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4.0 AVERAGE
4.0 AVERAGE
dark
fast-paced
adventurous
dark
fast-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
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I love the way the book is written and all the pictures in it that tell the story too. It's surprising and unexpected from beginning to end. It's dark, it's harsh. It's also a lovestory in a very unique way that I absolutely love.
Ancrum is now, after reading Icarus and the wicked King, one of my fav authors 😌❤️
Ancrum is now, after reading Icarus and the wicked King, one of my fav authors 😌❤️
4.75/5– one thing about me, im gonna eat up a book (or any piece of media) about a codependent gay relationship. add in found family and a KING (the raven king—both trc & aftg)….ooohh you know im gonna love it. like GIVE IT TO ME NOW!!!!
and also,
“i felt like i wanted to simultaneously crawl inside his skin and pull him so close that we fused together.” like come on??? we know all the best gay ships involve wanting to fuse together so they’re never apart because they’re two parts of one soul. like that’s my niche fr.
anyway clearly i loved this and want to reread it already!!
obviously it gave me the raven cycle vibes and also kinda these violent delights, which is all i need to say for you to know i love something!
and also,
“i felt like i wanted to simultaneously crawl inside his skin and pull him so close that we fused together.” like come on??? we know all the best gay ships involve wanting to fuse together so they’re never apart because they’re two parts of one soul. like that’s my niche fr.
anyway clearly i loved this and want to reread it already!!
obviously it gave me the raven cycle vibes and also kinda these violent delights, which is all i need to say for you to know i love something!
fast-paced
Excellent read, caught me from the beginning and held me until the very end.
currently updated as one of my favourite books. this book really grips me from beginning and hey, i really love august
update: I got myself the paperback and this is the kind of book that did well on the first read. Kinda remember everything so I was just refreshing my memory.
update: I got myself the paperback and this is the kind of book that did well on the first read. Kinda remember everything so I was just refreshing my memory.
THIS BOOK FUCKED ME UP!
It honestly started as a "well, I'm not going to like this that much" book, then turned into a "okay this is really weird and cool" book and ended up being a "I might be fucked up forever now" book.
It's weird because objectively I could criticize this book on several points. The very short chapters make things sometimes unclear or not explored enough, and don't really allow the secondary characters to shine as much as I wanted them to. Mental illness is romanticized but in a sort of... very respectful way. I don't know how to say it otherwise. It was *obviously* presented as something almost fantasy-like, but it also felt deeply respectful of mentally ill/traumatized/neglected kids and it was just done in a really nice way? I thought so, at least, and the really thoughtful author's note at the end conforted me in this idea.
I was also really freaking happy that there was some polyam rep in a YA book, though the atmosphere of the book does feel more NA than YA but since NA still isn't a Thing it stays a YA book. Anyway. The polyam rep was great (it's sort of more implied at the end but I know the characters are going to raise a kid together in another book by the author, so. There's that).
Also there's a D/s dynamic (without sex happening between the characters involved) and I thought it was nice but I also have no idea what I'm talking about here and it might be Not Good to represent this kind of dynamic deeply linked to a codependent relationship.
YEAH. ALSO. Don't pick up this book expecting a perfectly healthy relationship between August and Jack because these kids are messed up, and they find ways to cope within each other, but it's not always healthy or good and it's explicitly said that their relationship isn't healthy. I loved that the words codependent and even abusive were used and that it was stated their relationship isn't *right* sometimes. But it's also all they have. There's no going back and doing without it. I don't know I just loved these fucked up fools.
I'm rambling. It happens when I really like books.
The book itself it Beautiful. Capital B. With pages going darker and darker until they're black. I just love it so much.
I honestly didn't get enough. I wanted more at the end. I wanted to see them all at home and safe and happy and honestly I'll probably read The Weight of the Stars just to see them again. Also because it sounds great and I now trust K. Ancrum with all my heart.
You know what? Going back to the beginning of my review where I had put "4.5 stars" because I'll give it its five stars. Weird book. Great book. Give me more.
TW: codependency, unhealthy relationship, arson, violence/blood, drugs, sex off-page, neglecting parents, D/s dynamic (a bit!), depiction of time spent in a psychiatric ward, kind of suicidal imagery at one point.
It honestly started as a "well, I'm not going to like this that much" book, then turned into a "okay this is really weird and cool" book and ended up being a "I might be fucked up forever now" book.
It's weird because objectively I could criticize this book on several points. The very short chapters make things sometimes unclear or not explored enough, and don't really allow the secondary characters to shine as much as I wanted them to. Mental illness is romanticized but in a sort of... very respectful way. I don't know how to say it otherwise. It was *obviously* presented as something almost fantasy-like, but it also felt deeply respectful of mentally ill/traumatized/neglected kids and it was just done in a really nice way? I thought so, at least, and the really thoughtful author's note at the end conforted me in this idea.
I was also really freaking happy that there was some polyam rep in a YA book, though the atmosphere of the book does feel more NA than YA but since NA still isn't a Thing it stays a YA book. Anyway. The polyam rep was great (it's sort of more implied at the end but I know the characters are going to raise a kid together in another book by the author, so. There's that).
Also there's a D/s dynamic (without sex happening between the characters involved) and I thought it was nice but I also have no idea what I'm talking about here and it might be Not Good to represent this kind of dynamic deeply linked to a codependent relationship.
YEAH. ALSO. Don't pick up this book expecting a perfectly healthy relationship between August and Jack because these kids are messed up, and they find ways to cope within each other, but it's not always healthy or good and it's explicitly said that their relationship isn't healthy. I loved that the words codependent and even abusive were used and that it was stated their relationship isn't *right* sometimes. But it's also all they have. There's no going back and doing without it. I don't know I just loved these fucked up fools.
I'm rambling. It happens when I really like books.
The book itself it Beautiful. Capital B. With pages going darker and darker until they're black. I just love it so much.
I honestly didn't get enough. I wanted more at the end. I wanted to see them all at home and safe and happy and honestly I'll probably read The Weight of the Stars just to see them again. Also because it sounds great and I now trust K. Ancrum with all my heart.
You know what? Going back to the beginning of my review where I had put "4.5 stars" because I'll give it its five stars. Weird book. Great book. Give me more.
TW: codependency, unhealthy relationship, arson, violence/blood, drugs, sex off-page, neglecting parents, D/s dynamic (a bit!), depiction of time spent in a psychiatric ward, kind of suicidal imagery at one point.