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bootsmom3's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Sexual content, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Death, Grief, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Drug use, Emotional abuse, and Rape
Moderate: Child death
Minor: Cancer
blackcatkai's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This was a pretty great start to LaCour's entry into the adult fiction world. It does cover a lot of heavy topics, so take any content/trigger warnings seriously before diving in. With the way the blurb sounded, I DID think it'd be a little more focused on the two MC's coming together than it actually was.
This is mainly a contemporary literary fiction novel about two women's lives and the trauma & experiences they go through throughout their lives before those lives intersect. it touches on them together in a couple points (similar to Normal People by Sally Rooney), but it focuses a lot more on their individual events without each other. I found the pacing in the middle to be a bit slow, but it had a strong beginning and ending and I ultimately was rooting for them.
I hope LaCour continues to dive into the adult fiction world, I will absolutely continue reading her work. I was just expecting a little more here & was honestly a bit confused in points.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Mental illness
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Ableism
lacey_wi's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual content, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Fire/Fire injury, Drug use, Drug abuse, Death, Blood, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Pedophilia, Murder, Sexual assault, Rape, Cancer, Abandonment, Addiction, Toxic relationship, Terminal illness, Grief, Death of parent, and Child death
Moderate: Homophobia and Dementia
jjreads331's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Mental illness, Abandonment, Grief, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Infidelity, Medical trauma, Child death, Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, and Death
Moderate: Rape, Sexual content, Death of parent, Sexual violence, and Sexual assault
Minor: Blood
kaylaramoutar's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child death, Death of parent, and Sexual assault
Minor: Rape
kcbatts's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Addiction, Infidelity, Sexual content, and Drug abuse
Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, and Death of parent
Minor: Alcohol
marysaou's review against another edition
4.75
Literary fiction meets romance in this stunning novel. Side-by-side storylines carry two leading ladies through traumatic young adult experiences and into their own story together. It was beautiful.
Moderate: Death, Rape, and Alcoholism
michellemm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Sexual assault and Grief
Minor: Abandonment, Addiction, Death of parent, Drug use, Pedophilia, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Infidelity, and Death
jademrosas's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
4.5
Before you begin this book, I would like to give fair warning that it is not the romance that it claims to be. A lot of the focus is on our main characters, Sarah and Emilie, and their individual stories that bring them together - and pull them apart. Sarah is a woman running from a past that frightens her, who's torn between what's she scared of and what she loves. Emilie is a woman who seeks to define herself and move forward while feeling the need to remain in place or keep the peace due to family dynamics from the past. Do not let that deter you from reading this book though. Ultimately, Yerba Buena paints an intimate picture of the human experience, our fallibility and our desire to move continuously forward, even as we continue to be knocked down. Though we may find some of the choices or mistakes Sarah or Emilie make frustrating, I think we can also find ourselves in them. In fact, you may relate to the many areas this book explores such as broken family dynamics, drug addiction, death of a loved one, the desire to be loved, and to find ourselves. I personally felt more connected to Emilie and her experiences (like changing her undergrad major 5 times) that made me feel seen in a way I never have before. At times, I felt myself weeping over the same issues that plagued Emilie and then rooting for her as I saw her move on, expand, heal. While I didn't feel as connected to Sarah, I still appreciated the arc of her storyline and felt a weight lifted off my shoulders, even if momentarily, as we neared the end.
While I don't think this is a romance novel in the traditional sense, I would say that I greatly appreciate it in this form. It showcased the love between Emilie and Sarah as tender and imperfect, yet still so rewarding. There's yearning and it's sapphic, I mean... what more could you want? Much of Yerba Buena is written in small, impactful snippets of time. It's through these snippets that the reader gets to see the blossoming love of two young women up until its bittersweet ending.
I did knock half a star off my rating because I found that, even though the book moves relatively quickly through time, it felt like a slow read. It's less than 300 pages overall but with how much is contained within these pages, I do wish it was slightly longer so that we could see more development or discussion in some areas. I also believe this book requires some suspension of disbelief overall, which occasionally pulled me out of the story. Thankfully, the best parts of the book completely outweigh its less-than-best parts.
A beautiful and well-done book. I cannot honestly say enough how much I enjoyed it. If you like Normal People or Conversations with Friends then I think you'll find yourself at home in Yerba Buena. Also, maybe I'm crazy but the storyline and the quick fragments of time reminds me a bit of A Marriage Story with Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansen. Finally, if you love star-crossed lovers, complicated characters, beautiful imagery, you'll love Yerba Buena.
Graphic: Sexual assault, Death, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Addiction, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Grief, and Sexual content
lifeofmavsgirl's review against another edition
3.5
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Child death, and Death of parent