Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

The First to Die at the End by Adam Silvera

24 reviews

azileotulp's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful reflective sad tense 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? No

4.25

Of course I choose to finish this book on the first day of Pride Month. What a way to celebrate.

Anyway... wow. This book wrecked me. I knew it would, just like the first one did, but my goodness. I'll just start off with the things I liked... which was basically everything? I think the biggest criticisms I've seen for this book and the first one are that there's no plot to them, which has never bothered me. I love a character-driven book, especially when the characters are as great as these. Valentino and Orion are adorable and work great together. I loved their dynamic.

I loved all the connections to the previous book too. I tried to find a list of all of them, but sadly haven't been able to. I did keep the first book near me at all times while reading this one just so I could try to find them.

The Rufus and Mateo bits DESTROYED me. I had to set the book down every time I saw one of their names show up. When Mateo almost talked to Rufus at the park but then didn't get to? Yeah, that killed me.

 

I liked a lot of the side stories too.

I didn't initially like how much time was spent on the Frankie, Gloria, and Rolando storyline at first, but after seeing that it's actually what led to Valentino's death, it all makes sense. I can't wait for Frankie to rot <3.

I also enjoyed Joaquin's story for the most part,

but I'm so frustrated that we didn't really figure out any secrets about how Death Cast works??? I didn't mind it at all in the first book because I didn't think it would make sense for us to know with the point of views we were given. In this book, however, it kept feeling like Joaquin, as the literal creator of Death Cast, was about to talk about some of the secrets, but then just doesn't. I hope that if we get his perspective in the next book, that's where we'll finally discover some things.

Even though that was an issue for me, it didn't really take away from my enjoyment too much. There were, however, two things that prevented this book from being perfect. One, the slang. Oh my goodness, I had the same problem in the first book too. I don't know if it's just really bad at first and gradually gets better throughout the book, or if I just got so used to it from how often it was used in the beginning. Don't get me wrong, I don't hate slang in books, but I do hate it in this book. At times, it feels like it was written by a 60-year-old trying to be hip and trendy, even though the actual author is pretty young. Really, that's my biggest problem with the book. I cringed far too often reading some of this. The only other thing I didn't enjoy was the slow start. When I read the first book, I was instantly attached to Mateo, seeing a lot of myself in him, and Rufus grew on me fairly quickly. While reading this book, I don't think I truly cared for Valentino or Orion that much until I was almost halfway through the book. I can't really explain why didn't work for me at first, but they just didn't.

Even though I have my issues, I still can't say how much I enjoyed this book. I don't think I'll ever be okay again, but I said the same thing after I read the first book. (Yes, I keep bringing up the first book, but cut me some slack. I'm still mourning.) If you're looking for a book with a grand plot and adventure, this isn't for you. But if you want to see some gays fall in love before tragedy strikes (not a spoiler, you read the title), then you've come to the right place.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Terminal illness, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Grief, Homophobia, Medical content, Death, Domestic abuse, Murder, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Car accident, Death of parent, Blood, and Violence

Minor: Alcohol, Sexual content, Child abuse, Suicide, and Infidelity

- Both of Orion's parents died in the 9/11 attacks. This is mentioned frequently.

- A child is forced to shoot his father in order to protect his mother.

sorcha's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Grief, and Death

Moderate: Blood, Domestic abuse, Chronic illness, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Violence, Homophobia, and Death of parent

Minor: Infidelity and Sexual content

teawitchontravel's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book is one of the saddest and at the same time most hopeful books I have ever read. It tackles the issue of dealing with knowing the death of a close person or even yourself will occur and how to live your life to the fullest, not only when you know it's about the end. It shows in a heartbreaking and beautiful way how important it is to take control of your own life, be the captain of your own ship if you will. For that it not only uses the two main characters but also the people surrounding them and learning the same lesson. They are included in the story with an amazing  thoughtfulness and their lifes are tied into each other which shows how close and similar we can be to someone without realizing. This book will forever remain in my heart and I am so thankful the author wrote this prequel. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Homophobia, Grief, Death of parent, Chronic illness, Physical abuse, Mass/school shootings, Gun violence, Death, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Sexual content, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, Medical content, Outing, Murder, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Infidelity and Alcohol

stephmcoakley's review against another edition

emotional inspiring 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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Car accident, Death, Domestic abuse, Medical trauma, Grief, Homophobia, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Death of parent, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Toxic relationship, Gun violence, and Injury/Injury detail

kyrstin_p1989's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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

4.0

This book is touching and sweet and incredibly sad all at once. I enjoyed this prequel as it provided some clarity for things that happened later on down the line. I felt like the characters are all written very distinctly so the shifting perspective is never confusing. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Car accident, Cursing, Infidelity, Mass/school shootings, Blood, Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Gun violence, Homophobia, Terminal illness, Violence, Child abuse, and Death

strawberrytheauthor's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Literally bawled my eyes out like a freaking baby! First time crying in my dorm while my roommate was there. This book with claw out your heart and replace it with its own. 

I only wish we were able to learn how deathcast works. I feel like the way this was written where it tried to involve you in the creation of deathcast but still keep you separate didn’t work. It made me think that Adam Silvera doesn’t actually know how deathcast is supposed to work. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Car accident, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, Chronic illness, Cursing, Blood, Domestic abuse, and Grief

Moderate: Alcohol, Homophobia, Infidelity, and Sexual content

robinks's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense 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? No

5.0

Ahhhh I loved this heartwarming and also devastating prequel! In what I have come to expect from Silvera, no detail or relationship is unimportant, and I LOVED finding all the small references to They Both Die at the End. Also, this prequel was such a beautiful love letter to NYC and all its hidden and ever-changing treasures. The voice actors were also INCREDIBLE at bringing the characters to life. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Terminal illness, Violence, Death, and Death of parent

Moderate: Gun violence, Grief, Homophobia, Misogyny, Cursing, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Sexual content, Car accident, Infidelity, and Medical content

withlivjones's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

They Both Die At The End was such a good book that I initially was very sceptical about the prequel living up to it - I had high expectations, and The First To Die At The End definitely met them!

Valentino and Orion are great characters who both have strong narrative voices. Their relationship was so sweet, if a little insta-lovey, but the fact that this book was longer and slower paced than TBDATE meant this wasn’t as much of an issue. I wasn’t sure that the gag of everyone knowing how the book will end would land a second time, but the slight uncertainty over whether Death-Cast got everything right first time round added a good amount of tension into the plot. 

One of my favourite things about the first book was how it showed the connections between so many people in New York, and this theme is continued really well in this book, with short chapters from various characters’ POVs who are all interconnected (including some familiar faces from TBDATE!). The world-building of the Death-Cast system is also expanded on, as it shows details of society starting to adapt to this life-changing technology, as well as POVs from inside the Death-Cast company. I thought that the secret to Death-Cast might be revealed in this book, and the fact that it wasn’t felt like a bit of a cop-out - but I suppose at least a few people would have been disappointed with every explanation Silvera could have given so maybe the mystery is better left unrevealed. 

Overall, I really enjoyed a lot about this book

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, and Chronic illness

Moderate: Homophobia, Infidelity, and Death of parent

Minor: Sexual content

greenlivingaudioworm's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious reflective sad tense 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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Cursing, Car accident, Domestic abuse, Grief, Homophobia, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Chronic illness, Gun violence, Death, Death of parent, Mass/school shootings, Medical content, Murder, and Violence

ladywren890's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

I am so happy with this. I knew this storyline was good and this book allowed for it to be executed properly in a way it didn't  in They Both Die at the End (TBDATE) . While in TBDATE the ending felt very abrupt and the relationship between the characters unrealistic.  In this story we get more details and more experiences between the two people to paint a more realistic picture of how strong of a connection you can make in a day when you are living the day because it is your last. And the deaths in this book were explained so I wasn't left with vague descriptions or questions. I am happy that is really was a beautiful,  tragic  love story and a very thought provokin theme: living in a world with Death-Cast 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Violence, Death of parent, Grief, and Death

Minor: Cursing, Cancer, Blood, Infidelity, and Homophobia