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terezasuchan's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
giorgiagale's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-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
5.0
linemller's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
taylorgeurts's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-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
4.0
whirler_girl's review
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.0
wisterialeah's review against another edition
2.0
Oh my, I have never been so conflicted over my feelings about a book.
I will think about Oliver and James for a long, LONG time. Their entire story was so tragic, it completely wrecked my heart, and I truly hope James is somewhere in Cali waiting for Oliver.
However, no matter how long this tragedy will haunt my soul, and no matter how much I actually ended up getting invested into the dynamics between these "friends", and no matter how beautiful Rio's prose can be, I cannot forgive white women for white womening and I cannot in good faith give this book more than two stars.
1. "Hm" she said, gaze descending slowly from the top of my head to my feet with the cold scrutiny of a slave trader at auction.” Really? That's an analogy we need to be writing in 2017?
2. Describing the music at the party when Oliver and Meredith hook up as a "savage, tribal drumbeat." Again? That's really an analogy that needs to be made?
3. Making Alexander, the only openly queer character, predatory toward straight men, having him insinuate that he would r*pe Oliver and James if they didn't have sex with someone else at one of the parties, and making him a drug addict were such HARMFUL stereotypes to cast on him.
4. The development of the women's characters vs. the men's characters. Filippa and Wren were so underwhelming even though Filippa played such a huge role in this, it was so disappointing. And poor Meredith, never being described as anything other than her body was painful to read over and over again. Not to mention, Oliver's incredibly shallow descriptions of women including his own sisters who he reduced to one being so thin and one "developing curves."
While there were certainly more flaws in this book there were also so many striking moments. James' confession WRECKED me. Their final performance GUTTED me. The entire epilogue had me sobbing so hard my husband went out and got me comfort donuts. I will probably reread this and it will stick with me for a long time because of them. I will also stay angry forever because Rio's characters deserved better than being reduced to harmful stereotypes.
I will think about Oliver and James for a long, LONG time. Their entire story was so tragic, it completely wrecked my heart, and I truly hope James is somewhere in Cali waiting for Oliver.
However, no matter how long this tragedy will haunt my soul, and no matter how much I actually ended up getting invested into the dynamics between these "friends", and no matter how beautiful Rio's prose can be, I cannot forgive white women for white womening and I cannot in good faith give this book more than two stars.
1. "Hm" she said, gaze descending slowly from the top of my head to my feet with the cold scrutiny of a slave trader at auction.” Really? That's an analogy we need to be writing in 2017?
2. Describing the music at the party when Oliver and Meredith hook up as a "savage, tribal drumbeat." Again? That's really an analogy that needs to be made?
3. Making Alexander, the only openly queer character, predatory toward straight men, having him insinuate that he would r*pe Oliver and James if they didn't have sex with someone else at one of the parties, and making him a drug addict were such HARMFUL stereotypes to cast on him.
4. The development of the women's characters vs. the men's characters. Filippa and Wren were so underwhelming even though Filippa played such a huge role in this, it was so disappointing. And poor Meredith, never being described as anything other than her body was painful to read over and over again. Not to mention, Oliver's incredibly shallow descriptions of women including his own sisters who he reduced to one being so thin and one "developing curves."
While there were certainly more flaws in this book there were also so many striking moments. James' confession WRECKED me. Their final performance GUTTED me. The entire epilogue had me sobbing so hard my husband went out and got me comfort donuts. I will probably reread this and it will stick with me for a long time because of them. I will also stay angry forever because Rio's characters deserved better than being reduced to harmful stereotypes.
_saphyr_'s review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-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
5.0
halfbloodcity's review against another edition
5.0
This took me so long to finish, mainly because I have been in and out of a random reading slump but BLOODY HELL! I have no words. I still had SOME hope for a specific end to this book and .. it just kept throwing me curve ball after curve ball. I have no words! I loved it!
elwood's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 ⭐️
Being VERY unfamiliar with Shakespeare’s work, I didn’t enjoy this to its full potential. The writing was b e a u t i f u l, but the plot was kind of predictable. I was hoping for a lot more mystery and a bigger shock, but was kind of left unsatisfied. (Maybe I was too distracted with my midterms to thoroughly enjoy this). However, I was very attached to the characters and loved the main group (well… not the whole group, obviously). If you like dark academia and are familiar and enjoy Shakespeare, this will probably be much more enjoyable for you than it was for me!
Being VERY unfamiliar with Shakespeare’s work, I didn’t enjoy this to its full potential. The writing was b e a u t i f u l, but the plot was kind of predictable. I was hoping for a lot more mystery and a bigger shock, but was kind of left unsatisfied. (Maybe I was too distracted with my midterms to thoroughly enjoy this). However, I was very attached to the characters and loved the main group (well… not the whole group, obviously). If you like dark academia and are familiar and enjoy Shakespeare, this will probably be much more enjoyable for you than it was for me!