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anni_banani's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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
5.0
may I say YES AKWEAKE EMEZI! and thank you!
i have re read this book once so far and would re read countless times.
this was my intro to Emezi's books- which I don't recommend. I heard Emezi say in an interview that they write Transgressive stories. That is totally the case in this book!
rarely do I say this but not only a flawless execution but goes beyond my expectations. the story goes up and down, leaving you with time to see a rich interoir emotional landscape of the MC but also all of a sudden leaving you on your seat with your butt clenched wondering what will happened next!! I cry, I get turned on, I scream, I have a book to hold space for the grief and loss and love in my own life.
This is a top ten book of all time for me, no doubt. also Bahni Turpin reads the audiobook which is an instant "play" for me.
read this book for
messy bisexuals
best friendship
every character being believable complicated, real and getting development
Black and Islander stories
life love and hope after life altering loss and grief
amazing sexual tension
questioning your our ethics
healing
amazing food
love for the Caribbean
i have re read this book once so far and would re read countless times.
this was my intro to Emezi's books- which I don't recommend. I heard Emezi say in an interview that they write Transgressive stories. That is totally the case in this book!
rarely do I say this but not only a flawless execution but goes beyond my expectations. the story goes up and down, leaving you with time to see a rich interoir emotional landscape of the MC but also all of a sudden leaving you on your seat with your butt clenched wondering what will happened next!! I cry, I get turned on, I scream, I have a book to hold space for the grief and loss and love in my own life.
This is a top ten book of all time for me, no doubt. also Bahni Turpin reads the audiobook which is an instant "play" for me.
read this book for
messy bisexuals
best friendship
every character being believable complicated, real and getting development
Black and Islander stories
life love and hope after life altering loss and grief
amazing sexual tension
questioning your our ethics
healing
amazing food
love for the Caribbean
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, Car accident, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Death of parent
flashandoutbreak's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Grief
leatherlee's review
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Up to this point, I'd have said Akwaeke Emezi was one of my favorite writers but I had to force myself to finish this book. Whereas their other works were weird and fantastical and riveting, this one was just not interesting to me. A big part of it is that I am apparently always annoyed by romance genre, even if it's thoughtful, (nominally) queer, and written by someone whose other works I adore.
As a "queer" novel, I feel especially let down because the sex all is very heteronormative. Nothing especially interesting to me personally about a conventionally attractive cis-het couple pairing. The fact of their queerness is downplayed which was a missed opportunity. Bisexuals having unconventional sex could have been explored to great effect and would have probably merited at least one more star from me.
As a "queer" novel, I feel especially let down because the sex all is very heteronormative. Nothing especially interesting to me personally about a conventionally attractive cis-het couple pairing. The fact of their queerness is downplayed which was a missed opportunity. Bisexuals having unconventional sex could have been explored to great effect and would have probably merited at least one more star from me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Grief
Moderate: Biphobia, Death, Blood, and Death of parent
etinney's review
emotional
reflective
slow-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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Death and Toxic relationship
Minor: Gore
zefancifulreader's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
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
4.75
This book has a lot of mixed reviews which I suspect is because this story breaks a lot of Romance rules.
It is a story of grief, which isn’t very sexy but I think it does a disservice to our human-ness to ignore a very powerful emotion that is so closely linked with Love.
It’s also one of the horniest books I’ve read in a while. Feyi is so delightfully thirsty and it was so fun to watch her mess unfold.
The book also had some of my favourite obscure troupes such as: “NO 3rd Act Breakup” and “Main Character goes to Therapy”!
The real standout for me was the incredible maturity of Alim and Feyi. Ya, it’s a large age-gap but these two characters have a boat load of trauma and have done the WORK of piecing themselves together even before the book starts. These are two adults who know how to COMMUNICATE and it’s honestly the sexiest thing.
Add the beautiful, lyrical writing style that Akwaeke Emezi is known for and you’ve got yourself a gorgeous, unapologetic, hot mess and I 100% recommend it.
It is a story of grief, which isn’t very sexy but I think it does a disservice to our human-ness to ignore a very powerful emotion that is so closely linked with Love.
It’s also one of the horniest books I’ve read in a while. Feyi is so delightfully thirsty and it was so fun to watch her mess unfold.
The book also had some of my favourite obscure troupes such as: “NO 3rd Act Breakup” and “Main Character goes to Therapy”!
The real standout for me was the incredible maturity of Alim and Feyi. Ya, it’s a large age-gap but these two characters have a boat load of trauma and have done the WORK of piecing themselves together even before the book starts. These are two adults who know how to COMMUNICATE and it’s honestly the sexiest thing.
Add the beautiful, lyrical writing style that Akwaeke Emezi is known for and you’ve got yourself a gorgeous, unapologetic, hot mess and I 100% recommend it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, Grief, and Car accident
Moderate: Death of parent and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Addiction and Alcohol
sadhbhprice's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Blood, Grief, Car accident, and Death of parent
Moderate: Biphobia, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child death, Domestic abuse, and Suicidal thoughts
readingwithgoose's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Absolutely floored by this book, by its unflinching perspective on love and grief and how we can keep living through any kind of mess.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Blood, Grief, and Car accident
Minor: Biphobia, Homophobia, and Violence
em_h_ma's review against another edition
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
The story was rich, opulent, hot but I hated the main character so much. Even with all the reasoning, I just couldn’t get behind her actions. The story was quick and easy to read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Sexual content, Violence, and Grief
kyleethecatlady's review
emotional
funny
sad
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
3.0
It was pretty good! Moved slow at some points where I skipped some pages, but I was invested in the story, so I read to the end. Very interesting and unique story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Grief, and Car accident
Moderate: Homophobia and Death of parent
ye_chops_books's review
challenging
emotional
fast-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Biphobia, Death, Homophobia, Grief, Car accident, and Death of parent