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brontesauruses's review against another edition
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Levi best boy!!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Mental illness, and Abandonment
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders
nonidude's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.0
There's not much I liked about this book which sucks because Rainbow has been so highly rated by people I know, and I have another of her books on my to-read shelf...
First off the writing was just weak; it had moments near the end where it got better, but overall - too many cringe moments. A couple examples...
"His eyes were that color you can't see in the rainbow. Indigo."
"Levi giggled. (Did guys 'giggle' or 'chuckle'? Cath hated the word 'chuckle.')"
"...leaning over her left shoulder. He smelled good. (Breaking news: Boys smell good.)"
There was also a couple moments in which the writing was very repetitive. One here where she restates things you mentioned just 10 pages earlier.
P. 231
"She started coming downstairs every morning when she heard the coffeemaker beeping. To check on him, to see him off.… Cath would make him breakfast while he ran—and after he ate and left for work, she'd fall back asleep on the couch. After a few days of this it already felt like a routine.... Cath would usually wake up again when Wren came downstairs or came home."
P. 242
"Their dad got up to jog every morning. Cath woke up when she heard his coffeemaker beep. She'd get up and make him breakfast, then fall back to sleep on the couch until Wren woke up."
Also, I thought this book talking about a fandom was supposed to be a spoof of Harry Potter - it's pretty clear from the way Rainbow talks about books, movies, the author, the plots, etc. and yet! Harry Potter is alive and well in this universe bc the characters mention it?? Weird...
My final complaint is on the characters - I personally didn't find them likable. There was a scene in which they talked about rape too lightheartedly. There's scenes in which the men seem to act chivalrous almost to the point of being offensive. Idk I just don't think I would hang out with any of them by choice (maybe the dad; he seems alright).
First off the writing was just weak; it had moments near the end where it got better, but overall - too many cringe moments. A couple examples...
"His eyes were that color you can't see in the rainbow. Indigo."
"Levi giggled. (Did guys 'giggle' or 'chuckle'? Cath hated the word 'chuckle.')"
"...leaning over her left shoulder. He smelled good. (Breaking news: Boys smell good.)"
There was also a couple moments in which the writing was very repetitive. One here where she restates things you mentioned just 10 pages earlier.
P. 231
"She started coming downstairs every morning when she heard the coffeemaker beeping. To check on him, to see him off.… Cath would make him breakfast while he ran—and after he ate and left for work, she'd fall back asleep on the couch. After a few days of this it already felt like a routine.... Cath would usually wake up again when Wren came downstairs or came home."
P. 242
"Their dad got up to jog every morning. Cath woke up when she heard his coffeemaker beep. She'd get up and make him breakfast, then fall back to sleep on the couch until Wren woke up."
Also, I thought this book talking about a fandom was supposed to be a spoof of Harry Potter - it's pretty clear from the way Rainbow talks about books, movies, the author, the plots, etc. and yet! Harry Potter is alive and well in this universe bc the characters mention it?? Weird...
My final complaint is on the characters - I personally didn't find them likable. There was a scene in which they talked about rape too lightheartedly. There's scenes in which the men seem to act chivalrous almost to the point of being offensive. Idk I just don't think I would hang out with any of them by choice (maybe the dad; he seems alright).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment and Mental illness
Moderate: Vomit, Alcoholism, and Alcohol
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Eating disorder, Rape, and Homophobia
megwilli's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Alcohol, and Mental illness
johns6ka's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- 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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness
Moderate: Alcoholism and Abandonment
Minor: Misogyny and Homophobia
kfrey's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment, Alcoholism, and Mental illness
copiani's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol
Moderate: Mental illness and Abandonment
lportilla's review against another edition
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Mental illness, and Alcoholism
Minor: Vomit and Alcohol
anne_shouseofdreams's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness
Moderate: Abandonment and Alcoholism
Minor: Homophobia, Rape, Vomit, Eating disorder, and Medical content
love_chloe_c's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
My feelings towards this book are complicated. But after having read it, I understand why there is such a diverse response from readers. For the first hundred pages, I was bored. Fangirl read like a mediocrely written fanfic. BUT then around 200 pages in my feelings changed a bit when Levi and Cath had their first kiss. No one writes soft, sweet romance quite like Rainbow Rowell. I think the novel is slow paced which makes it feel impossibly long and it's arguable whether or not it needed to take up that much space, but it wasn't bad. And I'm a hopeless romantic so I fell for the last 200 pages, I couldn't put it down. I will say I love the characters. They're not exactly that elaboratelt written I guess (cause there's a LOT more that could be elaborated on) but they're just likeable. The world building was nice. I'd say this makes a good escapism book. I won't say it was love at first sight, but it's worth sticking it out 100%. I'm glad I finished it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment
Minor: Sexual content
helalost's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness and Abandonment
Minor: Addiction