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I will say that I didn't see that plot twist coming, but the ending was messy and it got annoying that the narrator was feeling sorry for herself for so long 🤷♀️
Also didn't care for the chapters about Gore, so ended up skipping them every time, sorry not sorry!
Moderate: Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Deportation
Also, aside from Graham, the characters felt one-dimensional. And, I don’t mind an unnamed narrator when it’s done well. In this case, it wasn’t. The main character was already flat enough, so making her nameless didn’t help.
On the plus side, this book has some of the best sex scenes I’ve ever read. They were sexy without being cringy or smutty. Writing good sex scenes is not an easy thing to do. Major props to Kaliane Bradley for that!
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Sexual content, Violence, Police brutality, Medical content
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Emotional abuse, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Racism, Sexism
As a piece of RPF, incredible. As a piece of speculative lit fic radio 2 book club book, incredible. As a slightly mismatched layering of these two things on top of one another, a bit less enjoyable for me personally - but still a lot to love!
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Mental illness, Racism, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation
I think a lot of people didn't like the ending but I found it satisfying.
Moderate: Death, Gun violence, Murder
Minor: Racism, Cannibalism
Moderate: Gun violence, Cannibalism, Murder
Minor: Racism
I also found the sexualization of and obsession with a real person from history (especially one who seemed like just a normal guy, rather than a public figure) to be a bit icky, along with the power imbalance in the relationship in the book. However, I think the book actually grapples with this in some ways.
For a while, I couldn't decide if I liked this book or not, but ultimately it's a fun time travel romance that also explores identity and somehow makes all of that work together. I do feel like it could be polished a little bit more though.
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Sexual content
Moderate: Violence, Murder
Minor: Animal cruelty, Slavery, Cannibalism, War
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Sexism, Sexual content, Medical content, Murder, Colonisation, Classism
Minor: Racial slurs, Slavery
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Sexual content, Violence, Murder, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cursing, Drug use, Gore, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Xenophobia, Blood, War
Minor: Torture, Vomit
Graphic: Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Cannibalism, Murder, Toxic friendship, War
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Grief, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Colonisation, Deportation
Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Murder
Moderate: Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Grief, Suicide attempt, Colonisation, War