Scan barcode
rhall19's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Death of parent, Animal death, and Blood
ashleyoop's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
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? It's complicated
5.0
My favorite read of the year so far. These characters are so well written in my opinion. Their actions, their pain, their connection. I also love that the romance isn’t the main storyline. In short, it’s a story that shows just what you can face when you have someone that has your back despite your differences.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, and Death of parent
Minor: Animal death
bookitwithbecca's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
0.25
Honestly, I could write a long, in-depth review of this book because there's a lot to say, but I don't want to give it that much space. Usually, when a book disturbs me this much, I'll simply omit it from my public reviews. However, in this case, I do feel a responsibility to say something because both the story and the book, as a thing that is coming out into the world, are concerning, and I don't want anyone to mistake this for something harmless.
Some of It Was Real is baffling and alarming. The author has clearly done her research and understands the murky world of psychics and mediums who promise grieving people a chance at connecting with lost loved ones. The problem is she seems fine with it â or at least with presenting a rosy version of it in fiction. Instead of seriously engaging with the ethical dangers or even attempting to balance healthy skepticism with an open mind, the author fully commits to the idea that her (anti)heroine is the genuine article and doing something good in the world â even when the protagonist herself admits that she fakes psychic connections as often as she makes "real" ones. The result is a bizarrely "feel-good" story about a young woman overcoming (but not seeking actual therapy for!) her traumatic past to embrace her calling as a psychic-medium, enthralling even her biggest skeptic along the way. This approach not only saps any compelling tension from the plot but is also disturbingly close to full endorsement of the "grief vampires" that are existing, manipulating, and thriving in our society. I believe we should leave room for wonder and admit there are things â maybe even supernatural things â that science can't explain, but we still need to be responsible about how we explore those questions, especially when the story is not fantasy but firmly rooted in our real world and how it operates. But this book is not interested in engaging with complexity or even uncertainty, which is a shame because the setup is fantastic and could have been something great. However, the casual whitewashing holds it back as a literary work and also reveals a lack of awareness about what it's contributing to the real-world narrative. At best, Some of it was Real is a cheap spiritualist fairy tale. At worst, it's an irresponsible handling of a delicate subject, with concerning implications related to fraud, manipulation, and mental health issues.
My thanks to NetGalley and Berkley for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Some of It Was Real is baffling and alarming. The author has clearly done her research and understands the murky world of psychics and mediums who promise grieving people a chance at connecting with lost loved ones. The problem is she seems fine with it â or at least with presenting a rosy version of it in fiction. Instead of seriously engaging with the ethical dangers or even attempting to balance healthy skepticism with an open mind, the author fully commits to the idea that her (anti)heroine is the genuine article and doing something good in the world â even when the protagonist herself admits that she fakes psychic connections as often as she makes "real" ones. The result is a bizarrely "feel-good" story about a young woman overcoming (but not seeking actual therapy for!) her traumatic past to embrace her calling as a psychic-medium, enthralling even her biggest skeptic along the way. This approach not only saps any compelling tension from the plot but is also disturbingly close to full endorsement of the "grief vampires" that are existing, manipulating, and thriving in our society. I believe we should leave room for wonder and admit there are things â maybe even supernatural things â that science can't explain, but we still need to be responsible about how we explore those questions, especially when the story is not fantasy but firmly rooted in our real world and how it operates. But this book is not interested in engaging with complexity or even uncertainty, which is a shame because the setup is fantastic and could have been something great. However, the casual whitewashing holds it back as a literary work and also reveals a lack of awareness about what it's contributing to the real-world narrative. At best, Some of it was Real is a cheap spiritualist fairy tale. At worst, it's an irresponsible handling of a delicate subject, with concerning implications related to fraud, manipulation, and mental health issues.
My thanks to NetGalley and Berkley for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death of parent, and Mental illness
Moderate: Violence
jennastopreading's review
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
This book is a perfect example of, "I didn't see that coming." And in this case, it was absolutely a good thing. I never knew that reading a book about a psychic-medium (Sylvie) that is chasing down the truth of her past would keep me so engaged, but here we are.
What I love about Fischer's writing is the way she crafts her characters. This dual POV story gave us the ability to get inside the minds of both Thomas and Sylvie, in turn giving us the unique perspective of two people trying to find out the details of a story - but for totally different reasons. Sylvie is seeking self discovery while Thomas is trying to fulfill an agenda, but both are equally driven and straightforward. They contain flaws, they own them, and they converse like real adults - not like book adults, if you know what I mean. The conversations didn't feel forced or unrealistic, and that made Sylvie and Thomas very believable characters.
Secondly, this entire story was incredibly unique. While classified right now on Goodreads as a romance, it really read more to me like a mystery through the bulk of it. It was a well paced mystery, though, with lots of character development that had me WANTING to find everything out. By pacing it the way that she did, Fischer made it compelling. Instead of a mystery jumping off the page at the very start, there was time to get invested and curious before really digging into the nitty gritty,
This was the second book I've read by this author and the second one I've given 5 stars to. I look forward to reading more from her in the future!
What I love about Fischer's writing is the way she crafts her characters. This dual POV story gave us the ability to get inside the minds of both Thomas and Sylvie, in turn giving us the unique perspective of two people trying to find out the details of a story - but for totally different reasons. Sylvie is seeking self discovery while Thomas is trying to fulfill an agenda, but both are equally driven and straightforward. They contain flaws, they own them, and they converse like real adults - not like book adults, if you know what I mean. The conversations didn't feel forced or unrealistic, and that made Sylvie and Thomas very believable characters.
Secondly, this entire story was incredibly unique. While classified right now on Goodreads as a romance, it really read more to me like a mystery through the bulk of it. It was a well paced mystery, though, with lots of character development that had me WANTING to find everything out. By pacing it the way that she did, Fischer made it compelling. Instead of a mystery jumping off the page at the very start, there was time to get invested and curious before really digging into the nitty gritty,
This was the second book I've read by this author and the second one I've given 5 stars to. I look forward to reading more from her in the future!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Gore, Death, Blood, Murder, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Sexual content and Vomit
Minor: Rape
shel_conn's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
It was really easy to get into this book, especially with the sort of mystery around whether Sylvie actually has powers as well as her enigmatic background. I thought the pacing was spot-on, so their conflicting feelings about one another felt believable despite the rather short timeframe that they spent together. I loved all of the layers to each of their pasts and how they entwined to bring Sylvie and Thomas together. There is a lot of heart in this book, and there's also a lot of pain, but the writing was deft and delicate, so the story didn't feel overly heavy despite that.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, and Car accident
Moderate: Child abuse
More...