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tamara_joy's review against another edition
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic friendship
Moderate: Classism, Sexual assault, Bullying, and Alcoholism
Minor: Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Infidelity, and Chronic illness
caidyn's review against another edition
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Not my favorite by this author, but it was a heartfelt coming of age story that includes magic. It was enjoyable, but probably not one I'd hold onto.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Alcoholism, and Adult/minor relationship
displacedcactus's review against another edition
dark
emotional
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
This is marketed as being for fans of Stranger Things, but I think this is bad marketing. Yes, it's about teens in the 80s and involves some supernatural elements, but it's a lot less adventurous than Stranger Things, the kids aren't gamers, and it has a split timeline between the characters as teens and as adults, and then some POV chapters from the main character's dad in the 80s. Although I see some people and sites tagging it as YA, it didn't read as such to me, more like a book for adults about teenagers. I know I would not have enjoyed it as a teen because I would have found there wasn't enough magic to balance the angst and drama. Which is not to say it was a bad book, but I'd say of the books I've read from this author, it's my least favorite.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Chronic illness, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Cursing, and Bullying
anxiousnachos's review against another edition
emotional
3.5
3.5 stars? You can definitely tell it’s one of Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s earlier works, I thought the writing was a little wooden at times, particularly the dialogue. But it is also has an undercurrent of nostalgia and young love and the kind of friendship that makes the room sparkle with magic.
Content warnings: death of parent, grief, homophobia, f-slur, bullying, poverty, sexual assault (teacher attempts to assault student), alcoholism, brief mentions of physical child abuse
Content warnings: death of parent, grief, homophobia, f-slur, bullying, poverty, sexual assault (teacher attempts to assault student), alcoholism, brief mentions of physical child abuse
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Alcoholism, Death of parent, and Homophobia
Moderate: Sexual assault
Minor: Child abuse
lamoralibrary's review against another edition
dark
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
ARC provided by NetGalley.
I find it hard to put into words how I feel about this book, or how to rate it, but for the most part it was interesting and I enjoyed the premise and the characters, as well as the multiple pov's and the dual timeline narrative.
Meche is an interesting main character, one I can see did not translate well to many other reviewers. Personally, I loved her in all her selfish, contrarian glory. Angry girls are oft told they're hysterical, patronised and invalidated, but teenage girls tend to get a rubbish run of the peak puberty years and I loved watching her descend into her magic and give into her anger.
I also really enjoyed the exploration of her relationship with her father in the 2009 timeline as she navigated her complicated feelings towards him in the aftermath of his death, after 20 years of estrangement.
Sebastian was the roughest part of the book for me, I personally didn't like his and Meche's dynamic romantically, and towards the end of the 1989 timeline I lost patience for their games of deliberately hurting each other in cycles of teenage jealousy.
Overall, I did enjoy the book a lot, and would recommend it for anyone who wants a low magic setting, explorations of grief and tough love. I very much liked the author's style and lot of her other books sound amazing, so I'll definitely be picking them up in future.
I find it hard to put into words how I feel about this book, or how to rate it, but for the most part it was interesting and I enjoyed the premise and the characters, as well as the multiple pov's and the dual timeline narrative.
Meche is an interesting main character, one I can see did not translate well to many other reviewers. Personally, I loved her in all her selfish, contrarian glory. Angry girls are oft told they're hysterical, patronised and invalidated, but teenage girls tend to get a rubbish run of the peak puberty years and I loved watching her descend into her magic and give into her anger.
I also really enjoyed the exploration of her relationship with her father in the 2009 timeline as she navigated her complicated feelings towards him in the aftermath of his death, after 20 years of estrangement.
Sebastian was the roughest part of the book for me, I personally didn't like his and Meche's dynamic romantically, and towards the end of the 1989 timeline I lost patience for their games of deliberately hurting each other in cycles of teenage jealousy.
Overall, I did enjoy the book a lot, and would recommend it for anyone who wants a low magic setting, explorations of grief and tough love. I very much liked the author's style and lot of her other books sound amazing, so I'll definitely be picking them up in future.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual harassment and Death of parent
taratearex's review against another edition
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
- 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? It's complicated
5.0
I loved this so much! I love when Silvia Moreno Garcia writes about music, this really gave me High Fidelity vibes, but with magic.
Just like all of her work there is so much depth in the story, even in her debut, you really see the early markings of what makes her writing so great. The jumping back and forth in time was perfectly used in this book, I was so attached to the story in each timeline as more was revealed, truly compulsively readable. Magic, nostalgia, morally grey characters, teen angst, adults trying to come to terms with their past choices, so much love for music, and magic!
I definitely recommend picking this up, especially if you loved Velvet was the Night, but even as an entry to her work if you've never read anything by her before. It's truly a gem!
I'm so glad this debut novel got a re-release or I may not have picked it up right away. Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for an e-ARC of this book. I can't wait to add the physical copy to my collection for re-reading.
Just like all of her work there is so much depth in the story, even in her debut, you really see the early markings of what makes her writing so great. The jumping back and forth in time was perfectly used in this book, I was so attached to the story in each timeline as more was revealed, truly compulsively readable. Magic, nostalgia, morally grey characters, teen angst, adults trying to come to terms with their past choices, so much love for music, and magic!
I definitely recommend picking this up, especially if you loved Velvet was the Night, but even as an entry to her work if you've never read anything by her before. It's truly a gem!
I'm so glad this debut novel got a re-release or I may not have picked it up right away. Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for an e-ARC of this book. I can't wait to add the physical copy to my collection for re-reading.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying
Moderate: Car accident, Homophobia, Body shaming, Death of parent, Fatphobia, and Sexual assault
Minor: Domestic abuse
theoceanrose's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence and Death of parent
monarchbooks's review against another edition
emotional
tense
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
5.0
Childhood friends to lovers. Second chance romance. Found family. Flashback scenes. Magic, music, and morally grey main characters. I love this book so much.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Death, Pedophilia, Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, Violence, Toxic friendship, Grief, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, and Car accident
Moderate: Alcoholism
Minor: Medical content
garibae's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body shaming, Sexual harassment, Toxic friendship, and Vomit
Minor: Death of parent
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