Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

Beneath the Stars by Emily McIntire

4 reviews

kyriannaj's review

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dark emotional funny hopeful medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Great first book of the year to read. At first I was frustrated having to read 100+ pages of the main characters and how their relationship developed over childhood. But after finishing? It's amazing. You really see the development, especially of Chase. Sometimes it can be hard to do a grovelling/apology/second chance and make it feel like the person has genuinely changed, but seeing the past transform into the present makes it clear as day that Chase had put in the work. Seeing the roles change between Chase and Alina from childhood to adulthood was incredibly sweet, watching them both take care of one another through their dark times. The way they support, love, and let each other grow is amazing and I feel it's rare to find books that do it so well. I also adore how the ending isn't 100% happy. Yes, the couple ends up together and gets their happily ever after, but everything in life isn't fixed. Relationships are still damaged, people are still growing and learning, and change takes time. But it ends with hope that these characters will be okay. 

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bookish_oyster's review

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emotional lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I knew what I was getting into when I started out this book and I didn't have extremely high expectations from it. I like that the book deals a lot with the issue of substance abuse and how it affects family of the abuse. However, the story lacked good descriptions. For example, at one point the male protagonist talks about the female protagonist staring at him with "sad eyes" which is a classic case of tell-not-show. The entire book follows a similar pattern. Also, while the concept was good, it felt bland and under-edited, much like any average roughly-written Wattpad story.
The buildup to the breakup during the first half of the book was well-written but after that, the author discounted a lot on their reconciliation

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jtbooklover's review

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This book is wonderful. The characters are perfect and it has the perfect amount of steam. Chase is a beautifully damaged human looking for the way to move forward and bring his past with him. Alina is a sweet girl who is spunky and smart but loses her path due to tragedy. When the stars finally align happiness can begin and these two are truly two halves of the same soul. The book is well written and will keep you coming back to find out what will happen next. 

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kassah14's review

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Amazing tears will be shed heart wrenching emotional roller coaster!

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