Reviews with content warning for Gun violence - Bel Canto

This book was rather outside my comfort zone. But I loved it.

It's one of those rare stories that take a long time to read without becoming boring or ending in a reading slump - it just felt right to read the 300-something pages over the course of a month instead of just a few days since the plot spans over several months. Which surprised me because hostage situations usually are a fast-paced thing that rarely take more than a few days. But this is not your typical hostage situation. This was the story of a bunch of people from all over the world with no common language building the most exceptional relationships.
The way the reader gets to effortlessly switch between different character's perspectives and thoughts was marvelous. I immensely enjoyed not having a protagonist and instead falling in love with and rooting for every character, regardless of whether they were a hostage or a captor, because they were all so human.

The only thing that bothered me was the ending. They didn't deserve to die. Also I don't get why Gen and Roxane got married. But I guess it makes sense to have that sudden awakening and the end of the kind of utopia that they were living in. Back to real life, where you have to make compromises. This simply isn't a fairy tale with a happy ending.
But I'm still bummed about it.

Content Warnings

caseythereader's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

Content Warnings

gallagh3rr's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious 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

3.25

Content Warnings

tetedump's review against another edition

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slow-paced

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? No

1.0

Content Warnings

zombiezami's review against another edition

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emotional funny mysterious sad 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? No

4.5

I went into this book not knowing anything about it or the author. I loved this book and the way it was written. I got very sucked in to the narrative and the characters,

which made the ending all the more heartbreaking

Content Warnings

izzyknight's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-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

3.0

The premise of this book is great and there are some really excellent moments in it but it was just a bit dull. The middle section was just a whole lot of nothing which I underestimated the need for but it’s doesn’t make it the most engaging read. However, the moments where the book really shines are in the subtle character interactions that humanise this extreme situation and shine a positive light on the whole concept of human morality and instinct.

Content Warnings

trukkos_travisz's review against another edition

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challenging emotional tense medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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