Reviews

Life and Other Love Songs by Anissa Gray

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yannareads's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

emilythemighty's review

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dark reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

egould1's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious reflective 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

4.0

I enjoyed this multigenerational family saga. A lot of hurt occurred between the characters, but a lot of healing and forgiveness too, starting with that of each individual. The plot took some turns I wasn’t expecting which was a nice surprise. Overall, I enjoyed the book.

sarahturner17's review

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mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.0

samn27's review

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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

jaydionne's review

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5.0

This was quite the unexpected story. I enjoyed this

mammajamma's review

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emotional sad 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

jasvictorious's review

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4.0

I have a lot of feelings about this one. Overall, it was a good read. It checks a lot of my boxes. It’s a multigenerational family saga that is of course right up my alley. Takes place in Detroit in the 60s and 70s with many nods to the Great Migration. AIDS, the Detroit Riots, and queer love were nice touches. There were nods to mental illness and the importance of healing. The story kept me intrigued. I turned each page wanting to know what *happened* and I wanted happy endings for some of the characters.

Overall, Oz is probably one of the worst characters…ever. There was no redeeming him for me. The character development was a little lacking, and this may be tedious….but the switching from first person to third was sending me. I don’t get the point of that.

I am a fan of Anissa Gray’s storytelling and am not sure why this novel doesn’t get more attention due to the success of her first.

rachelkreadsbookz's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious reflective 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

3.75

Content Warnings

alysereadsbooks's review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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

3.5

This book was not what I was expecting, but I still very much enjoyed it. I liked the alternating perspectives and timelines. It was a bit slow at times, but I found the ending very unexpected and gut-wrenching. Overall, a bittersweet read.

Content Warnings

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