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cheye13's review against another edition
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This was a bit of a disappointment from my favorite author. With the republishing of this series, I wonder if this one will get some edits (or if there were earlier drafts that I'd've liked more).
This is one of those romances where the characters' individual plots feel out of balance; Fen's grief (understandably) shadows Alfie's internal and familial homophobia and loneliness. I don't think the storylines are badly paired, just that they needed a little more balance on the page. A number of the plot threads also felt a bit thin, which left me unsatisfied by their resolutions. Like Alfie's internalized homophobia - Fen yells at him a bit and he's fixed (basically).
It also falls into the camp of enemies-to-lovers romances who elide the enemies chapter too quickly and easily. I understand why we sped through the bullying premise, but if that was the intention, I'm not sure why it was included at all, especially given how intense it was. One of those cases where I would've preferred either extreme (no bullying involved, or angst for half the book) rather than the middle ground it fell in.
I definitely appreciate this as a stepping stone for the author to write his next books, and the writing style I love is still there. But it didn't have that Alexis Hall magic that clues the book to my hand until it's done.
This is one of those romances where the characters' individual plots feel out of balance; Fen's grief (understandably) shadows Alfie's internal and familial homophobia and loneliness. I don't think the storylines are badly paired, just that they needed a little more balance on the page. A number of the plot threads also felt a bit thin, which left me unsatisfied by their resolutions. Like Alfie's internalized homophobia - Fen yells at him a bit and he's fixed (basically).
It also falls into the camp of enemies-to-lovers romances who elide the enemies chapter too quickly and easily. I understand why we sped through the bullying premise, but if that was the intention, I'm not sure why it was included at all, especially given how intense it was. One of those cases where I would've preferred either extreme (no bullying involved, or angst for half the book) rather than the middle ground it fell in.
I definitely appreciate this as a stepping stone for the author to write his next books, and the writing style I love is still there. But it didn't have that Alexis Hall magic that clues the book to my hand until it's done.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Sexual content
Moderate: Homophobia, Dementia, Blood, Bullying, and Death of parent
Minor: Biphobia
the death of the parent involves medically assisted suicide; homophobia is both general and regarding close family; the bullying is intense but described as past eventsjfreud's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I often struggle to like the characters in Alexis Hall's books but end up finding the struggle rewarding (unlikeable main characters falling in love and growing as people is kind of their whole deal and they are very good at it). I didn't feel that way reading Alfie and Fen, though -- obviously Alfie has done some really bad things and has some deeply problematic instincts, but the way he's trying so hard to understand those things about himself and undo them, while holding fast to the parts of his upbringing he actually values, I find really moving. And the fact he's doing this while also being on the receiving end of some pretty brutal homophobia is just heartbreaking. I ended up really admiring the way he commits to emotional openness in light of all that.
Fen is a really neat character and their relationship is lovely, but this is definitely a book about Alfie rather than a book about them. I'd love to know more about Fen as a character outside of his grief, and to see how the relationship develops as he finds equilibrium and Alfie continues to work on himself. Would inhale a Fen-POV sequel!
Fen is a really neat character and their relationship is lovely, but this is definitely a book about Alfie rather than a book about them. I'd love to know more about Fen as a character outside of his grief, and to see how the relationship develops as he finds equilibrium and Alfie continues to work on himself. Would inhale a Fen-POV sequel!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Death of parent, and Grief
Moderate: Bullying and Biphobia
tw for detailed discussion of assisted suicideshays's review
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief and Death of parent
purplepenning's review
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Alcohol, Bullying, Grief, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Biphobia, Cursing, Death of parent, and Dementia
Minor: Fatphobia, Physical abuse, Violence, and Child abuse
Internalized homophobia, sexism, toxic masculinity (all challenged); assisted suicide (terminal illness)dobbsthedog's review against another edition
5.0
Reread January 2022
CW: all the internalized homophobia. Plus a fair amount of general homophobia.
OMG this book. This whole series, really. It’s all so freaking good. The writing is just beautiful, and not really like anything else Alexis Hall has written. There’s funny bits and geeky/nostalgic bits (because it wouldn’t be an AJH book without those), but on the whole this series is just so beautiful.
So, anyhoo… Pansies is set in South Shields, which is in Northern England, on the Eastern coast. The way the town is described makes it seem like a small town, but it’s really not. I googled it and I’m pretty sure it’s large enough to count as a city. It’s hard for me to pick a favourite in this series, but I think I feel the most connection with this one, I can see myself in Alfie (in general terms, not specifics). The city I grew up in is a similar size to South Shields, very working class, very conservative, and it has that small town feel to it. For a city of 80k people, I was constantly running in to people I knew, before I got married and changed my last name everyone knew who my family was because my grandfather owns a masonry business that has built all but 1 of the major buildings in the city. And from the time I was a teenager all I wanted to do was leave. And I did! And while I don’t think I could ever move back there, I have occasionally felt the pull of being somewhere so familiar, where all of my family is. Also with growing up in a conservative, small-town-feeling city of 80k, there’s also that total submersion in heteronormativity. Like, when Fen asks Alfie why it took him so long to figure out he’s gay, and Alfie tells him it’s because it was never a possibility for him. You just assume you’re the same as everyone else because everyone else assumes that you’re the same as them, and there are so few examples of anything else. There were so many times while I was reading this that I felt so sad for Alfie. That he grew up in a homophobic family, in a homophobic town, that he has so much internalized homophobia, it just kind of broke my heart. Ugh…
When I originally listened to this, there were quite a few things I missed. One of them being how Alfie’s accent gets thicker as the book goes along. I mean, it’s just what happens when you go home and are surrounded with that. I think it also shows how he’s becoming more himself when he’s back in South Shields, not trying to being someone he’s not in London.
I feel like I could go on and on about this book. And I’ve barely even said anything about Fen, who is just lovely.
The Spires series is just so incredibly good. I know they’re still quite a ways off, but I absolutely CANNOT WAIT for books 5 and 6. I need more Spires in my life and heart!
CW: all the internalized homophobia. Plus a fair amount of general homophobia.
OMG this book. This whole series, really. It’s all so freaking good. The writing is just beautiful, and not really like anything else Alexis Hall has written. There’s funny bits and geeky/nostalgic bits (because it wouldn’t be an AJH book without those), but on the whole this series is just so beautiful.
So, anyhoo… Pansies is set in South Shields, which is in Northern England, on the Eastern coast. The way the town is described makes it seem like a small town, but it’s really not. I googled it and I’m pretty sure it’s large enough to count as a city. It’s hard for me to pick a favourite in this series, but I think I feel the most connection with this one, I can see myself in Alfie (in general terms, not specifics). The city I grew up in is a similar size to South Shields, very working class, very conservative, and it has that small town feel to it. For a city of 80k people, I was constantly running in to people I knew, before I got married and changed my last name everyone knew who my family was because my grandfather owns a masonry business that has built all but 1 of the major buildings in the city. And from the time I was a teenager all I wanted to do was leave. And I did! And while I don’t think I could ever move back there, I have occasionally felt the pull of being somewhere so familiar, where all of my family is. Also with growing up in a conservative, small-town-feeling city of 80k, there’s also that total submersion in heteronormativity. Like, when Fen asks Alfie why it took him so long to figure out he’s gay, and Alfie tells him it’s because it was never a possibility for him. You just assume you’re the same as everyone else because everyone else assumes that you’re the same as them, and there are so few examples of anything else. There were so many times while I was reading this that I felt so sad for Alfie. That he grew up in a homophobic family, in a homophobic town, that he has so much internalized homophobia, it just kind of broke my heart. Ugh…
When I originally listened to this, there were quite a few things I missed. One of them being how Alfie’s accent gets thicker as the book goes along. I mean, it’s just what happens when you go home and are surrounded with that. I think it also shows how he’s becoming more himself when he’s back in South Shields, not trying to being someone he’s not in London.
I feel like I could go on and on about this book. And I’ve barely even said anything about Fen, who is just lovely.
The Spires series is just so incredibly good. I know they’re still quite a ways off, but I absolutely CANNOT WAIT for books 5 and 6. I need more Spires in my life and heart!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia and Grief
Moderate: Death of parent
dashboardlights24601's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Homophobia, Sexual content, and Death of parent
Minor: Bullying, Suicide, and Terminal illness
mythicaldelenn's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Death of parent, and Grief
Moderate: Dementia, Emotional abuse, Terminal illness, Sexual content, Misogyny, and Homophobia
Minor: Biphobia, Cursing, Drug use, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Self harm
missmolly's review
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
One of the best Romance novels I've read. The characters are complex and their motivations are believable. The whole thing is well written and the kissing & sex scenes are superb. My only quibble is that the love story is so fast paced, way quicker than I think would be realistic. However, poet licence y'all—and it's a romance story— so I'll happily overlook that small point. Would highly recommend.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia and Grief
ticktock's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Biphobia, Bullying, Grief, Homophobia, and Sexual content
Minor: Dementia
nemaria's review
emotional
slow-paced
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia and Sexual content
Moderate: Dementia, Death, Grief, and Suicide
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