistry with sophie was nonexistent. the forced moments of jealous banter were also just cringeworthy, nothing new or even plausible.
the plot itself is... something. it starts as a completely nonthreatening book, then i guess they told the author it wasn't going to sell well, so she had to throw in thriller elements that are boring and uninteresting, and then a thriller ending that is boring and uninteresting.
this also might be because of the translation, but the writing itself was pure garbage. why are there constant cliffhanger endings to the chapters? this isn't goosebumps. why is there constant lampshading that convinces me the author shoehorned the thriller aspects after her editor told her to? why is some of the dialogue so forced and unrealistic? who the fuck is pierre? literally who is that? i never went back to check because that's not my fucking job! it's your job to make me remember a character if you're going to make him be in the twist ending! which was ass, by the way. you can tell it's coming from miles away, and i'm not even a big thriller/mystery reader anymore.
tl;dr: too big of an ensemble, characters that are too shallow, writing that is too juvenile and borderline childish, cringeworthy dialogue and interactions. simply put, a waste of a whole month and space in my phone!
but it wasn't red white and royal blue, so it gets a pass for that. it could be worse!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping and Misogyny
Moderate: Incest
annoyedhumanoid's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
let me start with my cover review. all the pieces are there: i love the illustrations, the typeface of the title, the background color. the typeface and color for the author's name aren't my favorite but i don't hate it. my main issue is with the arrangement. like placing the hotel above the title looks wrong. with some repositioning, it could be so good.
and that's also generally how i felt about the actual contents. its plot summary makes for a very good story, but the way it was executed into a 300-page novel was rocky due to an uneven pace. the first 75% is largely uneventful, more slice of life, then the last 25% turns into an intense mystery/thriller. if it's not going to commit to being a slice of life, then i wish it would get to the actual conflict much earlier than three-fourths of the way through. also irritating that the peak climax of the book abruptly ends with "and then i went unconscious" while the day is saved by someone else. all the dissatisfaction of a deus ex machina, compounded by the fact that we don't even get to see it play out in real time, only the recap Sophie gets from others after the fact. and what ever happened with thechandelier falling ? did it lost its relevance to the plot immediately? then what was the point of all that? talk about "some fake moment of suspense that all gets resolved two pages later"…
this is a reread for me. having some recollection (most of it i forgot) plus this time the ebook made it a lot easier to follow, but there were still a few too many characters for me to remember. like Mara Matthäus and Jaromir—they came up again at the end and i had no idea who they were. on my first read, i liked Tristan better than Ben. this time, i started on Ben's side because Tristan's vibes were a little too close to fuckboy for my liking, but at least he's hot and mysterious and anti-imperialist; Ben just becomes possessive and bitter. go home. also it was a little cringe to hear a character say, "I've fallen in love with you"—i know trauma bonding and all but it's been like a week, dial it back. but i have this issue with so much YA romance so maybe it's just me ??
as others have mentioned, the portrayal of women isn't great. Ella, Gretchen, Hortensia, Camilla, Ava, Ariane ("Whatsername"), Mrs. Smirnov/Yegorov , and Mrs. Ludwig are all portrayed negatively, with Fräulein Müller somewhere in the middle. like damn. i don't think Sophie herself had an "i'm not like other girls" mindset, but the writing definitely showed that she was not like other girls and therefore better and more worthy of romance.
and that's also generally how i felt about the actual contents. its plot summary makes for a very good story, but the way it was executed into a 300-page novel was rocky due to an uneven pace. the first 75% is largely uneventful, more slice of life, then the last 25% turns into an intense mystery/thriller. if it's not going to commit to being a slice of life, then i wish it would get to the actual conflict much earlier than three-fourths of the way through. also irritating that the peak climax of the book abruptly ends with "and then i went unconscious" while the day is saved by someone else. all the dissatisfaction of a deus ex machina, compounded by the fact that we don't even get to see it play out in real time, only the recap Sophie gets from others after the fact. and what ever happened with the
this is a reread for me. having some recollection (most of it i forgot) plus this time the ebook made it a lot easier to follow, but there were still a few too many characters for me to remember. like Mara Matthäus and Jaromir—they came up again at the end and i had no idea who they were. on my first read, i liked Tristan better than Ben. this time, i started on Ben's side because Tristan's vibes were a little too close to fuckboy for my liking, but at least he's hot and mysterious and anti-imperialist; Ben just becomes possessive and bitter. go home. also it was a little cringe to hear a character say, "I've fallen in love with you"—i know trauma bonding and all but it's been like a week, dial it back. but i have this issue with so much YA romance so maybe it's just me ??
as others have mentioned, the portrayal of women isn't great. Ella, Gretchen, Hortensia, Camilla, Ava, Ariane ("Whatsername"), Mrs. Smirnov/
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse, Bullying, Confinement, Blood, and Violence
Minor: Cursing, Suicide, Misogyny, Classism, Alcohol, Sexism, and Suicidal thoughts
More...