Reviews with content warning for Grief - Who I Was with Her

Definitely not an easy read, especially for emotional people like me but it was definitely unlike anything I've read before.

I'm not one to really criticise a book just because I didn't like it but I have a lot to say about this one.

The plot was very touching and I loved the time jumps. But there was too much focus on coming out for me, which is absolutely a matter of personal preference so don't let it hold y'all back from reading this book.

I do remember being worried about having to come out and the anxiety it gave me to even think about it so it's not that I don't understand, but now I just see it differently. I guess maybe I just expected the story to be more about Corinne and Maggie's relationship than about Corinne 's coming out journey. Regardless, I fully understand why she didn't want to come out when she was with Maggie, or with Elissa for that matter, and giving her an ultimatum was a real bad move imo.

I guess I just didn't relate too much to the main character's struggles with coming out since I view it differently from her. I don't like it when coming out is presented as something that has to be done. Some people don't want to come out and it's absolutely fine, you don't have to tell people "I'm xy" if you don't want to, just going about your life and letting people figure things out for themselves can be a completely viable option too.

The relevan characters that knew Maggie were unreasonably bitchy with eachother for no reason and I feel like that was such an unhealthy representation of grief. I understand that they were all devastated but treating others like shit and being absolutely selfish wasn't gonna solve their problems, I would've preferred if at least one of them would've had a somewhat different coping style because this whole "She died so I get to be a dick" thing didn't really do it for me.

Content Warnings

amabel_xo's review

Go to review page

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring 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? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

menacingsouls's review against another edition

Go to review page

inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing sad fast-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

4.5

Content Warnings

thetinytrashcan's review

Go to review page

emotional 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? It's complicated

4.5

This book handles grief in one of its truest and messiest forms and does it well. The entire ensemble cast of characters brought an important element to the story in the way we see how Corrine’s grief impacts each of their relationships with her as well as their ability to decentralize Corrine as the the only one who is grieving Maggie. This story tore my heart in two as books often do when elements hit closer to home than I expected them to and I found myself writing a lot more personal annotations than I normally do when reading this. The human connection the author provides between the character and the reader is one of the best things about this book and has sealed it in my mind as something the definitely is going to be reread in my future.

Content Warnings

More...