Reviews tagging 'Forced institutionalization'

Vermelho, Branco e Sangue Azul by Casey McQuiston

26 reviews

thesawyerbean's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted 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

4.25

 i’ve memorised it. topography on the map of you, a world i’m still charting.

Am I a convert to the romance genre? Maybe so. This was so fun, flirty, steamy, tense and heart-warming. It was compulsively readable: reading it on my commute was a dangerous game, I simply didn’t want to get off at my stop so I could keep reading.
It was pretty predictable in many parts, but frankly it doesn’t matter. It was such an enjoyable read, and I got goosebumps at the end which very rarely happens when I read. Even amongst the overall humorous tone of the novel, there were moments of sheer beauty. The later emails between Henry and Alex were stunning and poetic, bursting with metaphors and emotion.

Highly highly recommend this!

If Henry’s voice on the phone was a tether, his body is the gravity that makes it possible, his hand gripping the back of Alex’s neck a magnetic force, a permanent compass north. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Outing, Homophobia, Biphobia, Cursing, Forced institutionalization, Sexual content, and Alcohol

lunep's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Cancer, Outing, Mental illness, Cursing, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Drug abuse, Addiction, and Homophobia

Moderate: Gaslighting, Grief, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Racism, and Sexual content

Minor: Stalking, Deportation, Slavery, Colonisation, Rape, Sexual assault, Classism, Incest, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, and Biphobia

luluslittlelibrary's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted 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

3.25

I was really looking forward to reading this book because of all of the good things I have heard about it... but I was terribly disappointed. The idea for this book was great, but it wasn't executed very well. None of the plot points interested me very much and I struggled to connect to the characters. There was also no chemistry between the two main characters, Alex and Henry. Sure, it was a fine read. Good if you are looking for a cute romance that you can finish quickly, but there are many other books similar to this that are written much better. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Biphobia, Cursing, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Hate crime, Homophobia, Outing, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexual content, Grief, Xenophobia, Mental illness, and Stalking

crystallis's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny inspiring lighthearted relaxing 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

4.0

This book is very sweet and more political than you’d think.

I had heard incredible things of this book and after I finished it I shared most of them.

Alex and Henry are amazing, their relationship is gorgeous and I loved every detail about them.

The rivals to lovers trope is one of the best and most underrated tropes out there.
The way they had such a high mutual respect  (when they weren’t even friends) despite everything they disliked about each other talks worlds about how wholesome their relationship is.

Also their chemistry is wonderful.

All the other characters are very good and entertaining.

The pacing is great and the characters are quite rational with their decisions.

However, I think there are a bit too much politic talk around this book. The author clearly has a strong political point of view (which is completely fine and deserves to be respected) but I think it really demonizes the Republicans and tries to get the readers to believe that the democrats are the best people in the world. I think that bringing such confusing and complicated themes to a contemporary romance book is not needed.

And I know what you’re all thinking right now:
“oh, you really thought there was not going to be a political conversation in this book?, what were you expecting?”

I was expecting the author to use politics as an mean to an end (the start of this relationship) not to use this whole book to make a point about politics.

Besides all of this I’m really excited to read more about this author.

Read you all later. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Homophobia, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Xenophobia

drp_moonlight's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted tense 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? N/A

4.0

Overall, this book was great. It was just the realistic fantasy that I needed to get lost in. The characters are compelling and draw you into the story. It wasn't a 5 star read for me, though, because

the sex was a bit over the top. There was quite literally one scene where Henry was crying (emotionally) and the next paragraph they are having sex.

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, and Cursing

Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, and Biphobia

Minor: Cancer, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, and Sexual assault

readandfindout's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

Style/writing: 4 stars
Themes: 4.5 stars
Characters: 5 stars
Plot: 4.5 stars

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Biphobia, Death of parent, Grief, Addiction, Hate crime, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, and Gaslighting

Minor: Racism, Drug abuse, Sexual assault, Alcoholism, Cancer, Stalking, Sexual harassment, Misogyny, Sexism, Colonisation, Terminal illness, and Abandonment