Reviews with content warning for Death - Ardoare

I would have loved this when I was a teenager and I understand that many people would find a lot of joy in this book. The writing was really difficult to get through. The text language (I.e. “af”) was rough. Also, the addition of the tropes- girl who is perfect with no personality has a guy who is a killer fall in love with her- hurt. I mean, this is definitely a Twilight fanfic, which for someone wanting that, might make it a perfect read.

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accidentalmuse's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious fast-paced

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

3.0

Crave is what I'd call a classic trashy YA-romance, and I mean that in a good way. It's a quick, easy, read that delivers on all the tropes I come to YA paranormal romance for. I enjoyed this book, after all I am a sucker for vampire romances, pun unintended.

The story itself was not genre-redefining, but it was fun to read nonetheless. It takes place in a boarding school, we're introduced to a host of interesting-looking characters. Plenty of shipping potential.

The only thing that annoyed me about this book was the high number of references to real-life songs/books etc. I found it unimmersive as it's very dependent on knowing the particular references being made, more than that it doesn't age well in my opinion.

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anger566's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense 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

4.25

Picked it up because BookTok said it was like Twilight but better, but I think it was more like Vampire Academy. There were some parts I thought were corny (when they tried to relate to pop culture) but I enjoyed it overall.

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stupidforcupid's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny tense fast-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

1.0

Honestly, struggled to finish this book. Grace was so annoying most of the time, but Jaxon was worth reading this book for. Also we needed more Macy!! She dissapeared at the end of the book. Kind of written like a wattpad story.

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ashleyvharris's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

A fun, romantic vampire story that feels inspired by some of the 2000’s most popular YA series, most obviously, Twilight.

The derivativeness of book 1 is crystal clear, but Wolff never tries to hide that or pretend otherwise. She embraces the role that Twilight has played in her writing by briefly mentioning the book and acknowledges its existence in the world she’s created. Although, I think the execution of this scene isn’t quite smooth enough, I recognize Wolf’s intention.

I enjoyed the characters in Book 1 a lot. Most of them felt well-defined and dynamic. Jaxon Vega clearly a stand out as the tortured anti-hero, the final and additional chapters from his perspective were wonderful and added extra dimension to his character and those particular scenes.

Understanding this is Book 1 of a 4-book series, I couldn’t help but be a little frustrated with the ambiguity of some details. Wolff doesn’t dive into many specifics of how the supernaturals operate within the world she’s building which leaves a lot of gray area for readers. Other details, like
Amka’s note for Flint in the library or Lia and Jackson’s altercation in the gazebo
, are described but never explained.

Overall, the plot isn’t the strongest, but Wolf’s characters make up for much of it with witty dialogue and believable interactions. The real star here, much like in Twilight, is the love story. Grace and Jaxon have chemistry and tension for miles and it’s easy to root for them. I’m looking forward to what plot twists throw their course off track and how they find their way back to one another.

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leonormsousa's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

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

4.5

Is Crave the next literary masterpiece? Clearly not. Does it deliver everything that it promises? It sure as hell does! It’s funny and addicting and I honestly didn’t expect to enjoy it as much as I did. It’s the kind of book that keeps you hooked and entertained while maintaining a very lighthearted vibe. It almost feels like a bit of a parody on those typical vampire young adult stories and that’s exactly the kind of edge that makes it so interesting! It’s maybe not the kind of book where you’ll find the cream-of-the-top characters (and character development) or a plot that completely blows your mind but once again, that’s not what you are looking for in a book with such a comedic aspect to it (if you are, maybe it’s time to switch expectations). While I usually tend to almost “ignore” the titles of book chapters, Crave’s are so so good, that you’ll have a good laugh just scrolling through the content page. There’s not much else to say except that I’m now very upset that I decided to only read books I already own since I do not own book two in the series so I’ll have to wait to read it 😢 In the meanwhile I do recommend this book, although I think you really need to get into it with the right expectations to be able to enjoy it for what it is!

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theespressoedition's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny fast-paced

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

5.0

You know that it's a good book when you literally can't put it down, fly through it, and then have the worst book hangover ever after reading it. That's how I felt about Crave.

The best way to describe this book is a throwback to 2010's YA paranormal romance - and I loved every second of it. There's no depth. There's a ton of cringe. There's teen angst. There are all of my favorite paranormals (vampires, werewolves, dragons, witches, and gargoyles). There are moments that get your heart racing and other moments that make you roll your eyes. It was fantastic.

I buddy-read this book, and if you were to go through the comments we wrote during our buddy-read, you would be cackling. We were ridiculous with the number of times we predicted things, laughed over cliches, and just fangirled throughout the book. It was so fun to read with someone else who grew up loving the same kind of books as I did because it just made the experience even more enjoyable.

Honestly, if you were a Twilight or Vampire Academy fan, you will love this book. I'm gonna even go so far as to say "love this series" because even though I haven't read the rest yet, I can't see myself being anything less than obsessed with the next few installations in the series. In fact, I have a strong desire to just toss aside my carefully planned TBR to binge them all! It's that good.

Don't go into this thinking you're going to read some profound fantasy with political intrigue and emotional depth. Look elsewhere for that. But if you want something REALLY FUN and nostalgic, this is definitely the next book you should pick up!

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