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3.82 AVERAGE
3.82 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Slightly less than 4, but rounded up. You need to read the whole book for it to come together, and the middle is tough.
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Highly, highly, HIGHLY recommend the audiobook with Natalie Naudus - this is the kind of story you don’t just read once, either. You gotta keep going back, to capture the full essence of the story. ✨
dark
hopeful
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
god damn it why am i on a roll of finding books that look so fire and are just average in execution. god fucking damn it. the premise is sooo good and just… nothing is done with it.
the magical realism element….. a wash. this seriously read like historical fiction except when the author forgot the book was supposed to be magical realism so random elements were thrown in. like i don’t think the addition of the fires or the hunt added to this story at all. if anything i think it took away from the story because they were never really explained. plus this whole immortality plot gets set up with the mc’s family and then it’s never touched on again 😭😭 what was the point!!!!! the only touch of magical realism i liked was greta. i felt like her nature was touched upon just enough to feel instrumental to the plot and actually felt like it fit into the universe established. in general i loved greta honestly. she was my baby girl. i was super sad when her storyline had closed so to speak, i really think she added a lot to the story. luli was…. ok. i found her to not have much depth once she entered hollywood. she was kinda just there as the protagonist and i don’t feel like she herself added much, only her relationships with others did. like without other people around her, luli kinda just existed in time and space.
i think in terms of plot, act 1 was the strongest by far. it had something to grip you, the story was going in a direction, the mc had motives and goals that she was working towards, and i was at the same level of the mc in terms of knowledge, so it felt equal. i think each act of the story progressively deteriorated in quality, where act 2 did not live up to what it was. it was… fine. what really held up the second act was greta and harry. and then the third act was… boring. there were no goals, nothing to really overcome, it felt like things were kinda just happening and i was waiting to see where jane came in, and then the book literally only introduces her on like the last page. bffr. that felt lazy and cheap. you can’t have the book set up the place where luli ends up at the end of the story and then skip a good chunk of her life. seriously? no chapter for jane or her life post-film? cmon.
i did enjoy the commentary surrounding being gay and in “old” hollywood though, i think other than greta, that is what kept me continuing to read this book.
this book was disappointing in ways i almost cannot explain. the plot synopsis hypes up a lot more magical realism, a lot more sapphism, and a lot more tension. instead there were a handful of sapphic moments, barely any magical realism and what there was was poorly explained and surface level, and almost zero tension because you already know the end of the story. you know luli at least makes it in some way. and even though i wasn’t 100% sure if she got everything she wanted or how she survived every situation, i just had a gut feeling she would barely face any consequences for actions she realistically should’ve. and my gut was right. this book had a great premise, but in theory gave me a book trying to do way too much for the <300 pages it has. dang it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Sexual content, Pregnancy
Minor: Colonisation
dark
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes