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the_tea_collector22's review
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
bmanatee_reads's review
emotional
reflective
sad
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
3.25
teabella's review against another edition
The narrator was monologed and so everything felt like a run on sentence. Might try again in digital format
sarahjjoy's review
2.0
i received an arc from netgalley and i will say this wasn’t what i expected. i thought it was going to be solely about jade and her journey through grief as a black queer woman, but there were multiple povs. the language wasn’t the most mature and the plot fell short of what the description painted. overall, great representation but it wasn’t my favorite read.
smalltownbookmom's review
4.0
A heartfelt and moving queer coming of age story featuring a young Jamaican Canadian woman who is grieving the death of her sister. Told with flashbacks and through multiple POVs, this was great on audio and recommended for fans of books like Queenie or You made a fool of death with your beauty. I really loved the Canadian (Toronto) setting and the great bisexual rep and look forward to reading more by this author!
henrymarlene's review
2.0
Do you ever pick books and find they are not what you expected them to be? I was keen to read this story about Jade, a young black queer woman who was struggling to find herself after the death of her twin sister, Roze. What I found was a story that seemed disjointed, and a narrative style that introduced random points of view that did not add substance to the story. This did confound the flow of the book, and because many of the other narrator’s stories did not connect up, it seemed like they were thrown in because Jade had not yet found her voice. This was quite interesting given that Jade was trying to make her mark as a writer – her own voice was not strong enough in her personal life, let alone was her writing explored in any real detail till the end.
I was also disappointed because the book did not really cover the topic of loss, and the impact of a twin sister dying for a young woman who seemed to be in awe of her presence. The Jamaican Patios thrown in was wonderful, and this cultural connection with Jade did bring particular moments to life.
I could see what was being done to illustrate Jade’s curiosity in her sexuality, with her relationships with both men and women however I think there was a fine line that was crossed when setting up the storyline between Jade and Tay after the fact that Jade did cheat on her. The self-discovery journey Jade embarked on happened too late in this book to give it real significance to her coming into her own person, and realising that her direction as a writer was part of her salvation.
Thanks Netgalley for the gifted ARC.
I was also disappointed because the book did not really cover the topic of loss, and the impact of a twin sister dying for a young woman who seemed to be in awe of her presence. The Jamaican Patios thrown in was wonderful, and this cultural connection with Jade did bring particular moments to life.
I could see what was being done to illustrate Jade’s curiosity in her sexuality, with her relationships with both men and women however I think there was a fine line that was crossed when setting up the storyline between Jade and Tay after the fact that Jade did cheat on her. The self-discovery journey Jade embarked on happened too late in this book to give it real significance to her coming into her own person, and realising that her direction as a writer was part of her salvation.
Thanks Netgalley for the gifted ARC.
pandafan7's review
3.0
This is a coming-of-age story about Jade. Dealing with the grief of the loss of her twin sister, Jade sets about to determine who she is. Jade isn’t sure if she’s bisexual, gay, or just queer. She experiences several different relationships during the book and each relationship brings Jade a step closer to figuring out who she is.
I love the queer black voice Jade presents in this story. Also, the struggle of being a first-generation Jamaican Canadian. While some of the other characters were interesting, the switching between different POVs took away from the story in my opinion. I would have much preferred to read the whole story from Jade’s POV. I think it would’ve been a much more powerful coming-of-age story if it was written solely from Jade’s POV. For this reason, I give this 3 out of 5 stars.
Thank you to Rare Machines and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!
I love the queer black voice Jade presents in this story. Also, the struggle of being a first-generation Jamaican Canadian. While some of the other characters were interesting, the switching between different POVs took away from the story in my opinion. I would have much preferred to read the whole story from Jade’s POV. I think it would’ve been a much more powerful coming-of-age story if it was written solely from Jade’s POV. For this reason, I give this 3 out of 5 stars.
Thank you to Rare Machines and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!
shanipatel's review
4.0
this grew on me the more i listened ~ i enjoyed the series of events and the ending but found it a little hard to keep up with the different narratives and jumps in time ~ 7/10
marniefaith's review
4.0
I was given a free e-arc from NetGalley, in exchange for a fair and honest review.
I can't explain how much I loved this book! Initially, I struggled to get into it as the writing style proved difficult for me to connect with, but that was quickly resolved by the second chapter. After that, I truly couldn't wait to continue reading it. Tanya Turton's character building and view of the world is so beautiful - Jade's story had me crying on multiple occasions.
The descriptions of everything; hair, food, setting, styles - all worked in tandem to build the most beautiful image in my brain of the characters and their surroundings. Not only that, but the nuances of each character that really helped establish themselves as an individual were so interesting to read more about.
The nurture and delicacy of Jade's story was truly beautiful; the way in which she learnt to live alongside her grief, and really grow into herself was incredible to see. The only downside to the book, for me, was the depiction of polyamory. Poly relationships are supposed to be agreed from both sides, and though it did eventually result in informed consent, the events prior to that being established felt quite ill-informed. Other than that, I found it to be a really enjoyable read!
I can't explain how much I loved this book! Initially, I struggled to get into it as the writing style proved difficult for me to connect with, but that was quickly resolved by the second chapter. After that, I truly couldn't wait to continue reading it. Tanya Turton's character building and view of the world is so beautiful - Jade's story had me crying on multiple occasions.
The descriptions of everything; hair, food, setting, styles - all worked in tandem to build the most beautiful image in my brain of the characters and their surroundings. Not only that, but the nuances of each character that really helped establish themselves as an individual were so interesting to read more about.
The nurture and delicacy of Jade's story was truly beautiful; the way in which she learnt to live alongside her grief, and really grow into herself was incredible to see. The only downside to the book, for me, was the depiction of polyamory. Poly relationships are supposed to be agreed from both sides, and though it did eventually result in informed consent, the events prior to that being established felt quite ill-informed. Other than that, I found it to be a really enjoyable read!
linatheteafairy's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Death, Grief, and Suicide