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caseybottiger's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence and Cancer
Moderate: Death of parent and Mental illness
Minor: Sexual assault and Drug abuse
locust1266's review against another edition
dark
emotional
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
I do not understand why this book has such raving reviews at all. Not ane bit . Not even a Little.
Have you ever read a book and gone wtf did i just read at the end of it . Yeah that's how i felt about this book .
Aside form the controversial stuff this book just sucks .
This book was marketed to me as a mistery / thriller and the fuck it is not . Anyway the writing isn't the worst. i thought the writting was tolerable . And i was even liking it in the first 30% of the book . But then it becomes the shitshow that it is . I skimmed through the middle portion of the book because it was soooo boring and nothing was happening. The ending to me seemed really rushed and kinda came out of nowhere. The book is by no means a mistery . I didn't connect to any of the characters and was really glad when i finally finished it. (I do not know why i waste my Time). The characters lacked depth especially Jo . The characters were ok in the beginning but they kept getting worse . The main characters Jo and Gabriel didn't have any chemistry imo . I liked there banter in the beginning. But then it got weird they fell for each other out of nowhere. Some conflicts that the main character gab had were also solved so easily . And some characters did an complete 180. The depression rep in this book is so bad . And the worst of all this book romantacizes cheating so much . Now to the spoilery section of the review -
<Spoiler> the cheating: basically Gabriel's mom Katherine cheats on her husband. With her husbands best friend George Kinney and throughout the book there cheating is romantacizes so much . Kinney who's also married btw cheats on his wife Lynne . Who is an alcoholic. George and Katherine are ' praised for there cheating and the book almost makes it sound invetable.katherine is constantly praised for being a smart women while Lynne is dumb . George is a silent genius and aurther is arrogant this r some actual quotes from the book btw -
“When my mother got pregnant. He knew it wasn’t his because they hadn’t had sex for years. When my mother was four months pregnant with me, she made Arthur and George sit down with her and talk about what they were going to do.”
“Okay, I like Katherine even more now. That was a cool thing to do.”
Yeah so cool 😎
Why do you hate him so much now that you know the whole story? George and your mother obviously stayed with people they didn’t love to make their partners happy. Maybe they realized they shouldn’t have done that, but by then, they had children who would be hurt by a divorce. When they finally got together, they tried to do it in a way that hurt as few people as possible. Can’t you see the beauty in their sacrifices? And in a power of love that withstands so many years
What pure love!!! They made there partners so happy
“I think this story is beautiful. But really sad, too. Maybe Lynne knew George didn’t love her. Maybe that was why she started to drink.”
“That’s why there’s nothing beautiful about it. Their selfishness wrecked people’s lives.”
Their love had changed lives. That mattered to Jo.
How beautiful 😍 a love
He wants to marry my mother when Lynne dies. He asked my permission
I can't even joke about this . This disgusting man is basically waiting for his wife to die so that he can marry his mistress.
They decided against a divorce. And agreed Lynne couldn’t know because her alcoholism made her fragile. To this day George has never told his wife or two daughters.”
it would be a different thing if Lynne and Arthur both knew about it but they never fucking tell her.
I knew a woman who made love in a graveyard had to be an incredible romantic.”
He aimed a piercing stare at her.
“Love isn’t a crime, Gabe.”
“She said vows to Arthur Nash. She should have let him out instead of turning him into a cuckold—with his best friend, no less.”
“What about that? His best friend. Have you ever considered that Arthur was okay with it?”
“You can’t be serious.”
“Polygamy is common in the animal world and more common among humans than we realize.”
“So are things like infanticide and rape. Do you want to glorify those, too?”
He was not ok with it . The man was insecure about his impotency and after he found out although he was hurting he let it all go on because he thought he was to blame . Btw the cheated and only told Arthur everything after Katherine was 4 moths pregnant with Gabriel. Because they couldn't hide it anymore also this kind of love should be a crime
Hope’s Ghost. Hope Lovett, dead at age eighteen on a cold winter night in 1899. Had she ever been in love? Made love? In those days, if she was unmarried, probably not. Unlike many male poets of the past, Jo found nothing romantic in the death of a virginal young woman. Or man
This line is so funny. Like wtf do virgin deaths not matter wtf ? . Having sex isn't the end all goal of people's life u know 🤣
Hope had died at age eighteen—the day after Christmas, just before the start of a new century. It couldn’t get much sadder than that. The grave was a strange place to meet a lover.
But maybe not. Katherine was a poet. She might have seen it as a metaphor—a renewal of hope and youth—after she’d given up many dreams for her marriage and children.
Jo swept her flashlight over more faded grave markers, astounded by how many of the dead were babies and children, often buried next to the parents who’d watched them die. Maybe Katherine had been paying tribute to them. Gabe may have been conceived right there, with Hope’s ghost watching
Yay having sex Infront of the grave of children is so poetic . 😍 Gross 🤮 🤢
Ok now that we're done with that time for some info dump lacey is Arthur and Katherine's biological daughter. She hated Gabe who was the proof of her father's failures ( wtf right it's in the book I'm not lying ). She bullies Gabe as a kid they have a 20 year age difference(she's an adult she bullies a 7 year old ) and towards the end of the book her character completely changes she forgives Katherine and George and becomes besties with Gabriel who she bullied all his life . She says this toward the end of the book -
Before I left for Saint Louis, he called a family meeting. When the time came, George Kinney knocked on the door. He’d been over at his property fixing the broken doors. He was as clueless as me about what was going on. Gabe just told him to be there.”
Jo smiled. Wonder of wonders, Gabe had pulled a Katherine.
Lacey studied her face. “You knew what he was going to do?”
“I didn’t, but I can guess what he did when he got you together.”
“He told us the whole thing! About how George and my mom’s affair began and how they and my father had agreed that Gabe should never know he was George’s son. Obviously, my mom and George knew all that. But they were shocked when he told them he’d seen them make love in the forest and found out he wasn’t Arthur’s son. He said that was why he’d started hating them. And then he said the most amazing thing.”
“What?”
“He told them he forgave them. He said now that he was in love with you, he understood everything they’d done. He said he would rather have died the night the guy pointed the gun at you than watch you die. He said love like that can’t be stopped by anything, and he was happy he was born of that kind of passion
I do not by any means blame Nash for anything but... Dude noooooohhh
Also the depression rep in this book is so so bad . Gabriel is a college drop out he is kinda insecure about it. He dropped out of college because of an panic attack i think . Jo the main female lead shames him for this and questions his depression even when Gabriel tries to explain it to her <\spoiler>
This ends my rant i can't waste more of my braincells for this book . I'm so over it .
Have you ever read a book and gone wtf did i just read at the end of it . Yeah that's how i felt about this book .
Aside form the controversial stuff this book just sucks .
This book was marketed to me as a mistery / thriller and the fuck it is not . Anyway the writing isn't the worst. i thought the writting was tolerable . And i was even liking it in the first 30% of the book . But then it becomes the shitshow that it is . I skimmed through the middle portion of the book because it was soooo boring and nothing was happening. The ending to me seemed really rushed and kinda came out of nowhere. The book is by no means a mistery . I didn't connect to any of the characters and was really glad when i finally finished it. (I do not know why i waste my Time). The characters lacked depth especially Jo . The characters were ok in the beginning but they kept getting worse . The main characters Jo and Gabriel didn't have any chemistry imo . I liked there banter in the beginning. But then it got weird they fell for each other out of nowhere. Some conflicts that the main character gab had were also solved so easily . And some characters did an complete 180. The depression rep in this book is so bad . And the worst of all this book romantacizes cheating so much . Now to the spoilery section of the review -
<Spoiler> the cheating: basically Gabriel's mom Katherine cheats on her husband. With her husbands best friend George Kinney and throughout the book there cheating is romantacizes so much . Kinney who's also married btw cheats on his wife Lynne . Who is an alcoholic. George and Katherine are ' praised for there cheating and the book almost makes it sound invetable.katherine is constantly praised for being a smart women while Lynne is dumb . George is a silent genius and aurther is arrogant this r some actual quotes from the book btw -
“When my mother got pregnant. He knew it wasn’t his because they hadn’t had sex for years. When my mother was four months pregnant with me, she made Arthur and George sit down with her and talk about what they were going to do.”
“Okay, I like Katherine even more now. That was a cool thing to do.”
Yeah so cool 😎
Why do you hate him so much now that you know the whole story? George and your mother obviously stayed with people they didn’t love to make their partners happy. Maybe they realized they shouldn’t have done that, but by then, they had children who would be hurt by a divorce. When they finally got together, they tried to do it in a way that hurt as few people as possible. Can’t you see the beauty in their sacrifices? And in a power of love that withstands so many years
What pure love!!! They made there partners so happy
“I think this story is beautiful. But really sad, too. Maybe Lynne knew George didn’t love her. Maybe that was why she started to drink.”
“That’s why there’s nothing beautiful about it. Their selfishness wrecked people’s lives.”
Their love had changed lives. That mattered to Jo.
How beautiful 😍 a love
He wants to marry my mother when Lynne dies. He asked my permission
I can't even joke about this . This disgusting man is basically waiting for his wife to die so that he can marry his mistress.
They decided against a divorce. And agreed Lynne couldn’t know because her alcoholism made her fragile. To this day George has never told his wife or two daughters.”
it would be a different thing if Lynne and Arthur both knew about it but they never fucking tell her.
I knew a woman who made love in a graveyard had to be an incredible romantic.”
He aimed a piercing stare at her.
“Love isn’t a crime, Gabe.”
“She said vows to Arthur Nash. She should have let him out instead of turning him into a cuckold—with his best friend, no less.”
“What about that? His best friend. Have you ever considered that Arthur was okay with it?”
“You can’t be serious.”
“Polygamy is common in the animal world and more common among humans than we realize.”
“So are things like infanticide and rape. Do you want to glorify those, too?”
He was not ok with it . The man was insecure about his impotency and after he found out although he was hurting he let it all go on because he thought he was to blame . Btw the cheated and only told Arthur everything after Katherine was 4 moths pregnant with Gabriel. Because they couldn't hide it anymore also this kind of love should be a crime
Hope’s Ghost. Hope Lovett, dead at age eighteen on a cold winter night in 1899. Had she ever been in love? Made love? In those days, if she was unmarried, probably not. Unlike many male poets of the past, Jo found nothing romantic in the death of a virginal young woman. Or man
This line is so funny. Like wtf do virgin deaths not matter wtf ? . Having sex isn't the end all goal of people's life u know 🤣
Hope had died at age eighteen—the day after Christmas, just before the start of a new century. It couldn’t get much sadder than that. The grave was a strange place to meet a lover.
But maybe not. Katherine was a poet. She might have seen it as a metaphor—a renewal of hope and youth—after she’d given up many dreams for her marriage and children.
Jo swept her flashlight over more faded grave markers, astounded by how many of the dead were babies and children, often buried next to the parents who’d watched them die. Maybe Katherine had been paying tribute to them. Gabe may have been conceived right there, with Hope’s ghost watching
Yay having sex Infront of the grave of children is so poetic . 😍 Gross 🤮 🤢
Ok now that we're done with that time for some info dump lacey is Arthur and Katherine's biological daughter. She hated Gabe who was the proof of her father's failures ( wtf right it's in the book I'm not lying ). She bullies Gabe as a kid they have a 20 year age difference(she's an adult she bullies a 7 year old ) and towards the end of the book her character completely changes she forgives Katherine and George and becomes besties with Gabriel who she bullied all his life . She says this toward the end of the book -
Before I left for Saint Louis, he called a family meeting. When the time came, George Kinney knocked on the door. He’d been over at his property fixing the broken doors. He was as clueless as me about what was going on. Gabe just told him to be there.”
Jo smiled. Wonder of wonders, Gabe had pulled a Katherine.
Lacey studied her face. “You knew what he was going to do?”
“I didn’t, but I can guess what he did when he got you together.”
“He told us the whole thing! About how George and my mom’s affair began and how they and my father had agreed that Gabe should never know he was George’s son. Obviously, my mom and George knew all that. But they were shocked when he told them he’d seen them make love in the forest and found out he wasn’t Arthur’s son. He said that was why he’d started hating them. And then he said the most amazing thing.”
“What?”
“He told them he forgave them. He said now that he was in love with you, he understood everything they’d done. He said he would rather have died the night the guy pointed the gun at you than watch you die. He said love like that can’t be stopped by anything, and he was happy he was born of that kind of passion
I do not by any means blame Nash for anything but... Dude noooooohhh
Also the depression rep in this book is so so bad . Gabriel is a college drop out he is kinda insecure about it. He dropped out of college because of an panic attack i think . Jo the main female lead shames him for this and questions his depression even when Gabriel tries to explain it to her <\spoiler>
This ends my rant i can't waste more of my braincells for this book . I'm so over it .
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Child abuse
Moderate: Sexual assault
Minor: Drug abuse and Addiction
mefrias's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
A beautiful story and very well-written. My only complaint would be Jo’s characterization can be a lot, she’s a lot. Definitely read all the trigger warnings before getting into it.
Also, I read this book via the audiobook and the voice acting is fantastic.
Also, I read this book via the audiobook and the voice acting is fantastic.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Drug abuse, Sexual assault, Gun violence, Child abuse, Death of parent, Death, and Murder
lolalu's review
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
fast-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Cancer, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, and Sexual assault
yaelm's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Most of this book was closer to 4 stars or even more, but some parts…
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Infidelity, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Child death, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Drug use, Mental illness, Murder, Rape, Sexual assault, and Cancer
sophonax's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
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? It's complicated
4.5
I'm not sure what I'd think if a child turned up claiming to be an alien from the stars, from a whole other galaxy, but Jo and Gabe's journey with Ursa was so lovely. Jo is recovering from loss and her own illness when Ursa turns up on the doorstep of the cabin she's working in collecting data for her graduate research. What follows is a fantasy tale which soon turns into something more sinister and frightening. The only thing which I would have changed if I could was the author's use of 'he said' 'she said' 'Jo said' at times it felt repetitive and the language felt stilted in some cases. This was minor and the story more than compensated for this. The past trauma of each individual member of the trio pulled them together and forged wonderful understanding healing relationships, the twists and turns in the story were approached with communication which I loved. No storming off never to return over little things, and misunderstandings never lasted long between Gabe and Jo because they talked then had time to think. The backstories of all of the characters had wonderful dept and it really meant that as a reader I rooted for them, celebrated with them in the happy moments and was worried for them when they were in peril.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gun violence
Minor: Drug use, Sexual assault, and Rape
sealsea88's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Murder, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
sdebord's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
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
2.5
I liked some parts of this, and it was very engaging for most of the book. I really enjoyed the line that she walks between Ursa as an alien and Ursa as a traumatized child. However, portrayal of depression really bothered me, and I really disliked the abrupt change of pace and tone towards the end. I would have enjoyed it much more if Ursa’s story had been left more ambiguous and up to the reader to decide, and if everything weren’t tied up in a neat bow. 3-star read, and docked another half star for the animal death that they kept bringing back to the forefront.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Cancer, and Child abuse
Minor: Sexual assault
jo_lzr's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, and Murder
Moderate: Cancer, Addiction, Death of parent, Drug use, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
plutotoujors's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Animal death, and Child abuse
Moderate: Cursing, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Cancer, and Gun violence
Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Pregnancy, Panic attacks/disorders, and Medical trauma