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4.57 AVERAGE
4.57 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
sad
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-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
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-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
challenging
emotional
sad
To quote my fav review of this book: “Jen, F*ck you. 5 stars”
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I will start with... this book broke me and had me in tears for awhile after listening to it. Cam and Dylan were amazing characters that I fell in love with the second they met. The way they fall for each other and they way the story is told in acts and not chapters was really amazing.. If you are not good with death I wouldn't recommend this book but it will be a book I will listen to and read again and let myself think of what and why everything happens.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic friendship
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Medical trauma, Death of parent
Never in my life has a book tore me open the way this did. The Unfinished Line is a 5 star masterpiece. It is a book that NEEDS to be read and needs to be discussed.
First off- Jen Lyon is a WRITER. The kind that is born to share her stories and beautiful words with the world. Since the amazing ‘The Senator’s Wife’ series, Lyon has been a top author in sapphic fiction. I believe this book transcends any genre or pigeon hole and deserves to be consumed by every mainstream and outlying reader. Lyon deserves the recognition as a top author in any and every realm. Jen is the only author that can make me laugh out loud as consistently- and is now the singular author that reduced me to a mess of bawling, screaming tears.
**********SPOILERS AHEAD**********
Dillon and Kam are fully fleshed characters that you can’t help but fall in love with straight away. I loved the choice to write kam in first person so we fully bonded with her and got more of her point of view. The contrast in the writing for Dillon hit me so hard in the closing chapters of the book. Such an impressive choice to make us aware that we weren’t privy to all of the haunting, chaotic thoughts in Dillon’s mind. The side characters were so well built (especially Seren)-understanding the love and relationship shared between the side characters and the m/c’s added an unbelievable amount of feeling to the natural ending of the book. I’ve never highlighted so much. Everything from dialogue choice to the trip around the world Jen took us on pulling me in deeper.
The unfinished line is a love story not a romance. Yet for the majority of the book (and with take 2) Lyon created a beautiful romance. A love so easily understood. The connection and chemistry between Kam and Dillon magnetic. It is a beautiful story of finding acceptance, support and love as your authentic self.
There isn’t the vocabulary required to cover all of the emotions described and invoked by this book. It’s more than just grief and love and loss. It touches on more nuanced feelings and experiences- imposter syndrome, self doubt, guilt, determination, drive and the dangers of trying to define your purpose.
I understand the opinion that difficult subjects should be left out of fiction. That reading is a way to escape the troubles in reality. However, this topic is far too important to shy away from. The awareness this book has the opportunity to bring to mental health struggles is why it was so important for Lyon to publish. This book can pave the way for much needed discussions in the support and management of mental health among athletes. However, ‘The Unfinished Line’ is not just about the immense pressures professional athletes face or the torment of living under the media’s gaze. It is about a daughter, a sister, a friend, a lover. It is about a person struggling.
The Unfinished Line is the most hauntingly beautiful book I have ever read. Take 1 smashed my heart open when I thought I was stuck being numb. Feelings long paralysed came crashing through me with Jen’s words. I almost feel guilty that I connected with the way Dillon felt so deeply. As it was written in a way that could only be achieved by Jen experiencing this struggle firsthand. Take 1 is the best depiction of depressive thoughts I have read. The rational side of the mind trying to fight through. The complete lack of control. The ‘real’ you feeling like they are drowning in the battle. The desperation to be free from pain. The sheer exhaustion from going around and around this cycle.
Reading, and being made to feel, the aftermath of Dillon fixed something inside of me. Much like Dillon in take 2, I realised I couldn’t possibly put people I love through that. This is of course the rational and logical understanding of suicidal ideation. It is what creates the rhetoric around ‘selfishness’ and ‘cowardice’. Except, as Jen detailed, a mentally ill mind is not rational. To actually convince myself of the suffering and to get this rational side to click for me was solely due to the talented and gut wrenching way Jen described the scene left behind. I was forced to be dragged through it all, and I am so grateful that I was.
I felt every emotion that is on the spectrum reading this book. I laughed, cried and shouted in visceral rage. I won’t ever be able to describe what this book means to me. Thank you Jen Lyon, for making me feel again. I hope this is the start of my own ‘take 2’.
First off- Jen Lyon is a WRITER. The kind that is born to share her stories and beautiful words with the world. Since the amazing ‘The Senator’s Wife’ series, Lyon has been a top author in sapphic fiction. I believe this book transcends any genre or pigeon hole and deserves to be consumed by every mainstream and outlying reader. Lyon deserves the recognition as a top author in any and every realm. Jen is the only author that can make me laugh out loud as consistently- and is now the singular author that reduced me to a mess of bawling, screaming tears.
**********SPOILERS AHEAD**********
Dillon and Kam are fully fleshed characters that you can’t help but fall in love with straight away. I loved the choice to write kam in first person so we fully bonded with her and got more of her point of view. The contrast in the writing for Dillon hit me so hard in the closing chapters of the book. Such an impressive choice to make us aware that we weren’t privy to all of the haunting, chaotic thoughts in Dillon’s mind. The side characters were so well built (especially Seren)-understanding the love and relationship shared between the side characters and the m/c’s added an unbelievable amount of feeling to the natural ending of the book. I’ve never highlighted so much. Everything from dialogue choice to the trip around the world Jen took us on pulling me in deeper.
The unfinished line is a love story not a romance. Yet for the majority of the book (and with take 2) Lyon created a beautiful romance. A love so easily understood. The connection and chemistry between Kam and Dillon magnetic. It is a beautiful story of finding acceptance, support and love as your authentic self.
There isn’t the vocabulary required to cover all of the emotions described and invoked by this book. It’s more than just grief and love and loss. It touches on more nuanced feelings and experiences- imposter syndrome, self doubt, guilt, determination, drive and the dangers of trying to define your purpose.
I understand the opinion that difficult subjects should be left out of fiction. That reading is a way to escape the troubles in reality. However, this topic is far too important to shy away from. The awareness this book has the opportunity to bring to mental health struggles is why it was so important for Lyon to publish. This book can pave the way for much needed discussions in the support and management of mental health among athletes. However, ‘The Unfinished Line’ is not just about the immense pressures professional athletes face or the torment of living under the media’s gaze. It is about a daughter, a sister, a friend, a lover. It is about a person struggling.
The Unfinished Line is the most hauntingly beautiful book I have ever read. Take 1 smashed my heart open when I thought I was stuck being numb. Feelings long paralysed came crashing through me with Jen’s words. I almost feel guilty that I connected with the way Dillon felt so deeply. As it was written in a way that could only be achieved by Jen experiencing this struggle firsthand. Take 1 is the best depiction of depressive thoughts I have read. The rational side of the mind trying to fight through. The complete lack of control. The ‘real’ you feeling like they are drowning in the battle. The desperation to be free from pain. The sheer exhaustion from going around and around this cycle.
Reading, and being made to feel, the aftermath of Dillon fixed something inside of me. Much like Dillon in take 2, I realised I couldn’t possibly put people I love through that. This is of course the rational and logical understanding of suicidal ideation. It is what creates the rhetoric around ‘selfishness’ and ‘cowardice’. Except, as Jen detailed, a mentally ill mind is not rational. To actually convince myself of the suffering and to get this rational side to click for me was solely due to the talented and gut wrenching way Jen described the scene left behind. I was forced to be dragged through it all, and I am so grateful that I was.
I felt every emotion that is on the spectrum reading this book. I laughed, cried and shouted in visceral rage. I won’t ever be able to describe what this book means to me. Thank you Jen Lyon, for making me feel again. I hope this is the start of my own ‘take 2’.
This touched me on a very emotional level. Outstanding writing.
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol
Minor: Grief, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail