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nikereadsbooks's review against another edition
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
3.5
Many thanks to the author for an ARC in exchange for a review.
There were so many things I liked about this book, but unfortunately I didn't completely enjoy the story as a whole.
The friendship between Laurel, Mary-Jo and Emma was definitely one of the highlights of the book. It was just wonderful to see them stick together and support each other, not just in the action-packed scenes, but also in the everyday life. Many romance-focused stories seem to forget about friends and I was so glad this one didn't. It made Laurel more nuanced, gave her character more depth. MJ and Emma were also great characters on their own. Both had their specific problems and made the town of Penny Harbor seem closer to me as a reader.
That is also something that shows in the additional Penny Harbor parts of each chapters. I feel like it definitely added depth to the story, introduced more lore, that would be otherwise limited by the dual POV. It brought enough foreshadowing for the final twist in the plot to make more sense.
The twist. I kinda liked it. It was ambiguous enough to be creepy, and the foreshadowing wasn't too obvious to spoil it.I loved the bear fight! It was so bizzare to see such creature plagued by the coal and how it then affected the people, too.
I felt more connected to Laurel than Spencer, even though they both had qualities that I like to see in characters. Their romance was very sweet and it was impossible not to root for them as they both discovered their feelings. Spencer's backstory and heartbreak paired well with Laurel's personal problems, and I really liked their whole meet cute.
But, I didn't completely click with the author's writing style and that made my reading experience worse. The story didn't really flow for me and the final part of the story felt a bit anticlimatic. Fine would be the word I would use to describe the overall vibe I got from the book.
There were so many things I liked about this book, but unfortunately I didn't completely enjoy the story as a whole.
The friendship between Laurel, Mary-Jo and Emma was definitely one of the highlights of the book. It was just wonderful to see them stick together and support each other, not just in the action-packed scenes, but also in the everyday life. Many romance-focused stories seem to forget about friends and I was so glad this one didn't. It made Laurel more nuanced, gave her character more depth. MJ and Emma were also great characters on their own. Both had their specific problems and made the town of Penny Harbor seem closer to me as a reader.
That is also something that shows in the additional Penny Harbor parts of each chapters. I feel like it definitely added depth to the story, introduced more lore, that would be otherwise limited by the dual POV. It brought enough foreshadowing for the final twist in the plot to make more sense.
The twist. I kinda liked it. It was ambiguous enough to be creepy, and the foreshadowing wasn't too obvious to spoil it.
I felt more connected to Laurel than Spencer, even though they both had qualities that I like to see in characters. Their romance was very sweet and it was impossible not to root for them as they both discovered their feelings. Spencer's backstory and heartbreak paired well with Laurel's personal problems, and I really liked their whole meet cute.
But, I didn't completely click with the author's writing style and that made my reading experience worse. The story didn't really flow for me and the final part of the story felt a bit anticlimatic. Fine would be the word I would use to describe the overall vibe I got from the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Violence, and Blood
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Homophobia, Sexual assault, and Vomit