Reviews with content warning for Racism - Like a Love Story

Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Like a Love Story by Abdi Nazemian

25 reviews

sunnymashi's review against another edition

challenging 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

3.5

MESSY REVIEW BELOW!!!
Mixed emotions. Certain spots in the book felt quite impactful while other spots dragged. like Stephen’s death scene literally pained me… it was so devastating to read.

Everyone was flawed, which was a great touch of depth to all the characters. The best characters were probably the supportive older figures of Tara, Jimmy, and Stephen. Their influences brought light to the novel with their perspectives… Speaking of characters I admired how clearly separated the different points of view are. You could tell which character was which easily, which is a sign of decent characterization so I applaud that. BUTTTT I do have to say that Art’s dialogue at times sometimes felt a bit… preachy? Like I do get the intention but the execution was slightly off sometimes. The drama was so… deep?

While I get why Reza felt like he had to date Judy to try to be straight… I first off felt bad because it felt so deceitful in general but then the added layer of Judy getting so excited made me feel even worse. Also the friendship breakup was so complex it made sense but it also was frustrating??

ALSO I DID NOT EXPECT TO SEE JUDY GET IT ON WITH SAADI??! THAT WAS ABSOLUTELY SHOCKING. i was so confused and flabbergasted that that happened.

I wish the story didn’t use the f slur so much… It was uncomfortable to constantly read it

Content Warnings

m_hates_reading's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad 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? It's complicated

4.0

4/5 Absolutely heartbreaking.

A queer, first-love romance, but set in 1989 New York and based in the AIDS crisis - it’s one of the most moving books I’ve read. It’s been sat on my bookshelf since I originally came out in 2020, and I never bothered to read it until now. Im actually glad I didn’t read it when I first got it, bc I don’t think I would have been able to appreciate the imagery and symbolism as well.

The tri-perspective approach really works well- nobody’s the main character, it’s about how what happens effects all of them, the entire community.

The reason it’s not a five star read, for me, was because I felt the writing lacked balance. The first half of the book was very cute and bubbly (or as cute and bubbly as it gets when your book is a queer romance set in 1989 New York) and all the very deeply emotional and moving scenes kind of happened together. It’s hard to explain, and I don’t want to criticise it too harshly because it is an incredibly beautiful story that the author has very obviously put their entire heart and soul into, but it felt like some passages were missing the spark that made the rest of it so great.

Not my usual thing, but I’m glad I read it, and I’m glad it exists because I know just how meaningful it is and will be to so many people.

Content Warnings

blackbookishbabe89's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective sad 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? Yes

4.75

Content Warnings

acepersephone's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad 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

4.0

An absolutely beautiful and heartbreaking story about love in all its forms but specifically the love of community and how the love of our chosen families shape our lives.

Content Warnings