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thaictaff's review
2.0
Hmm, excuse me? What the fuck was that ending?
Trigger warnings: self-harm, depression, suicide attempt, shooting, death.
Okay, I have conflicted feelings about this book. I was super excited when I was approved for this arc, and the blurb was so interesting. So maybe that was my mistake, creating too much expectations.
The book follows two best friends Cordelia and Declan, they both have issues of their own to sort through and are just learning who they are in life and how to navigate through it. So first they're best friends, then they're boyfriend and girlfriend, then they go back to best friends, then they get married. Yeah, that kinda felt like all over the place, but let's get more into it.
We have our characters, who have been best friends since they were three years old, suddenly Cordelia's father gets a job in England and they have to move away temporarily. When she comes back, she's not herself anymore, she's been depressed and harming herself. After telling Declan about this, he asks her out, which to me seems like a horrible idea, but okay, she says "I just... don't even love me. How can I promise to love you?" and I was almost slow-clapping but then in the next page they decide to date anyway so there's that.
Everything is fine for a few years, until Declan stars questioning his sexuality, he then breaks up with Cordelia and explains to her that he's gay. That unleashes her depression again, since it was never really dealt with, and she attempts suicide. After that, it's brushed over her recovery, and we only know bits and pieces. Then flash-forward a year later and she has a new boyfriend and she even picks the same university he studies at to be closer to him. Declan gets protective, but that's it, he moves to New York and she goes to California. They're still best friends though.
Flash-forward again a few years and she finds out she's pregnant with her boyfriend's baby, but on his way to the doctors appointment he's in a car crash and dies later on. When Declan comes to California to support his friend, in first day back he kisses her again and confuses her further with the whole situation because to her he was gay, and to him he didn't understand what was happening but he knew he was in love with her.
Okay, quick recap: she's recently found out she's pregnant, her boyfriend died, her best friend is once again in love with her after breaking up with her for being gay. Yes, that's what we have so far.
They decide that Declan will move and help her through this situation, so he drops out of college and gets a job to help support her. They talk more about his sexuality and he tries to explain to her the best he can that not everything is black and white, that sometimes you have a genre preference but that doesn't mean you can't be attracted to another. He isn't happy with his life though, so she tells him to go back to New York and follow his dreams. Their relationship is long distance for a few years, and here's where they start facing their issues; she can't fully comprehend him and it's afraid he'll realize she's not what he wants again, she's also still trying to move on from her deceased boyfriend, he's battling with the long distance and how to help her see that he's madly in love with her.
After a particularly bad fight about said issues, he cheats on her with Peter the guy from the bar, then immediately feels guilty and goes to see her. They talk it out and apparently fix all of their problems. They sleep together and she gets pregnant. Everything is perfect until flash-forward a couple of years again and they're at a rally, where someone shoots her and she passes away.
Now look, I wouldn't be too frustrated if that's how it ended, but the night Cordelia dies, Declan asks Peter - one night stand, turned best friend - to stay with him "She just died, Declan. Don't you think it would be a bad idea for me to stay?" how the fuck did they jump to that again after years of being supposedly only best friends? she literally had just died! It felt like he was just waiting for something to happen to finally have what he wants, that being Peter. It made their love - Cordelia and Declan - cheap and I was just done with the whole thing. Then in the epilogue we see that they became life partners and it just enhanced all of my bad feelings towards this situation since there's no real plot other than their love story.
The book started out strong and I was very invested, but the author didn't know how to handle it, the delivery was lacking in depth and the representation was flawed. It never went deep into the issues that should've been key points in the plot, key points, not plot device. It could've been a great book though.
I received this book via NetGalley in return for an honest review.
Trigger warnings: self-harm, depression, suicide attempt, shooting, death.
Okay, I have conflicted feelings about this book. I was super excited when I was approved for this arc, and the blurb was so interesting. So maybe that was my mistake, creating too much expectations.
The book follows two best friends Cordelia and Declan, they both have issues of their own to sort through and are just learning who they are in life and how to navigate through it. So first they're best friends, then they're boyfriend and girlfriend, then they go back to best friends, then they get married. Yeah, that kinda felt like all over the place, but let's get more into it.
We have our characters, who have been best friends since they were three years old, suddenly Cordelia's father gets a job in England and they have to move away temporarily. When she comes back, she's not herself anymore, she's been depressed and harming herself. After telling Declan about this, he asks her out, which to me seems like a horrible idea, but okay, she says "I just... don't even love me. How can I promise to love you?" and I was almost slow-clapping but then in the next page they decide to date anyway so there's that.
Everything is fine for a few years, until Declan stars questioning his sexuality, he then breaks up with Cordelia and explains to her that he's gay. That unleashes her depression again, since it was never really dealt with, and she attempts suicide. After that, it's brushed over her recovery, and we only know bits and pieces. Then flash-forward a year later and she has a new boyfriend and she even picks the same university he studies at to be closer to him. Declan gets protective, but that's it, he moves to New York and she goes to California. They're still best friends though.
Flash-forward again a few years and she finds out she's pregnant with her boyfriend's baby, but on his way to the doctors appointment he's in a car crash and dies later on. When Declan comes to California to support his friend, in first day back he kisses her again and confuses her further with the whole situation because to her he was gay, and to him he didn't understand what was happening but he knew he was in love with her.
Okay, quick recap: she's recently found out she's pregnant, her boyfriend died, her best friend is once again in love with her after breaking up with her for being gay. Yes, that's what we have so far.
They decide that Declan will move and help her through this situation, so he drops out of college and gets a job to help support her. They talk more about his sexuality and he tries to explain to her the best he can that not everything is black and white, that sometimes you have a genre preference but that doesn't mean you can't be attracted to another. He isn't happy with his life though, so she tells him to go back to New York and follow his dreams. Their relationship is long distance for a few years, and here's where they start facing their issues; she can't fully comprehend him and it's afraid he'll realize she's not what he wants again, she's also still trying to move on from her deceased boyfriend, he's battling with the long distance and how to help her see that he's madly in love with her.
After a particularly bad fight about said issues, he cheats on her with Peter the guy from the bar, then immediately feels guilty and goes to see her. They talk it out and apparently fix all of their problems. They sleep together and she gets pregnant. Everything is perfect until flash-forward a couple of years again and they're at a rally, where someone shoots her and she passes away.
Now look, I wouldn't be too frustrated if that's how it ended, but the night Cordelia dies, Declan asks Peter - one night stand, turned best friend - to stay with him "She just died, Declan. Don't you think it would be a bad idea for me to stay?" how the fuck did they jump to that again after years of being supposedly only best friends? she literally had just died! It felt like he was just waiting for something to happen to finally have what he wants, that being Peter. It made their love - Cordelia and Declan - cheap and I was just done with the whole thing. Then in the epilogue we see that they became life partners and it just enhanced all of my bad feelings towards this situation since there's no real plot other than their love story.
The book started out strong and I was very invested, but the author didn't know how to handle it, the delivery was lacking in depth and the representation was flawed. It never went deep into the issues that should've been key points in the plot, key points, not plot device. It could've been a great book though.
I received this book via NetGalley in return for an honest review.
trulybooked's review
2.0
[I received a review copy of this novel from Netgalley in return for my honest review.]
It sounds great, right? I always thought it sounded so good when I asked for an ARC, but the instant I started reading I began getting The Funeral Flower flashbacks. It’s the story of a girl that revolves around the men in her life, but has some cringe-worthy additions to the normal formula.
For instance, Declan is gay. Or, at least, he says he’s gay even though he’s very clearly attracted to at least one woman. There’s a strange insistence on him being “gay” rather than any other sexuality and while there are some attempts to soften or blur the lines between binary sexualities…. It’s not done often enough.
There’s also suicide in this book as well as mentions of self-harm which was incredibly uncomfortable.
Now don’t get me wrong, it’s not that those issues shouldn’t be addressed in fiction. But, they need to be addressed carefully and treated with the proper respect. For as much importance as Something Beautiful seemed to put on mental health and suicidal tendencies, these tendencies only flared up when the plot required it. They weren’t core parts of any character’s personality. Instead they were more like accessories that could be taken on and off.
I couldn’t tell while I was reading if the author had experience, but didn’t handle it well in fiction or just didn’t know how these things worked.
There’s even a point where a straight woman lectures a gay man on the nature of sexuality and desire which could have and should have been this amazing moment. There is still an issue with biphobia and bi-erasure within the LGBT community and to have one of the main characters tackling that head on would have been all I needed to bump Something Beautiful up another star.
But instead, it just fell flat.
Before I end this on a total down note, let’s talk about some things that I liked:
- Cordelia’s father says something homophobic and is immediately chastised by his family for it. - - He later apologizes.
- A+ for calling out boys and their slobber kisses
- I was distracted this entire novel thinking that it didn’t make sense that Declan and his brother Finn had Irish names, but their last name was Scottish. They even said they spoke Gaelic which is obviously only Irish and I was going to point out the lack of research. And then when I went to do research of my own, I found out that there’s a lot of commonality and that Scottish Gaelic is a dialect so point to you, Amanda.
- The core of the story which is two people growing up and being accepting of each others flaws should have been my favourite story ever.
- There’s a positive message about inclusivity throughout the book.
Most of the issues within the book stem from what I’m going to start calling Drama Inflation. It’s when the stakes need to be continuously ramped up in order to maintain the tension because there’s nothing else anchoring the story.
If you want a good example, look at a soap opera. You start with someone cheating on his wife and end with a witch and her magical doll trying to end the world.
So in Something Beautiful we have one tragedy after another poured on top of each other without even giving us a moment to breathe and with no happy times to compare these tragic ones to. So it’s a roller coaster ride that doesn’t stop and is always upside down. It’s probably fun for the first five minutes, but you’re going to get sick sooner or later.
Plus all that blood rushing to your head can’t be good.
For more reviews like this, please visit Truly Booked.
It sounds great, right? I always thought it sounded so good when I asked for an ARC, but the instant I started reading I began getting The Funeral Flower flashbacks. It’s the story of a girl that revolves around the men in her life, but has some cringe-worthy additions to the normal formula.
For instance, Declan is gay. Or, at least, he says he’s gay even though he’s very clearly attracted to at least one woman. There’s a strange insistence on him being “gay” rather than any other sexuality and while there are some attempts to soften or blur the lines between binary sexualities…. It’s not done often enough.
There’s also suicide in this book as well as mentions of self-harm which was incredibly uncomfortable.
Now don’t get me wrong, it’s not that those issues shouldn’t be addressed in fiction. But, they need to be addressed carefully and treated with the proper respect. For as much importance as Something Beautiful seemed to put on mental health and suicidal tendencies, these tendencies only flared up when the plot required it. They weren’t core parts of any character’s personality. Instead they were more like accessories that could be taken on and off.
I couldn’t tell while I was reading if the author had experience, but didn’t handle it well in fiction or just didn’t know how these things worked.
There’s even a point where a straight woman lectures a gay man on the nature of sexuality and desire which could have and should have been this amazing moment. There is still an issue with biphobia and bi-erasure within the LGBT community and to have one of the main characters tackling that head on would have been all I needed to bump Something Beautiful up another star.
But instead, it just fell flat.
Before I end this on a total down note, let’s talk about some things that I liked:
- Cordelia’s father says something homophobic and is immediately chastised by his family for it. - - He later apologizes.
- A+ for calling out boys and their slobber kisses
- I was distracted this entire novel thinking that it didn’t make sense that Declan and his brother Finn had Irish names, but their last name was Scottish. They even said they spoke Gaelic which is obviously only Irish and I was going to point out the lack of research. And then when I went to do research of my own, I found out that there’s a lot of commonality and that Scottish Gaelic is a dialect so point to you, Amanda.
- The core of the story which is two people growing up and being accepting of each others flaws should have been my favourite story ever.
- There’s a positive message about inclusivity throughout the book.
Most of the issues within the book stem from what I’m going to start calling Drama Inflation. It’s when the stakes need to be continuously ramped up in order to maintain the tension because there’s nothing else anchoring the story.
If you want a good example, look at a soap opera. You start with someone cheating on his wife and end with a witch and her magical doll trying to end the world.
So in Something Beautiful we have one tragedy after another poured on top of each other without even giving us a moment to breathe and with no happy times to compare these tragic ones to. So it’s a roller coaster ride that doesn’t stop and is always upside down. It’s probably fun for the first five minutes, but you’re going to get sick sooner or later.
Plus all that blood rushing to your head can’t be good.
For more reviews like this, please visit Truly Booked.
breadedbookpages's review
1.0
amandamarieger's review
5.0
I wrote this book, and I can't wait for others to read it!
Do you get to choose who you love, or does fate decide for you?
Cordelia and Declan grew up across the street from each other and have been best friends since they were three years old. As their friendship is continually tested, they realize the feelings they have for each other are stronger than that of just friends. As Cordelia struggles against depression, Declan comes to terms with his sexuality, and their relationship is thrown into a tailspin.
Their whole lives, they’ve been looking for something beautiful. But what if the beautiful thing has been right in front of them all along?
Do you get to choose who you love, or does fate decide for you?
Cordelia and Declan grew up across the street from each other and have been best friends since they were three years old. As their friendship is continually tested, they realize the feelings they have for each other are stronger than that of just friends. As Cordelia struggles against depression, Declan comes to terms with his sexuality, and their relationship is thrown into a tailspin.
Their whole lives, they’ve been looking for something beautiful. But what if the beautiful thing has been right in front of them all along?
laurenl5876's review
2.0
Trigger Warning: Homophobia, suicide, self harm, teen pregnancy.
Be aware this review has spoilers, but if you want to read this book, I recommend reading this review, because the spoilers aren't too big, and they are sort of a warning for you.
Something Beautiful sounded like such an impactful, important novel. The synopsis painted this book out to be a masterpiece, and that's what I expected. Sadly, it was definitely not. It had the potential, the beautiful storyline idea, but it just turned out to be constructed messily, which is why I can only rate it 2.5 stars, because I enjoyed reading it, but technically it wasn't that great.
My main issue was the writing. It was the definition of telling and not showing, which was very irritating. There was no forshadowing, no analyzing for the reader, just telling us, " She's sad, she was angry.... she was annoyed because..." See what I mean? There was no flavor, no texture to the writing. It was all just very flat. Not only that, but the pacing was incredibly fast. I love fast paced books, I live for them, but when there is a lack of development, that's when I have a problem. with it. So much was happening, and it had very little reason to happen. For example, so many issues were tackled, but they were just glazed over, and had no significance. Cutting, depression, death, homophobia, suicide, LGBT+ positivity, anxiety, and pregnancy, were all part of Something Beautiful, but only homophobia, LGBT+ positivity, and maybe death should have been dealt with. That would have made this book seem less scattered and all over the place.
The characters were also a bit inconsistent to me. Cord, to be exact. Declan described Cord as this funny, beautiful, strong girl, and I really only got pretty and strong out of that. Cord didn't say anything funny. We were just told multiple times that she was hilarious and fun, when she isn't. I can recognize humor, even if it's not my sort of humor, couldn't find it then.
But, Cord wasn't all negative. Her reactions to traumatic situations were all very reasonable and real. Her reaction to Declan when she was in high school made so much sense. I mean, if I was her, I probably would have been extremely angry too. Yet later she grows and is supportive of Declan, and that was a beautiful aspect, which I wish could have lingered a little longer, because that as a real strong point.
Declan was not a bad character actually. To me, he was more consistent than Cord. The only critique I really have for him is the amount of times he teared up or cried. I'm not trying to feed into gender roles or anything, but lets be real, most guys do not cry in front of girls as much as he did. It was very endearing and sweet, and showed that guys can cry, but at the same time it would have been even more impactful for the main character to catch him crying and not expect to be found. It would have added so much more intensity and surprise. Some situations like Cord's suicide attempt made complete sense, anyone would be crying, but when he sees Cord after 8 months to a year, he cries, and I just can't imagine that happening. That's just me though.
The fluidity of sexuality was amazing to read, and that's one of the reasons I found Declan to be the stronger character. His confusion about if he was gay or not was well done, and when he figures out he is bisexual, it made so much sense. He identified himself as queer, but I interpreted him as bi, but that was because he was struggling with his sexuality. His journey was what I wanted more of, but sadly this turned out to be more of a love story and focused on Cord, which was frustrating.
Finally, the ending made me so angry. I had to contain myself from throwing my kindle on the ground because my mother was sitting next to me driving. It was just so unnecessary! Like really???????? It was glazed over, and Declan's grief was hardly even explored! I feel the author just threw it in for shock value, and I'm not a fan of using death as shock value, because that is an extremely painful experience, and when it isn't given time to develop or depicted well, it's just annoying. The end honestly should have been edited out, because it was messy as heck.
Overall, I wouldn't recommend Something Beautiful because the quality of it was not the best. The way suicide and depression was brushed over really rubbed me the wrong way, which is partially why I couldn't rate this higher. I appreciate what this book tried to do, it just wasn't very successful in what it tried to do in my opinion. Maybe for others this is impactful, but for me, it just didn't click.
Be aware this review has spoilers, but if you want to read this book, I recommend reading this review, because the spoilers aren't too big, and they are sort of a warning for you.
Something Beautiful sounded like such an impactful, important novel. The synopsis painted this book out to be a masterpiece, and that's what I expected. Sadly, it was definitely not. It had the potential, the beautiful storyline idea, but it just turned out to be constructed messily, which is why I can only rate it 2.5 stars, because I enjoyed reading it, but technically it wasn't that great.
My main issue was the writing. It was the definition of telling and not showing, which was very irritating. There was no forshadowing, no analyzing for the reader, just telling us, " She's sad, she was angry.... she was annoyed because..." See what I mean? There was no flavor, no texture to the writing. It was all just very flat. Not only that, but the pacing was incredibly fast. I love fast paced books, I live for them, but when there is a lack of development, that's when I have a problem. with it. So much was happening, and it had very little reason to happen. For example, so many issues were tackled, but they were just glazed over, and had no significance. Cutting, depression, death, homophobia, suicide, LGBT+ positivity, anxiety, and pregnancy, were all part of Something Beautiful, but only homophobia, LGBT+ positivity, and maybe death should have been dealt with. That would have made this book seem less scattered and all over the place.
The characters were also a bit inconsistent to me. Cord, to be exact. Declan described Cord as this funny, beautiful, strong girl, and I really only got pretty and strong out of that. Cord didn't say anything funny. We were just told multiple times that she was hilarious and fun, when she isn't. I can recognize humor, even if it's not my sort of humor, couldn't find it then.
But, Cord wasn't all negative. Her reactions to traumatic situations were all very reasonable and real. Her reaction to Declan when she was in high school made so much sense. I mean, if I was her, I probably would have been extremely angry too. Yet later she grows and is supportive of Declan, and that was a beautiful aspect, which I wish could have lingered a little longer, because that as a real strong point.
Declan was not a bad character actually. To me, he was more consistent than Cord. The only critique I really have for him is the amount of times he teared up or cried. I'm not trying to feed into gender roles or anything, but lets be real, most guys do not cry in front of girls as much as he did. It was very endearing and sweet, and showed that guys can cry, but at the same time it would have been even more impactful for the main character to catch him crying and not expect to be found. It would have added so much more intensity and surprise. Some situations like Cord's suicide attempt made complete sense, anyone would be crying, but when he sees Cord after 8 months to a year, he cries, and I just can't imagine that happening. That's just me though.
The fluidity of sexuality was amazing to read, and that's one of the reasons I found Declan to be the stronger character. His confusion about if he was gay or not was well done, and when he figures out he is bisexual, it made so much sense. He identified himself as queer, but I interpreted him as bi, but that was because he was struggling with his sexuality. His journey was what I wanted more of, but sadly this turned out to be more of a love story and focused on Cord, which was frustrating.
Finally, the ending made me so angry. I had to contain myself from throwing my kindle on the ground because my mother was sitting next to me driving. It was just so unnecessary! Like really???????? It was glazed over, and Declan's grief was hardly even explored! I feel the author just threw it in for shock value, and I'm not a fan of using death as shock value, because that is an extremely painful experience, and when it isn't given time to develop or depicted well, it's just annoying. The end honestly should have been edited out, because it was messy as heck.
Overall, I wouldn't recommend Something Beautiful because the quality of it was not the best. The way suicide and depression was brushed over really rubbed me the wrong way, which is partially why I couldn't rate this higher. I appreciate what this book tried to do, it just wasn't very successful in what it tried to do in my opinion. Maybe for others this is impactful, but for me, it just didn't click.
ljbentley27's review
4.0
There are some stories that just help you pass the time away, and there are some that you get mildly sucked into and then there are some stories that take your breath away. Something Beautiful took my breath away.
It focuses on the lifelong friendship of Cordelia and Declan. They are destined to be together. However, life makes things difficult for them. Declan deals with his sexual fluidity, Cordelia deals with her mental health. Even though life throws spanners into their lives the one constant that they have is each other. Something Beautiful is the story of two people who need each other. And it is stunning.
The non-linear multi-perspective narrative keeps the reader on their toes and heightens the tension throughout. Something Beautiful is, at times, un-put-down-able.
This is definitely one book I will be recommending to my friends.
Something Beautiful by Amanda Gernentz Hanson is available now.
For more information regarding Amanda Gernentz Hanson (@amandamaregh) please visit www.amandagernentzhanson.com.
For more information regarding Pen Name Publishing (@PenNamePublishing) please visit www.pennamepublishing.com/home.
It focuses on the lifelong friendship of Cordelia and Declan. They are destined to be together. However, life makes things difficult for them. Declan deals with his sexual fluidity, Cordelia deals with her mental health. Even though life throws spanners into their lives the one constant that they have is each other. Something Beautiful is the story of two people who need each other. And it is stunning.
The non-linear multi-perspective narrative keeps the reader on their toes and heightens the tension throughout. Something Beautiful is, at times, un-put-down-able.
This is definitely one book I will be recommending to my friends.
Something Beautiful by Amanda Gernentz Hanson is available now.
For more information regarding Amanda Gernentz Hanson (@amandamaregh) please visit www.amandagernentzhanson.com.
For more information regarding Pen Name Publishing (@PenNamePublishing) please visit www.pennamepublishing.com/home.
sagarific's review
2.0
TRIGGER WARNINGS: self-harm, depression, anxiety, suicide attempt, shooting, death, use of queer, homophobia
Something Beautiful is about two best friends, Cordelia Quinn and Declan MacLeod, who have known each other since they were three and how they navigate friendship, growing up, and identity with and without the other person. And as they grow older, Cordelia struggles with mental illness and Declan fights to come to grips with his sexuality.
It is a novel meant for a bigger purpose, driven by social issues and personal struggles. But the delivery is lacking, and it fails to really leave a mark on the reader, imo.
The earlier chapters detail Cordelia and Declan's childhood, and understandably their voices come of as immature. But I was thoroughly confused (albeit somewhat curious) by their dynamic as children. Here, the characters are written such that their diction and syntax are 'child-like,' but the characters and their words don't mix. It's almost like sifting through oil and water, reading and realizing how detached the words and their characters are. I always felt like Cord and Dec were adults trapped in little kids' bodies...
And that was only part of my problem with the voice. I felt that the writing was weak overall, it read like a familiar, disappointing fanfiction, and that disappointed me further.
Characterization was also an issue for me, because all the characters read flat. The mental health issues Cord was battling, the rocky road Dec had to navigate as he came to terms with his sexuality, the grief and loss of life, friendship, and love could have all given these characters more dimensions. Instead, the lost voice and inconsistent writing leave the characters flat. While the author does switch between Cordelia and Declan's POVs, her writing and voice do not change, leaving all the characters feeling like the same person. The secondary and tertiary characters, like Adam or Peter, are no different. Which begs to question why there are two alternating points of view at all. All their actions are the same, all their words recycled until there is no substance left to those actions/words. The characters have conflict with each other, but it never lasts too long - everything seems resolved with a quick "I love you," and that was frustrating.
Also, where did everyone go? (Adam dies, yes. Peter goes from one-night stand to best friend to life partner (after Cornelia gives him a stern talking to???) to Declan, Cornelia dies, Declan will always love her, blah blah blah ) Regan, Cordelia's little sister, is there to say two sentences about how she will miss Cord when she is away at college in California and how depression is a disease, after which she is never seen again (oh, except at the end in the hospital, where she sobs and asks why Cord deserved to die ). What happened to the parents, apart from letting this painfully co-dependent relationship grow way out of hand and into their kids' adulthood? So many characters, with so much to offer, are brought in for a moment and then lost forever.
Something else that bothered me was that the author took to using a slur in describing her LGBT+ character, especially when there are still many people in the community are still uncomfortable. Personally, I am fine with using an umbrella term, such as queer, to describe myself - but again, imo, the author could've tried to be more nuanced with that term.
The thing about Declan's sexuality was there was no label, and in a way I'm glad he got to explore the fluidity of sex. It is a completely valid way to discover sex and sexuality. But I couldn't help but feel like there was some degree of bisexual erasure to that. So many bisexual characters in literature are left saying "I don't like labels" in a vague attempt to stop the bisexuality setting concretely onto the character, which is disappointing because really, what is wrong with being bi? Yes, Declan seems to prefer same-sex relationships, and yes Cordelia may be the one exception, but bisexuality isn't a 50/50 compromise of attraction between the sexes. Declan could have been bi with higher same-sex tendencies and everything would've still carried on fine.
Dealing with the suicide attempt and self-harm in the book was also hard for me. And while Declan was supposed to mean well with his story about his sister's suicide attempt, that was such a bad move and so unhealthy for Cordelia, I hated it. Speaking of unhealthy, when Cordelia's father discovers his daughter attempted suicide because Declan is gay, he yells at Declan that he (Dec) can't possibly be gay and that he needs to get his shit together and fix everything is just unfortunate. Yes, perhaps Mr. Quinn was just in the wrong space, and maybe that is why he was meant to lash out that way, but it was just so out of place that it didn't work.
I was excited to read a book that had so much to offer, thematically, but all I got was disappointment, frustration, and annoyance.
(I was offered a free (ePub) copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review)
Something Beautiful is about two best friends, Cordelia Quinn and Declan MacLeod, who have known each other since they were three and how they navigate friendship, growing up, and identity with and without the other person. And as they grow older, Cordelia struggles with mental illness and Declan fights to come to grips with his sexuality.
It is a novel meant for a bigger purpose, driven by social issues and personal struggles. But the delivery is lacking, and it fails to really leave a mark on the reader, imo.
The earlier chapters detail Cordelia and Declan's childhood, and understandably their voices come of as immature. But I was thoroughly confused (albeit somewhat curious) by their dynamic as children. Here, the characters are written such that their diction and syntax are 'child-like,' but the characters and their words don't mix. It's almost like sifting through oil and water, reading and realizing how detached the words and their characters are. I always felt like Cord and Dec were adults trapped in little kids' bodies...
And that was only part of my problem with the voice. I felt that the writing was weak overall, it read like a familiar, disappointing fanfiction, and that disappointed me further.
Characterization was also an issue for me, because all the characters read flat. The mental health issues Cord was battling, the rocky road Dec had to navigate as he came to terms with his sexuality, the grief and loss of life, friendship, and love could have all given these characters more dimensions. Instead, the lost voice and inconsistent writing leave the characters flat. While the author does switch between Cordelia and Declan's POVs, her writing and voice do not change, leaving all the characters feeling like the same person. The secondary and tertiary characters, like Adam or Peter, are no different. Which begs to question why there are two alternating points of view at all. All their actions are the same, all their words recycled until there is no substance left to those actions/words. The characters have conflict with each other, but it never lasts too long - everything seems resolved with a quick "I love you," and that was frustrating.
Also, where did everyone go? (
Something else that bothered me was that the author took to using a slur in describing her LGBT+ character, especially when there are still many people in the community are still uncomfortable. Personally, I am fine with using an umbrella term, such as queer, to describe myself - but again, imo, the author could've tried to be more nuanced with that term.
The thing about Declan's sexuality was there was no label, and in a way I'm glad he got to explore the fluidity of sex. It is a completely valid way to discover sex and sexuality. But I couldn't help but feel like there was some degree of bisexual erasure to that. So many bisexual characters in literature are left saying "I don't like labels" in a vague attempt to stop the bisexuality setting concretely onto the character, which is disappointing because really, what is wrong with being bi? Yes, Declan seems to prefer same-sex relationships, and yes Cordelia may be the one exception, but bisexuality isn't a 50/50 compromise of attraction between the sexes. Declan could have been bi with higher same-sex tendencies and everything would've still carried on fine.
Dealing with the suicide attempt and self-harm in the book was also hard for me. And while Declan was supposed to mean well with his story about his sister's suicide attempt, that was such a bad move and so unhealthy for Cordelia, I hated it. Speaking of unhealthy, when Cordelia's father discovers his daughter attempted suicide because Declan is gay, he yells at Declan that he (Dec) can't possibly be gay and that he needs to get his shit together and fix everything is just unfortunate. Yes, perhaps Mr. Quinn was just in the wrong space, and maybe that is why he was meant to lash out that way, but it was just so out of place that it didn't work.
I was excited to read a book that had so much to offer, thematically, but all I got was disappointment, frustration, and annoyance.
(I was offered a free (ePub) copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review)
justabookeater's review
1.0
A copy was provided by the Publisher in exchange for an honest review
DNF @ 34%
This book is marketed as an LGBTQAIP+ book but it's all about the allocishet ally. I had to stop reading because the MC tried to out Declan against his will and that is not just a shit thing to do, it's also dangerous and homophobic.
DNF @ 34%
This book is marketed as an LGBTQAIP+ book but it's all about the allocishet ally. I had to stop reading because the MC tried to out Declan against his will and that is not just a shit thing to do, it's also dangerous and homophobic.
bookishblades's review
3.0
*note: I got this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This will not change anything about my opinion on the book*
TW: suicide, depression
I will try and write this as spoiler free as possible, though this will be very hard.
I have so many thoughts about Something Beautiful, I don’t even know where to start really. First of all I should say that I enjoyed it enough to read it in one sitting and cry at the end. The concepts and ideas behind the book seem to be great, however I had some issues with how it turned out. This is because the book discussed darker topics such as depression and suicide, sometimes with raw, very emotional words, sometimes going very deep but on other parts just scratching the surface where there would have been more potential. But let’s go from the beginning.
The book is divided into three parts, two of them told by Cordelia, one by Declan. The first two are Cordelia’s and while she is the suicidal protagonist, her parts are lighter, less heavy than Declan’s. Cordelia grows up with a sister, Regan, and two professors for parents. She seems to be a smart, adventuring child. As she grows up and goes away for a year, she becomes more and more depressed. Down phases get longer, she seems to be happy on rare occasions only. Only with Declan by her side does it feel better. But something very unexpected happens with throws her completely off track. After surviving attempted suicide, she gets help and starts fighting the depression actively. From that point her character develops a lot, she becomes stronger by the page.
To be honest, I didn’t like the part that covers the protagonists’ childhood that much. How the children were written was too much adult-ish for me, if that makes sense. It was more like reading about how a grown-up imagines children to act, but they don’t really. But the part after Cordelia’s breakdown is so much better. It was really great to see Cordelia grow into such a wonderful person.
Declan on the other hand has problems on his own. The reader never knows what exactly is his sexuality because he himself doesn’t really know. He only knows that he loves Cordelia more than anybody else, no matter what sexuality he thinks he has. This gets to the point where it is confusing. I really liked reading about a character with an undefined sexuality, but his focus on Cordelia was too much at some points, even coming close to an (unhealthy?) obsession with her. The part of the book told from his point of view was too short for my liking. I would have liked to get childhood descriptions from him as well, and more depth and explanations.
Unfortunately, other characters don’t really play a big role. Regan has like two sentences of speech, we never really meet Declan’s siblings at all, other friends are basically non-existent. Other or better developed side characters would have been so, so good for the story. That’s probably what I’ve missed the most.
In general, I would have wanted more information on the families, the surroundings, other people. The complete focus on Declan and Cordelia was somewhat exhausting sometimes and I just wanted other characters, and other character’s drama. The love story was not a lovestory you’d encounter in every book and that made it refreshing. But I couldn’t really get behind the whole frame of the story and the end was… unnecessary and not really fitting?
Basically, the story gives material for more than one book. There are so many threads and characters to explore and I’m actually really sad that the book was so short and so many vital things were missing. Nevertheless I enjoyed Something Beautiful.
TW: suicide, depression
I will try and write this as spoiler free as possible, though this will be very hard.
I have so many thoughts about Something Beautiful, I don’t even know where to start really. First of all I should say that I enjoyed it enough to read it in one sitting and cry at the end. The concepts and ideas behind the book seem to be great, however I had some issues with how it turned out. This is because the book discussed darker topics such as depression and suicide, sometimes with raw, very emotional words, sometimes going very deep but on other parts just scratching the surface where there would have been more potential. But let’s go from the beginning.
The book is divided into three parts, two of them told by Cordelia, one by Declan. The first two are Cordelia’s and while she is the suicidal protagonist, her parts are lighter, less heavy than Declan’s. Cordelia grows up with a sister, Regan, and two professors for parents. She seems to be a smart, adventuring child. As she grows up and goes away for a year, she becomes more and more depressed. Down phases get longer, she seems to be happy on rare occasions only. Only with Declan by her side does it feel better. But something very unexpected happens with throws her completely off track. After surviving attempted suicide, she gets help and starts fighting the depression actively. From that point her character develops a lot, she becomes stronger by the page.
To be honest, I didn’t like the part that covers the protagonists’ childhood that much. How the children were written was too much adult-ish for me, if that makes sense. It was more like reading about how a grown-up imagines children to act, but they don’t really. But the part after Cordelia’s breakdown is so much better. It was really great to see Cordelia grow into such a wonderful person.
Declan on the other hand has problems on his own. The reader never knows what exactly is his sexuality because he himself doesn’t really know. He only knows that he loves Cordelia more than anybody else, no matter what sexuality he thinks he has. This gets to the point where it is confusing. I really liked reading about a character with an undefined sexuality, but his focus on Cordelia was too much at some points, even coming close to an (unhealthy?) obsession with her. The part of the book told from his point of view was too short for my liking. I would have liked to get childhood descriptions from him as well, and more depth and explanations.
Unfortunately, other characters don’t really play a big role. Regan has like two sentences of speech, we never really meet Declan’s siblings at all, other friends are basically non-existent. Other or better developed side characters would have been so, so good for the story. That’s probably what I’ve missed the most.
In general, I would have wanted more information on the families, the surroundings, other people. The complete focus on Declan and Cordelia was somewhat exhausting sometimes and I just wanted other characters, and other character’s drama. The love story was not a lovestory you’d encounter in every book and that made it refreshing. But I couldn’t really get behind the whole frame of the story and the end was… unnecessary and not really fitting?
Basically, the story gives material for more than one book. There are so many threads and characters to explore and I’m actually really sad that the book was so short and so many vital things were missing. Nevertheless I enjoyed Something Beautiful.
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