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jasminn_perez's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
i rlly liked this book but i do think it was a little problematic. there is so much of marion’s perspective and beside the fact that shes annoying and i hate her, this book focuses way too much on her and her feelings. of course the way the she felt was absolutely justified i mean she was literally trapped into a marriage where her husband was using her as a cover to his gay love affair. i would be pretty mad too. but this is marketed as a queer love story and it focused way too much on her. also authors rlly need to stop giving queer characters tragic backgrounds. like pls not every gay is terribly traumatized.
i was rooting for marion at the beginning i felt bad for her but also she was just choosing to be so blind about toms queerness. his sister literally told herrrr and for her to completely ignore that and pursue him still THINKING SHE COULD CHANGE HIM. ur fucking lying. her blatant homophobia was so hard to read like genuinely. it made me angry sob. i wanted her to be happy and her situation made me sad but i could NEVERRR forgive her for what she did to patrick. i rlly just hate her.
tom was kind of fucked too. like his internalized homophobia was so toxic. he did not have to marry marion. he did not have to keep seeing her. but the fact that he acted so selfishly as to marry her is just so fucked. of course im considering the time period but still. patrick never married and he was living his best life. i loved patrick. he was easily the best character. he just loved art and music and tom :((
anyway i liked it overall i just wish there was less of marion. im so excited to see the movie im curious to see how theyre going to do the perspectives because it was just very specific in the way it was done in the book. also the way that both patrick and marion were both so infatuated with tom is interesting when thinking of harry styles in that role. his fan base is very much in love with him. i think the girlies will relate. ;)
i was rooting for marion at the beginning i felt bad for her but also she was just choosing to be so blind about toms queerness. his sister literally told herrrr and for her to completely ignore that and pursue him still THINKING SHE COULD CHANGE HIM. ur fucking lying. her blatant homophobia was so hard to read like genuinely. it made me angry sob. i wanted her to be happy and her situation made me sad but i could NEVERRR forgive her for what she did to patrick. i rlly just hate her.
tom was kind of fucked too. like his internalized homophobia was so toxic. he did not have to marry marion. he did not have to keep seeing her. but the fact that he acted so selfishly as to marry her is just so fucked. of course im considering the time period but still. patrick never married and he was living his best life. i loved patrick. he was easily the best character. he just loved art and music and tom :((
anyway i liked it overall i just wish there was less of marion. im so excited to see the movie im curious to see how theyre going to do the perspectives because it was just very specific in the way it was done in the book. also the way that both patrick and marion were both so infatuated with tom is interesting when thinking of harry styles in that role. his fan base is very much in love with him. i think the girlies will relate. ;)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia and Outing
hannahbailey's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
TW: homophobia, outing, toxic relationship, suicide, imprisonment
A well written book -- the setting was particularly well crafted. I could really sense the tense and unforgiving atmosphere both of the time and in between the characters. I hope that the author made these characters deliberately unlikeable, if so, then its excellent storytelling. I'm still unsure whether this novel is a product of its time (2012 :/) or a novel ahead of its time in that it leaves you feeling conflicted. That probably doesn't make sense unless you've read the book, but Marion's actions were unexpected and pretty shocking. I didn't really sympathise her, although I felt like the narrative was perhaps asking readers to, which is why I'm unsure of the author's intent here!
This is a very sad and depressing book, do not pick this up if you're looking to read about queer joy -- you won't find it here!
A well written book -- the setting was particularly well crafted. I could really sense the tense and unforgiving atmosphere both of the time and in between the characters. I hope that the author made these characters deliberately unlikeable, if so, then its excellent storytelling. I'm still unsure whether this novel is a product of its time (2012 :/) or a novel ahead of its time in that it leaves you feeling conflicted. That probably doesn't make sense unless you've read the book, but Marion's actions were unexpected and pretty shocking. I didn't really sympathise her, although I felt like the narrative was perhaps asking readers to, which is why I'm unsure of the author's intent here!
This is a very sad and depressing book, do not pick this up if you're looking to read about queer joy -- you won't find it here!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Homophobia, Misogyny, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Lesbophobia, and Outing
alittlelibrary's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Hate crime, Homophobia, and Outing
Moderate: Sexual content and Toxic relationship
ricardo_sb's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Outing
Moderate: Homophobia, Terminal illness, and Grief
Minor: Infidelity, Sexual content, and Violence
viktoria_p's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia and Outing
veronicats's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Listen, I wish every queer story had a happy ending. But sometimes the sad ones are really good too.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Hate crime, Homophobia, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, and Outing
zara89's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Terminal illness, and Outing
kajasversion's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I had noticed how different Marions and Patricks journal entries are. While she writes gently, often with much shame and almost fear of saying something wrong, he writes with lust and feeling of entitlement. I must say i felt for Marion. All she wanted was a husband who loved her back. Instead the man of her dreams was cheating on her behind her back and lying about it, then making her feel bad about even asking. But what she did was low and all the lives involved were ruined.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Suicide, and Outing
idaandihn's review against another edition
4.5
This was such a gripping read. I have so many thoughts on it and this is one of the first books that have made me want to write an essay on it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Toxic relationship, and Outing
Minor: Suicide
ilana_pop's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia and Outing
Minor: Suicide