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4.32 AVERAGE
4.32 AVERAGE
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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:
Complicated
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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:
Complicated
Clearly a story very close to Naudus’s heart. Her family and religion were so enraging, but the love story between Valerie and Riley was really lovely.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia, Religious bigotry
Minor: Racism
emotional
hopeful
reflective
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:
Complicated
This was my first sapphic romance, and the way it held space for tenderness, questioning, and complexity against the backdrop of high-control families and communities felt almost too real to explain. I had to stop and absorb some parts just to catch my breath. The emotional resonance and compassionate pacing will stay with me for a long time.
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This is a book I needed a decade or more ago! Everyone is allowed to feel their feelings and to be loved by and love whoever they want! Thank you Natalie for this story!
So impactful and healing. A vitally important read in this current age. I loved that the writer also narrated the audiobook and had a cute little Easter egg about a book she’s narrated. This is one I’ll think about for quite some time, and I just hope it ends up in the hands of queer youth who desperately need it.
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
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:
Complicated
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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:
No
Wow, I thought this was going to be a cute little story. But it was so much more than that. This was a little bit of an emotional rollercoaster. You meet Valerie, a girl raised into a cult, whose supposedly only aspiration in life is to be essentially a trad wife. Bibles, babies and Obeying a husband. Once she gets an once of discovery within her - she sees what her life is becoming.
She meets Riley, a girl brought in as a teenager and she's the coolest (and prettiest) girl that Valerie has ever met. Riley shows Val that she can be SO MUCH MORE than what she's been taught, who her parents want her to be, who her "friend" wants her to be. And even better than that, Riley sees Val for who she is. To be loved is to be seen, and they see each other.
The ending made tears come to my eyes.
**spoiler**
I feel like her mom understood in the end.
5/5 Emotional Journey
"How many Einsteins have spent their life's washing dishes? How many Mozarts have been bent over stoves instead of piano... Because they have the misfortune of being born a woman?" - FunkyFrogBait
She meets Riley, a girl brought in as a teenager and she's the coolest (and prettiest) girl that Valerie has ever met. Riley shows Val that she can be SO MUCH MORE than what she's been taught, who her parents want her to be, who her "friend" wants her to be. And even better than that, Riley sees Val for who she is. To be loved is to be seen, and they see each other.
The ending made tears come to my eyes.
**spoiler**
I feel like her mom understood in the end.
5/5 Emotional Journey
"How many Einsteins have spent their life's washing dishes? How many Mozarts have been bent over stoves instead of piano... Because they have the misfortune of being born a woman?" - FunkyFrogBait