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aidareads's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
see, i think my main "problem" with this book is that i really, really wanted to absolutely love it. i was expecting a dark academia type of story - and don't get me wrong, they got the dark part very well. it was the academia part that i believe i've been missing.
also, while i do think julian and paul's toxic and obsessive relationship was quite well portrayed, i struggled to actually connect with them (and, by extension, with any character in the story). i did appreciate how they progressively get more and more unhinged, but they already started off as a bit insane. i didn't really empathize with neither of them, even if i did suffer for them when they did.
also, i don't know if paul is canonically neurodivergent, but he does exhibit MANY autistic traits, which i found curious.
overall, i did like the book, but i didn't love it, and i also didn't feel like it was a solid 4 stars. i also checked the trigger warnings for it and was still unpleasantly surprised when i noticed how graphic and frequent self-harm is in the story because it wasn't listed when i checked the tags, so please do take care and check those before reading this!
Graphic: Grief, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Violence, Homophobia, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide
Moderate: Antisemitism, Blood, Murder, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death of parent, and Drug use
addyruth17's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Blood, Toxic relationship, Death, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Drug use, Gaslighting, Grief, Cursing, Homophobia, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Mental illness
torismazarine's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, and Violence
Moderate: Drug use, Suicide, Antisemitism, Car accident, Mental illness, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Animal death, Body horror, Fire/Fire injury, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Addiction, Alcohol, Sexual content, and War
fionamclary's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Murder, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Grief, Homophobia, Emotional abuse, and Mental illness
Moderate: Chronic illness, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Confinement, Suicide attempt, Violence, and Drug use
Minor: Sexual content, War, Racism, Bullying, and Xenophobia
niccolowilliam's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Gore, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, Animal cruelty, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Violence, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Physical abuse, Blood, Death, Suicide attempt, Classism, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Drug use, Alcohol, Religious bigotry, Outing, and Antisemitism
Minor: Police brutality and War
opossumom's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Kidnapping, Murder, Violence, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Religious bigotry, Classism, Animal death, Antisemitism, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Homophobia, Grief, Emotional abuse, Death, Suicide attempt, Self harm, Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury and Drug use
Minor: Sexual assault and Forced institutionalization
enyltiak's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Grief, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Violence, Death of parent, and Stalking
Moderate: Homophobia, Classism, Child abuse, Animal death, Antisemitism, Blood, Cursing, Drug use, and Suicide
Minor: Forced institutionalization, Genocide, and Vomit
iridaceae's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Blood, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Self harm, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Moderate: Animal death, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and War
Minor: Abandonment, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Antisemitism, Body shaming, Cancer, Car accident, Child abuse, Colonisation, Drug use, Eating disorder, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Gun violence, Police brutality, Racism, Torture, and Vomit
dhwani's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Blood, Alcohol, Murder, Toxic relationship, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Drug use, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury
li_reading's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Murder, Violence, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, Death, Blood, and Animal death