Reviews with content warning for Toxic relationship - Una última parada

Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Una última parada by Casey McQuiston

10 reviews

tangleroot_eli's review against another edition

emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

A very sweet love story about young New York disaster queers. The dialogue sparkles; the characters are interesting and well-drawn; and I personally appreciate how much is happening in most of the characters' lives: even the romantic leads have more going on than just dealing with their love lives.

A lot of things about the book don't stand up to Fridge Logic. You sort of accept them as you read, but the instant you put the book down and start doing something else, your brain tells you all the things that don't make sense about what you've just read. Initially I found this incredibly annoying. After a while, though, the story became so engrossing that I stopped noticing. But those things are definitely still there, so caveat lector if that'll bug you no matter how sweet the love story is.

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idreamofdragons's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted 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

3.0

A marked improvement from Red White and Royal Blue for me. The chemistry and stakes felt real but be warned August's inner dialogue can be mildly transphobic. Commenting on characters lack of genitals and making sweeping judgements on how binary bodies look. It's jarring and feels out of place everytime it happens but it only occurs a couple of times.

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stormeno's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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kyrstin_p1989's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

I don’t know how to feel about a sci-fi romance like this, if I’m being honest. The premise felt unrealistic and a bit difficult to wrap my head around with all the space time continuum stuff going on but the characters are beautifully written, unique, and loveable as all hell. The love stories are sweet & strong. The found family in this book is so genuine and real. I just wish the main thread of the story wasn’t about traveling through time.

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its2early4this's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I'm not sure if I've read a book with such a diverse cast before. If so, this one is still pretty high up there. Gay men, lesbians, at least one bisexual and pansexual person each, at least one trans person, multiple drag queens, mentions of non-binary people and gender non-conformity in general, lots of POC. All-in-all, that aspect of the book is fantastic. While the romance is a major point of the book, it didn't feel like THE focal point, which I enjoyed. I would say that, really, this book was about finding yourself, finding a place to belong, and found family. Equal parts sad and inspiring. I don't have much of anything negative to say about this book. I suppose the pacing felt odd in some places, but that could be because I had to return it mid-read due to holds, and wait to finish it. All-in-all, very worth the read.

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headinthepages's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

I really enjoyed this book. I will admit it dragged a little towards the middle but it gripped me again shortly after and I raced to finish it.

This was really easy to read and really engaging, and the magical/sci-fi realism was well done and enjoyable.

I feel like the main theme in this book is love: love of a person, a place, of yourself, family & friends. There’s so much love in the friendships August makes and I adore the people she spends her time with in NYC. The love for NYC is wonderful too. This community and the community in Billy’s diner too. How everyone bands together. The love within the queer community too and unquestioned acceptance of each other as well as the supernatural elements was great.

I think identity, relationships, family, love & loss were all approached really well. The characters were fantastic and I could totally read a spin off book on any of them.

I thought parts of the plot were predictable but I didn’t mind one bit.

Super queer, super loveable, fun and a wild ride.

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nenya's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective 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

5.0

THIS book was just… amazing. At first, I was scared that the characters were somewhat stereotypical and that the author was just trying to get diversity points. But instead, each one of them has depth, flaws and is endlessly loveable and sooo well written. The way their personalities differ and yet add up to each other is incredible and makes the reading experience so much more realistic. The plot is a mix between mystery, jokes and some amazing plottwists which I did not see coming while staying pretty relatable (time travel aside). I‘d say that this book is mainly character driven, but most definitely not boring. It’s the perfect combination of self-reflection, character development and action. I wish I could read it for the first time again.

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nick13's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny mysterious 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

4.0

This book was super super fun and was exactly what I needed at the time! Super funny yet emotional when it needed to be, I say if you need a good, lighter read during times like these to go ahead and give this book a try :)

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nextkt's review against another edition

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I really wanted to like this book! I know Casey MiQuiston is really popular in YA right now but, beyond the gay and POC representation in her books, I really don't know why. The characters were so hollow (I really don't like when writers "tell" me a characters personality instead of showing me—we are told over and over again that August doesn't trust people and is cynical but within 3 chapters she is best friends with Isaiah and Myla and already falling in love?) Maybe this just isn't the type of book for me and is meant for a different audience, but I hope this isnt just Casey dumbing down her writing for YA—teenagers can handle complex characters!

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claudiamacpherson's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious 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

4.5

Casey McQuiston has done it again: writing a book that made me laugh out loud and nearly explode with excitement, not to mention the lines that stop me in my tracks because they make me feel a little too seen.

I basically had a religious experience reading Red, White and Royal Blue, so naturally I had high hopes for One Last Stop. I couldn’t believe McQuiston was writing something possibly even more up my alley: female protag, found family, and magical elements? Those are pretty much all my favorite things! I was in Spain when this book came out, but literally the second thing I did after getting home to the US (after getting my COVID vaccine, of course) was go to a bookstore and buy this book. The woman at the checkout told me that she’d already read it, and that it was even better than RWaRB, which made me even more excited!

It’s actually impossible to dislike a single one of the characters, and I loved how accepting and loving they all were to each other from the very beginning. The conflicts never hinged on anyone being cruel or unkind, they were always due to the circumstances, which I love. I also appreciated how McQuiston portrayed bisexuality, because, like in RWaRB, it shocked me to see my own thoughts reflected so accurately. This is why it is so important to have diverse authors!!

Happy ending meter (no specific spoilers, just the vibe of the ending):

Happy! It really came down to the last few chapters, though; I went into the book with complete confidence that McQuiston would never let me down by writing a sad ending, but with only a few chapters left I started to question whether things would work out… and they did!

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