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beckyyreadss's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This series was gifted to me for my birthday. I loved the film and loved the last book; however, I think it should have had a tragedy ending and that this book wasn’t really needed.
This book has two points of view. The first is Ethan Wate, he has always dreamed of leaving the Southern town of Gatlin. But he never dreamt that finding love with Lena Duchannes would drive him away. Lena is a Caster girl whose supernatural powers unveiled a secretive and cursed side of Gatlin, so powerful it forced him to make a terrible sacrifice. Ethan is dead and stuck in the other universe and now he must find a way to return to Lena and to Gatlin. The second point of view is Lena Duchannes, she is refusing to move on with her life after Ethan’s death. She believes he is sending her messages from the other side and the only person that believes her is Ethans’s guardian Amma. Together they vow to do whatever it takes to get him back. Even if it means trusting old enemies or risking their loved one’s lives. Can Ethan and Lena rewrite their fate and will their love prevail.
This book was not needed at all. Amma should be alive. Ethan should be dead. Lena should be moving on and being a badass instead of moping over Ethan. There was no need for Amma to die, she was literally the godsend of the series and yet they killed her off with three chapters, it was pathetic and ruined the whole series. I ended up skimming through most of this book especially with most of the villains from the previous series coming back and trying to have a different arc. I couldn’t tell if this book was a money grabbing scheme or if the fans from when it first came out begged for it, but I would have loved for this book to be Lena older with children and talking about the old times with Ethan as a memory. He had such a good storyline of sacrificing himself to save his town and the people he loved, and this book has just ruined the whole arc of the series
The thing that stopped this book being 2 stars was Link and the additional POV from Lena, but the rest was just not needed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Mental illness
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Suicide
simplythegirl's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
So I'm not the intended audience for this book and usually I give an extra star for that but I think this series has some major problems. I'll start with this book specifically
The plot revolves around getting Ethan back. There's no real stakes it's pretty predictable. There are a few interesting new characters which I'd love to have seen more of. The pacing is also pretty slow. I love Link, Macon, and I love Liv and John so I got through the books because I wanted to see them and know what happened to them. Ethan and Lena are okay in comparison. I think Ethan is the most underdeveloped and bland character and the book focus on him a lot.
This book series has not aged well and I would not let my kids read it unless they're concious on why its problematic
Amma sacrifices herself for Ethan. The only African American woman gives up her life for this white boy. This screams "white savior." The systematic and societal statement on that is tragic. She's an underdeveloped character compared to all the white characters too. Poc get shafted in books like this and this is a clear book that did not do poc justice. Also the civil war is referred to multiple times as "the war on cotton" and never mentions racism in the south. I guess because this book is majority white people the author thought it was fine. She tries to make it seem like everyone in the town holds onto old ways(implied racist ways too) but will seriously and casually skim the topic of racism thr only violenc in flashbacks are eone by union soldiers again over cotton. That should tell you something about the author. Amma also does voodoo which is a stereotype. She's always been under Ethan's family in the hierarchy and no amount of good Ethan's family did for slaves in the past can justify her place, sacrifice, and underdevelopment. I really would have preferred Ethan stay in the afterlife.
The plot revolves around getting Ethan back. There's no real stakes it's pretty predictable. There are a few interesting new characters which I'd love to have seen more of. The pacing is also pretty slow. I love Link, Macon, and I love Liv and John so I got through the books because I wanted to see them and know what happened to them. Ethan and Lena are okay in comparison. I think Ethan is the most underdeveloped and bland character and the book focus on him a lot.
This book series has not aged well and I would not let my kids read it unless they're concious on why its problematic
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Mental illness
Minor: Death of parent
zoeleighcraig's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent and Death
Minor: Suicide
brynn_books's review against another edition
3.5
I really enjoyed the vibes and aesthetic of the series (probably more than the actual plot). But I still thought the plot and concept of these books were intriguing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
thenymphsvoice's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
My feelings about this series stayed consistent.
It has that same quality as the South, where ever route is the scenic one. You’re always going somewhere but it somehow feels like you always take the long way there.
Lots of elements, concepts, etc I love. Love Ethan, definitely one of my favorite book boys ever.
It has that same quality as the South, where ever route is the scenic one. You’re always going somewhere but it somehow feels like you always take the long way there.
Lots of elements, concepts, etc I love. Love Ethan, definitely one of my favorite book boys ever.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
jag_549's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Rounds up the series nicely. Felt weird reading part of the book from Lena’s perspective as it’s the first time they’ve done it and it’s the final book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
everythingemily97's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Compared to the other novels in this series. This was the best one. It was intriguing and interesting. I was engaged with the storyline and what was going on. I was not the biggest fan of the characters in this one. Everything was too easy for them to overcome. Though it was still an enjoyable read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
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