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3.98 AVERAGE
3.98 AVERAGE
2024 reads: 15/250
2024 tbr: 11/120
ash becomes a reaper when she dies, but she can’t so easily forget her first love, poppy, who is still alive. this was a beautiful story exploring first loves, premature deaths, and moving on. i loved getting to know poppy and ash before ash’s tragedy, and seeing how ash reacted to her own death broke my heart. there were also some side characters i enjoyed reading about. i highly recommend this book and i look forward to reading more from this author.
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Ash and Poppy's story is so heartachingly beautiful I can't help but adore this book. The story kept me invested in it from start to finish and I loved everything about it. The found family trope was also used so well!
emotional
funny
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:
Complicated
emotional
reflective
sad
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:
Yes
1 star | tagged on the StoryGraph as emotional, character-driven, and diverse
The only reason I finished this book is because I was looking forward to writing this bad review before I was even halfway done with it. First issue, the author exclusively referred to Ash’s shoes as "DMs" and mentioned them more than necessary. Never shoes nor boots, not even Doc Marten's, just "DMs." I get it, she's a lesbian, talk about something else please, I'm begging. Second, the very little plot that did exist is horribly paced. You're nearly halfway through before Ash dies even though the summary tells you that's what the book is about, so it should have happened a lot earlier so the plot could get moving. Instead you get too many pages about Ash and Poppy's instalove relationship as well as interactions with Ash's family and best friend Adara (who barely get a mention in the second half of the book). Then Ash spends the rest of the book obsessing over Poppy even though they only knew each other for three months. She's more upset about losing Poppy than her family, even though it's made clear that they have a great relationship, or Adara, her best friend of ten years. The worldbuilding is surface-level, and word on the street is that it completely ripped off the TV show Dead Like Me (I have not seen the show, but multiple other reviews mention this). Also, there were a handful of arguably transphobic comments from multiple characters. Finally, I noticed multiple editing mistakes, and I wasn't even reading that closely because I just wanted to be done. I was really excited for this read because the summary sounded interesting and the average rating was high, but it completely missed the mark. Congrats on being my first 1 star review.
The only reason I finished this book is because I was looking forward to writing this bad review before I was even halfway done with it. First issue, the author exclusively referred to Ash’s shoes as "DMs" and mentioned them more than necessary. Never shoes nor boots, not even Doc Marten's, just "DMs." I get it, she's a lesbian, talk about something else please, I'm begging. Second, the very little plot that did exist is horribly paced. You're nearly halfway through before Ash dies even though the summary tells you that's what the book is about, so it should have happened a lot earlier so the plot could get moving. Instead you get too many pages about Ash and Poppy's instalove relationship as well as interactions with Ash's family and best friend Adara (who barely get a mention in the second half of the book). Then Ash spends the rest of the book obsessing over Poppy even though they only knew each other for three months. She's more upset about losing Poppy than her family, even though it's made clear that they have a great relationship, or Adara, her best friend of ten years. The worldbuilding is surface-level, and word on the street is that it completely ripped off the TV show Dead Like Me (I have not seen the show, but multiple other reviews mention this). Also, there were a handful of arguably transphobic comments from multiple characters. Finally, I noticed multiple editing mistakes, and I wasn't even reading that closely because I just wanted to be done. I was really excited for this read because the summary sounded interesting and the average rating was high, but it completely missed the mark. Congrats on being my first 1 star review.
dark
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
I love when authors take the 'bury your gays' trope, flip it on its head, and turn it into something spiritually and emotionally beautiful. This book was so special. The romance between the main characters took my breath away. And then there was the entire concept of the world around them! Then the ending! Oh, the ending! Beautiful, and while it was bittersweet, it was so satisfying to see a happy ending unique to the two lovers. Definitely a sapphic book that should be one of the most recommended when it comes to defeating the conception that 'there are no good sapphic books.' This book wasn't good... it was a masterpiece.