Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Unexpected by E.J. Blaise

7 reviews

kdscolley's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective tense slow-paced

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

3.0

There was a lot happening in this book. Drama and fighting and trying to figure out life, it was just quite a bit to tolerate. There are some trigger warnings for you to be aware of going into this book, so it wasn't that I was taken by surprise.

You can tell that these are college kids, and the man dude doesn't really feel like he's 24. He's a fuckboy, she's a cute redheaded waitress he's got a crush on. She happens to be his best friend's "little sister" that's been out of contact for 3 years. For me, it just felt like the author was putting in so many different things just for the sake of having a "complicated" character. It felt entirely unnecessary. 

I don't know if I can continue the series. I didn't feel connected to any of these characters. I told myself more than once to just stop reading it, but alas, I didn't. One part of this book made me cry. It was right near the end, but the feelings hit a little too close to home with what I've experienced in my own life. So, it was me, not the book that made me cry.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Car accident, and Violence

Moderate: Grief

Minor: Rape

kell_yeah_reads's review against another edition

emotional funny sad 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

4.0

per my spreadsheet

jesus fuck. that ending was beautiful and heartbreaking.

spice 🌶  - a 4 🌶  spicy (romance.io scale)

length - just right

reading speed - read in 3 days 

did it make me cry? - I ugly cried. U G L Y

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Domestic abuse, Grief, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail and Death

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders

jonezzzing's review against another edition

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Physical abuse, Cursing, and Sexual content

Moderate: Car accident, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Pregnancy

mjulis's review against another edition

emotional reflective 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? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse

Moderate: Car accident and Grief

icfoster's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful reflective sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

It's going to sound very corny but this book was unexpected. I went into this based on what I had seen on Instagram and TikTok expecting a lighthearted romance with some spice and two of of three were right. The plot can be very heavy so definitely take the content warnings into account. This book made me cry so much but it also warmed my heart immensely. Cannot recommend this enough, one of my favorite reads of 2023 already. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Car accident, Violence, Domestic abuse, and Grief

The epilogue was so beautiful, her writing to Sam made so much sense and you really felt her processing her grief while growing.

jcprocrastireads's review against another edition

emotional slow-paced

• 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

2.5

I finished the story, but this wasn't for me. The characters were enjoyable, but this book would have benefited from some heavy editing- typos, repetitive phrases, and too many short scenes that made the pacing feel disjointed. 

The real reason for the low rating is all of the unnecessary trauma for the FMC. In my opinion, it was truly excessive and not needed to progress the plot (i.e. the deadbeat mom returning). 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, Car accident, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, and Physical abuse

Minor: Abandonment

ellaskrovset's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious sad 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Car accident, Death, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, and Physical abuse