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valeria_balzan's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I feel like the author had great opportunities to push the limits of time travelling and how it can impact a person's Henry's life but he is just boring and hates this ability.
Graphic: Miscarriage, Infertility, Death, Adult/minor relationship, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Alcoholism, Bullying, Rape, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Death of parent, and Grief
Moderate: Blood and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Minor: Abandonment and Mental illness
passionatereader78's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This is Henry and Claire's beautifully complicated love story!
Graphic: Abandonment, Sexual content, Pregnancy, Alcoholism, Grief, Infertility, Car accident, and Death of parent
Moderate: Alcohol, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Self harm, Adult/minor relationship, and Toxic relationship
tessa52's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Car accident, Alcoholism, Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, Infertility, Suicide, Violence, Death of parent, and Infidelity
fionamatilda's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, and Miscarriage
Moderate: Death of parent, Suicide, Sexual content, and Pregnancy
souvraya's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Now for the problems. The second and third part of the book get increasingly depressing in a way that felt like traumatising events were being being piled on for no reason. The characters barely have time to react to each of these events so they don't feel fully developed, just added in for shock value.
It was very disappointing how little agency and personality the titular wife had. Clare was interesting to read about as a child, then she became much more bland as an adult. It was really all about Henry, so naming the book after Clare is not representative of the role she takes.
Another disappointment was that a lot of characters' shitty behaviour has no repercussions whatsoever, Gomez and Celia especially rubbed me the wrong way. It doesn't get called out, nobody reacts to it, and it often doesn't cause any problems. When that happens too often, it feels very unsatisfying to me and when it happens with the main characters it calls their romance into question.
Even worse, there was a major part of the story later on, that consumed some of the characters completely for a long time, and then it suddenly turned into an afterthought. It seems that the author didn't know what to do with Alba as a character, so she was simply turned into a Mary Sue that's somehow immune to all of the aforementioned trauma. It's very unrealistic to think of what she goes through, yet no one seems to care about her and she continues to be quite happy-go-lucky.
Some of the time traveling concepts fell apart towards the end, with several aspects that should have been relevant being swept under the table. There's no real or implied resolution to what might be causing it, whether there will be more time travelers in the future, how society treats them, etc. With these topics ignored, it only barely fits into the sci-fi genre. It's really more a romance with a quirky setting.
Finally, there was some really out-of-touch racism and social commentary at times. POC, queer and disabled characters were handled terribly and I was especially weirded out by the term "Auschwitz thin" and a character's insistence that an adopted child wouldn't really be theirs, especially because nobody offered an alternative opinion on that statement. The book really needed more editing to cut out all of that.
Graphic: Death of parent, Infertility, Suicide, and Miscarriage
Moderate: Sexual violence, Alcoholism, Adult/minor relationship, and Infidelity
naoise_gray's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Death of parent, Death, Miscarriage, and Suicide
val_theburrowofstories'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: Injury/Injury detail, Alcoholism, Medical trauma, Cancer, Infidelity, Suicide, Medical content, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Death of parent, Sexual content, Adult/minor relationship, Grief, Death, Infertility, and Pregnancy
lizzye33's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Death of parent, Death, and Grief
Moderate: Blood, Toxic relationship, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Police brutality, Gun violence, Emotional abuse, Cursing, Car accident, and Murder
potsnpots's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Miscarriage, Infertility, Infidelity, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Alcoholism and Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Car accident, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Homophobia, Grief, Medical content, Infertility, and Infidelity
jenn_reads'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? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Death of parent, Miscarriage, Adult/minor relationship, Vomit, Sexual content, and Blood
Moderate: Alcohol, Suicide, and Panic attacks/disorders
Decapitation, car accident, limb amputation