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llams's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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
5.0
this is the most beautiful book i've read yet! i'm not great with the words but this was so moving and beautiful and full of love alongside the pain and ache
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Death, Blood, Biphobia, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, Cursing, Grief, and Car accident
sarahmcg's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
How did I read this book and end up cheering for the messy af FMC and the dad???
I guess for as much as I love a trope-filled rom-com, I can also really appreciate a complicated lit-fic love story, romance but also an exploration of grief, friendship, and art/creativity.
Read this if you love MESS, taboo/forbidden/age gap romance, finding love after loss, complicated FMC.
The writing was very beautiful; poetic, with gorgeous descriptions of the tropical island mountain home, art, music, and food. This was my first read by Emezi and it won’t be my last.
The only critique I have is I totally understood the emotional connection that Feyi and Alim formed, but for some reason I still had a little bit of difficulty with the believability of their chemistry (not sure if it was maybe the age gap or something else?) - but overall I’d give 4.5⭐️
I want a book about Joy!!!
CW/TW: discussions of loss of spouse (in past but discussed throughout - 1) car accident 2) drowning), sexual content, descriptions of blood, domestic incident.
I guess for as much as I love a trope-filled rom-com, I can also really appreciate a complicated lit-fic love story, romance but also an exploration of grief, friendship, and art/creativity.
Read this if you love MESS, taboo/forbidden/age gap romance, finding love after loss, complicated FMC.
The writing was very beautiful; poetic, with gorgeous descriptions of the tropical island mountain home, art, music, and food. This was my first read by Emezi and it won’t be my last.
The only critique I have is I totally understood the emotional connection that Feyi and Alim formed, but for some reason I still had a little bit of difficulty with the believability of their chemistry (not sure if it was maybe the age gap or something else?) - but overall I’d give 4.5⭐️
I want a book about Joy!!!
CW/TW: discussions of loss of spouse (in past but discussed throughout - 1) car accident 2) drowning), sexual content, descriptions of blood, domestic incident.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Death, and Car accident
Moderate: Sexual content, Blood, and Cursing
tosleepperchancetoread's review
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I wish I could’ve given this book a higher rating. The descriptions of the food and the art and the sights and sounds were amazing. But everything else was just… meh. The MC drove me quite mad. And although there is depth to the connection between the main character and love interest, I couldn’t find myself rooting for them. If this was a dark romance then I would love the tropes but this just felt cringey at some parts.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing and Death
Minor: Blood
iftheshoef1tz's review
challenging
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I was excited to read this book because it was billed as “messy characters being messy” and I saw two reviews that said that every character in the book was awful. I do think they were messy, as promised, but I don’t think they were as awful as I was expecting. I don’t agree with Feyi and Alim’s choices, but I think I understand why they were made. Out of a different type of grief, I did some shady things when I was younger. Two people I know from university were in separate relationships (one of them was engaged) before they met each other, then they left their current partners for each other. It caused huge scandal, but they had apparently found what they were missing in their other relationships, and they’re still together, ten years and four kids later. I think this kind of thing can and does happen.
My biggest beef with this book is that the set-up felt like it took forever (although I just checked the book and it’s not that many pages) and then Feyi and Alim fall for each other super fast. I am always a fan of a slow(er) burn, so maybe that’s my issue here, but I would have thought that Alim, at least, as Nasir’s father, would have really hit the brakes on anything for longer than he did. So much of the end was also not what I was expecting? A lot of it felt very pat and trite (Milan calling randomly? For the first time, like…ever? ) and I really didn’t care for the way Nasir and Feyi build this rapprochement by the end , but it had only been, like…a couple weeks or something.
There was a lot of beautiful writing in this book though, as well as thoughtful prose on grief and mourning. Just didn’t quite stick the landing for me.
My biggest beef with this book is that the set-up felt like it took forever (although I just checked the book and it’s not that many pages) and then Feyi and Alim fall for each other super fast. I am always a fan of a slow(er) burn, so maybe that’s my issue here, but I would have thought that Alim, at least, as Nasir’s father, would have really hit the brakes on anything for longer than he did. So much of the end was also not what I was expecting? A lot of it felt very pat and trite (
There was a lot of beautiful writing in this book though, as well as thoughtful prose on grief and mourning. Just didn’t quite stick the landing for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Sexual content, Cursing, and Grief
Moderate: Blood and Car accident
Minor: Death of parent
alli_andrews's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Ableism, Alcohol, Car accident, Mental illness, Biphobia, Drug use, Grief, Sexual content, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Cursing, and Homophobia
taleofabibliophile's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Cursing, Death, and Grief
Moderate: Infidelity, Homophobia, Biphobia, Violence, and Car accident
Minor: Drug use, Death of parent, and Child death
caitlinemccann's review
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
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? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Bullying, Cursing, Toxic friendship, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Sexual content, and Car accident
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail and Sexism
Minor: Biphobia
queenkath32's review
emotional
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Cursing, Death of parent, Grief, Alcohol, Blood, and Death
gabichatslit's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
4.5
“Imagine that, Feyi. We’re alive, and I love you.”
I don’t even know what to do, what to say, where to go from here… Like, this was amazing. The way Emezi tackled grief, what it means to feel alive, the uncertainty of choosing yourself above all else. I’m just truly shocked. I completely understand why in all the reviews I’ve seen of this book, no one has ever been able to fully articulate how amazing this story is.
The writing in this book is just so beautiful. I would find myself pausing to just marvel over these jaw dropping sentences that felt so real, like Emezi finally gave me the language for emotions/feelings I hadn’t been able to explain before.
There were moments when reading this book felt like watching a train crash and being unable to look away from the inevitable collision. But there was so much honesty in Feyi’s messiness, in her uncertainty, in her commitment to being alive— knowing what it felt like to just exist. I loved her inner monologue, she felt so real and flawed and thoroughly fleshed out. And I applaud Emezi for taking it there, for not being afraid to have Feyi make a wild ass decision and then sitting with us and unpacking how she got there.
Do I agree with everything that Feyi did? No. However, I think when approaching Feyi’s story from a place of compassion, you can sympathize with a woman who lost her lifeline and had been trying to fit herself into a life she did not recognize. One that she hadn’t planned for and that was unfamiliar. And then she found herself on an island with someone who she didn’t feel like she needed to stuff her grief down for. Someone with whom she could let herself be soft with. And knowing how precious life is, she refused to let that go.
This book will stay with me for awhile. And I look forward to all the things I take away from my next read.
I don’t even know what to do, what to say, where to go from here… Like, this was amazing. The way Emezi tackled grief, what it means to feel alive, the uncertainty of choosing yourself above all else. I’m just truly shocked. I completely understand why in all the reviews I’ve seen of this book, no one has ever been able to fully articulate how amazing this story is.
The writing in this book is just so beautiful. I would find myself pausing to just marvel over these jaw dropping sentences that felt so real, like Emezi finally gave me the language for emotions/feelings I hadn’t been able to explain before.
There were moments when reading this book felt like watching a train crash and being unable to look away from the inevitable collision. But there was so much honesty in Feyi’s messiness, in her uncertainty, in her commitment to being alive— knowing what it felt like to just exist. I loved her inner monologue, she felt so real and flawed and thoroughly fleshed out. And I applaud Emezi for taking it there, for not being afraid to have Feyi make a wild ass decision and then sitting with us and unpacking how she got there.
Do I agree with everything that Feyi did? No. However, I think when approaching Feyi’s story from a place of compassion, you can sympathize with a woman who lost her lifeline and had been trying to fit herself into a life she did not recognize. One that she hadn’t planned for and that was unfamiliar. And then she found herself on an island with someone who she didn’t feel like she needed to stuff her grief down for. Someone with whom she could let herself be soft with. And knowing how precious life is, she refused to let that go.
This book will stay with me for awhile. And I look forward to all the things I take away from my next read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death of parent, Grief, Death, and Car accident
alexisgarcia's review
emotional
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Emezi is one of the best writers I have read from. they write such full characters. the characters have flaws but can also be so loveable. while i could point out many “flaws” in this book, it doesn’t matter. i loved it
Content Warnings
Graphic: Terminal illness, Alcohol, Death, Grief, Mental illness, Cancer, Death of parent, Cursing, Infertility, Medical trauma, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship