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asuenram's review
- 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
Graphic: Slavery, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Car accident, Medical trauma, Murder, Colonisation, Racism, Rape, and War
bookishspy's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
I had a lot of people recommend this story to me over the past year, and after finally reading it, I'm actually regretting not getting around to it sooner!
Bree is such a perfect main character. She is fun, smart, and has such a deep and real personality. She's not perfect and also had a temper when it was called for. She didn't just always let things slide right off her back as some might’ve. Her strength was the standout here.
Nick is such a sweet guy and always had Bree's back. I love that he had a little rebellious streak, but he knew when it was time to put that aside. He did surprise me with one of the fights where he hit someone who he knew was not allowed to hit him back, and that left me wondering if he might be a bit darker than he seems. The romance with him was perfect, just a little flirty and cheeky. It was super cute, but he clearly has a jealous streak.
Sel seems endgame to me. He has the dark and mysterious thing going on, plus a bit of that forbidden charm. He's also deeper than he first appears to be, and he seems to have a bit of a cheeky streak as well. I really want more of him.
While it is not heavy on romance and is more fantasy with a side of romance, the love triangle is certainly triangling, and it is hitting the spot. The jealous moments and then working together despite it, just perfect.
Now, if we get to the actual story, I will say this wasn't a perfect score for me, but it was close! The only thing that dragged down this story was how confusing the names and places got at times. We were thrown a lot of names and expected to remember who was who and where was where. I was winging it a lot of the time, and because of that, the bad guy reveal just didn't hit as hard as it should have.
Despite that, this was so unique and exciting! It was also heartbreaking and hard to read at times that involved heavy doses of racism and sexism. Sometimes, I wanted to climb in this book and yell at some of these characters for their bigotry, which is a testimony to how well written this story was. I was enthralled and binged this as fast as I could, and I think I'll move immediately to the next book in the series.
I would highly recommend this fantasy book!
➛ 𝟒.𝟓 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐬
Graphic: Racial slurs, Death, Racism, and Violence
Moderate: Sexism, Mental illness, Death of parent, Slavery, Panic attacks/disorders, Colonisation, and Car accident
Minor: Kidnapping, Alcoholism, Misogyny, Sexism, Cultural appropriation, Abandonment, Bullying, Car accident, Racial slurs, and Cursing
alysonmorales's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Blood, Murder, Rape, Death, Grief, and Racism
Minor: Car accident
peppermint_pink's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
I was just a little disappointed mostly because the hype around the book elevated my expectations too much and it didn't meet my initial expectations. Some things that bothered me:
- The timeline. Like 60% of the book happened within the first week of school? It gave me whiplash. The whole thing happens in two weeks. What. I also kind of wish the author just made Bree 18 instead of 16
because the age and early college thing mixed with how fast everything went is throwing me off a little. - The love triangle. This is more of a personal preference. I don't like love triangles at all, especially not when it felt like Bree didn't have much chemistry with one of the dudes in the love triangle.
Also two white boys?! But that's what you get when you read YA - you've got to accept that teenage melodrama will be part of the story. - Her relationships. I really needed her to have more Black friends or at least TRY to look for more POC friends.
Her one friend kinda got pushed to the wayside and it was lowkey disappointing and felt underdeveloped. - I know that the story represents the reality for a lot of Black people who are in PWIs but it really felt like there were TOO many White people. Maybe that's just me. I just thought there would be more Black people but I can count on one hand the number of (named) Black characters she interacts with
not counting the ancestors.
Graphic: Violence and Death
Moderate: Death of parent, Racism, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child abuse, Vomit, Alcoholism, Rape, and Car accident
mayih00's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Moderate: Classism, Death of parent, Car accident, Racism, and Grief
punchmerowan's review
- 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
Moderate: Racism, Car accident, Grief, Mental illness, Death of parent, and Death
ellenwm's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Violence, Racism, Death, Murder, and Grief
Moderate: Blood, Car accident, Colonisation, Fire/Fire injury, Classism, Misogyny, Abandonment, Death of parent, Transphobia, Slavery, War, and Sexism
Minor: Rape
ms_sarah621's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
Graphic: Violence, Racism, Death of parent, Grief, War, Slavery, and Car accident
wytherwytch's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Colonisation, Classism, Car accident, Racism, Death of parent, Death, Murder, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Violence and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: War, Blood, Infidelity, and Alcohol
laynerinke's review
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Racism, Death of parent, Violence, and Grief
Moderate: Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Slavery, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Vomit, Pregnancy, Murder, Transphobia, and Cursing