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brookey8888's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-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
I’m so upset I didn’t love this. I enjoyed it, but something was just missing for me. I feel like I didn’t really get to know the characters enough and I feel like there interactions weren’t enough. I think for me it was more telling then showing so it was hard for me to connect. I did really like the characters and the found family aspect. This is such an feel good story and like the author says it’s unbury the gays and that’s so important. I also didn’t really love the Syfy element/ magical realism which is my fault. I do recommend it because I did enjoy I just didn’t love it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Biphobia, Lesbophobia, Grief, Cursing, Racism, Sexual content, Death, and Homophobia
piphux's review against another edition
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement and Abandonment
Moderate: Homophobia, Alcohol, Lesbophobia, Sexual content, Death, and Mental illness
Minor: Alcoholism, Drug use, Biphobia, Transphobia, Police brutality, and Racism
stephmcoakley's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
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? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Deadnaming, Alcoholism, Addiction, Biphobia, Homophobia, Hate crime, Lesbophobia, and Sexual content
lucyeanderson's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
5.0
this was one of the most refreshing and special books i’ve read in a long long time. i feel like the whole cast of characters are my own friends, the whole story and people gave me that warm fuzzy feeling inside. i loved rwarb and this book was the most wonderful follow up. as a bisexual woman, the queer joy and positivity in this book means more than i can express - a sexually positive, diverse, unbury your gays book is exactly what i needed. i also love that this book was about young adults living their life happily while simultaneously not having their shit together - i love love love reading about this as someone at the same stage in life. the magical and time travel aspects of this book also flowed perfectly, they were believable, thoroughly explained and well researched and thought through, they don’t take you out of the story at all which is great for a low-fantasy book set in the present day! overall if you’re looking for a wonderful ride with a beautiful cast of characters then pls read this book - it has my heart <3
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Transphobia, Biphobia, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, and Death
kyrstin_p1989's review against another edition
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.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, Car accident, Classism, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Misogyny, Transphobia, Police brutality, Racism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Death, Lesbophobia, Abandonment, Biphobia, and Bullying
kalmia31's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Alcohol, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, and Sexual content
Minor: Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Transphobia, Biphobia, Religious bigotry, Addiction, and Death
ellelockley's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
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? It's complicated
4.0
August moves to NYC believing that magic and cinematic love stories don't exist but then she meets Jane on the subway. However theres one big problem, Jane is displaced in time from the 1970s. I did really enjoy this book, and I love all the characters so much, especially Myla, Niko and Wes. They added so much to this book. August and Biyu are now one of my favourite couples in literature. It was so well written and intriguing. I only have two issues with it, firstly the chapters are excessively long, I'm sorry but 40 pages a chapter is too long. And secondly the ending, for me, was only happy for August. Biyu left her entire life behind and she was just supposed to move on? I think it would've been a better ending if she'd gone back to 1977. > I'd recommend this book to anyone who loves romance that's not easy and comes with mystery.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Death, Sexual content, Fire/Fire injury, and Hate crime
Moderate: Xenophobia, Biphobia, Homophobia, Racism, and Lesbophobia
Minor: Car accident
kingrosereads's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
A classic NYC magical romcom where a girl meets a girl on the subway.
August is a cynical 23-year-old that doesn't believe in magic or emotional attachments. She's transferred to several colleges and just landed at Columbia on her journey. Her mother is an amateur private investigator who has been obsessed with solving her brothers disappearance for nearly fifty years. She raised August as her little accomplice and now she has a sense of detachment and a bunch of criminal-adjacent skills. She quickly finds an apartment with three quirky roommates that accept her immediately with open arms. With their help she lands a waitressing job at a 24-hour diner (a neighbor staple) that opened in 1976. After a rough shift, she meets larger than life, beautiful, badass Jane on the subway. By some miracle they keep running into each other on the Q. Slowly, their feelings for one another begins to grow. It becomes obvious that it was impossible that August should run into Jane every time she's on the subway. She discovers that Jane in displaced in time from the late 1970s and with the help of her roommates, she tries to find a way to free Jane from the Q and send her back to her time.
I think this was cute and sexy sapphic romcom. It kind of reminds me of The Lakehouse and I think this concept is interesting. Sorry for sounding cliché, but the city was definitely a supporting character in this story. I loved the relationship August develops with her roommates, co-workers, neighbor, and Jane. She went from almost being alone to having a whole village supporting and loving her. The whole book is a corny, cliché, wholesome NYC story.
I think the story runs on just a little too long for my liking, I could feel it lost some of its steam about 65% of the way through and picking back up around 80%. The cover was definitely deceiving! I thought this was a clean romance, and it definitely wasn't! I loved Jane and I appreciate her punk feminist cinnamon roll attitude. I do think August was rather bland until the very end of the story. I appreciate the queerness that's just oozing from this story.
I was deeply disappointed in the comment about racism not being as big of an issue in 2020, ESPECIALLY since Jane is Chinese-American and this book was published in 2021 at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. I can understand that August is a young privileged white woman (and I think this was pointed out) who wouldn't experience acts of bigotry firsthand in a city that (for the most part) is accepting of her bisexuality, but come on dude.
It's also a little disturbing how much sex they were able to have on the subway. I hope you're comfortable with semi-public sex cause that's all their encounters are. Also, the scientific explanation on what happened with Jane and their plan to return her to her time was clunky and repetitive.
I would definitely recommend this story.
August is a cynical 23-year-old that doesn't believe in magic or emotional attachments. She's transferred to several colleges and just landed at Columbia on her journey. Her mother is an amateur private investigator who has been obsessed with solving her brothers disappearance for nearly fifty years. She raised August as her little accomplice and now she has a sense of detachment and a bunch of criminal-adjacent skills. She quickly finds an apartment with three quirky roommates that accept her immediately with open arms. With their help she lands a waitressing job at a 24-hour diner (a neighbor staple) that opened in 1976. After a rough shift, she meets larger than life, beautiful, badass Jane on the subway. By some miracle they keep running into each other on the Q. Slowly, their feelings for one another begins to grow. It becomes obvious that it was impossible that August should run into Jane every time she's on the subway. She discovers that Jane in displaced in time from the late 1970s and with the help of her roommates, she tries to find a way to free Jane from the Q and send her back to her time.
I think this was cute and sexy sapphic romcom. It kind of reminds me of The Lakehouse and I think this concept is interesting. Sorry for sounding cliché, but the city was definitely a supporting character in this story. I loved the relationship August develops with her roommates, co-workers, neighbor, and Jane. She went from almost being alone to having a whole village supporting and loving her. The whole book is a corny, cliché, wholesome NYC story.
I think the story runs on just a little too long for my liking, I could feel it lost some of its steam about 65% of the way through and picking back up around 80%. The cover was definitely deceiving! I thought this was a clean romance, and it definitely wasn't! I loved Jane and I appreciate her punk feminist cinnamon roll attitude. I do think August was rather bland until the very end of the story. I appreciate the queerness that's just oozing from this story.
I was deeply disappointed in the comment about racism not being as big of an issue in 2020, ESPECIALLY since Jane is Chinese-American and this book was published in 2021 at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. I can understand that August is a young privileged white woman (and I think this was pointed out) who wouldn't experience acts of bigotry firsthand in a city that (for the most part) is accepting of her bisexuality, but come on dude.
It's also a little disturbing how much sex they were able to have on the subway. I hope you're comfortable with semi-public sex cause that's all their encounters are. Also, the scientific explanation on what happened with Jane and their plan to return her to her time was clunky and repetitive.
I would definitely recommend this story.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Biphobia, Racial slurs, Homophobia, and Xenophobia
12dejamoo's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
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
4.0
Dammit Casey. I was so prepared for this to be as disappointing as Red, White & Royal Blue was but it was not. It was, instead, such a good time. McQuiston took the best parts of RW&RB (the friendships/sense of genuine connections and a big group of friends who all love each other) and just multiplied it by 100. The romance is good, yes, but the group of friends!! And they all have really great side relationships going which make me very happy (reminds me of The Love Hypothesis in that way).
I think it was so interesting having a romantic interest who was so cut off from the rest of the characters. Like these big emotional party times can never include Jane, and it maybe just gives space for the other relationships to breathe.
Conceptually, it was a bit ridiculous, but like in an 'it's a romance book, so oh well' kind of way. I also enjoyed the cliché romance elements that I often find lacking in these more 'TikTok-y, cutesy cover' romances. Characters with an incorrigible sweet tooth, protagonists who shut themselves off from love, mean-seeming side characters who actually have huge hearts - all of whom would fit right into a Harlequin/Mills & Boon style romance and I'm so here for it.
I think it was so interesting having a romantic interest who was so cut off from the rest of the characters. Like these big emotional party times can never include Jane, and it maybe just gives space for the other relationships to breathe.
Conceptually, it was a bit ridiculous, but like in an 'it's a romance book, so oh well' kind of way. I also enjoyed the cliché romance elements that I often find lacking in these more 'TikTok-y, cutesy cover' romances. Characters with an incorrigible sweet tooth, protagonists who shut themselves off from love, mean-seeming side characters who actually have huge hearts - all of whom would fit right into a Harlequin/Mills & Boon style romance and I'm so here for it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Homophobia, Sexual content, Death, and Lesbophobia
Minor: Transphobia and Biphobia
sarah_cameron's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Okay I really loved this book
It was incredibly tender and sweet. A slowburn, gorgeously written epic-romance, and damn I have never believed in soulmates more
McQuiston has a way of making a story both simple and complicated and just so real. I loved RW&RB because I could escape into this other world where life changing politics and romances were possible, but I loved this book because it was so genuine. Despite the sci-fi element, it was so grounded in real emotions and experiences and reactions and relationships and found family that just seemed true and relatable and cathartic and I’m so jealous of anyone who gets to read this book for the first time
It was weirdly healing, and just gahhh
There are also a number of topics tackled realistically but in a gentle way that, despite the historical (and residual and current) trauma, are handled carefully and in a way that leaves you optimistic. Within this, I would note CWs for homophobia, hate crimes, racism, and fire injury/death
Finally, the secondary characters are so vibrant and well fleshed out and queer and just wonderful. I love the community they form and their relationship to our protagonist but also to so many other people and places, and they really do add to the story and the warm feeling you get every time you pick it up
Basically, please read this book. It’s the epic sapphic romance we all deserve, and I can’t wait to read more from McQuiston in the future
Content Warnings
Moderate: Hate crime, Homophobia, Biphobia, Lesbophobia, and Sexual content
Minor: Alcohol, Car accident, Death, Vomit, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Racism, and Alcoholism