Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

Beneath the Stars by Emily McIntire

8 reviews

sarah_emmer's review

emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Addiction, Death of parent, and Grief

Moderate: Abandonment and Drug use

Minor: Car accident and Infertility

kyriannaj's review

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Grief, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Addiction, Alcohol, Child abuse, Mental illness, Cursing, Death of parent, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Car accident, Toxic relationship, Adult/minor relationship, Infertility, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, and Infidelity

jengua1's review

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Mental illness, Abandonment, and Death of parent

eternalreverie's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, and Abandonment

Moderate: Death of parent

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, and Violence

bookish_oyster's review

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Cursing, Death of parent, Drug abuse, and Drug use

kassah14's review

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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Content Warnings

Minor: Abandonment, Addiction, Alcoholism, Car accident, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, and Drug abuse

torireadswhat's review against another edition

emotional slow-paced

3.0

I started this book after seeing some mutual followers read the series and thought I'd give it a try. I can typically read a romance this length in about a day, maybe two if I start it late at night. But it took me a bit of time to get through this one. 

Times it felt like a slow burn and other times it picks up really quickly. It follows the two main characters, Alina & Chase from childhood to teens to adults in their small Tennessee town. There are a lot of tropes with this one, best friend's brother, best friends-lovers-sorta kinda enemies-lovers, second chance. 

I did like that there was more to the story than just the romance. The secondary plot involves Chase's sister Lily and her inner battles. I'm guessing this will carry through the series even though the books are standalones. The supporting characters have just as much depth as the main characters, again setting up their stories for other books. It has positive mentions of going to therapy and attending/participating in support groups. 

This book did have some frustrating moments. You will find yourself wanting to just shake Chase & Alina, they are both stubborn and bullheaded in their own right. Overall I liked the book just enough to keep reading and to follow the secondary plot. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment, Drug abuse, Addiction, Alcoholism, and Death of parent

Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Car accident

julseygirl's review

emotional hopeful medium-paced

• 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

3.5

I'm not usually a friends to lovers fan, but this was good! I especially loved the personal growth by the male protagonist. Its made their reconciliation that much sweeter. The story does deal heavily with addiction issues and what it is like to love someone who is going through that. I thought it was done well and the characters themselves handle their issues in mature ways (eventually). Overall, a good read. I have already downloaded the next one.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction

Moderate: Abandonment and Addiction

Minor: Emotional abuse