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jeanettesreadingcorner's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, Death, Grief, Alcohol, and Car accident
Moderate: Blood and Vomit
breedawnwriter's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I really enjoyed this book. It has some flaws, which we'll discuss in a moment, but it portrays grief in a way that resonated with me deeply.
What I Liked
- Lena's growth. Obviously character growth is important to any story. But stories that use grief as the primary way for a character to grow have my heart forever. Lena's just as messed up at the end of the story as she is at the beginning. But what changes is her priorities. She realizes what's important and what's not. She goes from caring solely about superficial things and ignoring what matters to caring deeply about those who are important to her and recognizing how precious every single moment is.
- The way grief is portrayed. I've read a fair amount of novels that feature grief, and this one did it really well. Lena's not done grieving at the end of the novel, and that's a realistic choice by the author. Grief is not a one-size-fits-all, and I appreciate that Armentrout portrayed the different ways that grief impacts people. Lena and her friends react very differently to grief, and that representation matters to me.
- The childhood-best-friends-to-lovers trope. This is by far my favorite trope, and it was executed beautifully.
What I Didn't Like
- Lena's lack of internal conflict and motivation. For the first third of the book, Lena doesn't really have anything driving her. She's in avoidance of most of her problems, which is important to know, but it doesn't really drive the story forward. I totally get why the author had to spend so much time showing us where Lena's at in the beginning, but it takes about 1/3 of the book to get to the inciting incident, which feels like a pretty big pacing problem to me.
- The sexual content. This isn't strictly a dislike for me, but it is flirting right on the edge of problematic for me (I don't like reading spice, so the sexual content was just barely within the bounds of what I personally am okay with). I wanted to point this out since I know a lot of my followers and friends also don't read spice, so just be aware that there are some sexual scenes with passionate kissing, touching, and sexual content in general.
Overall, this is a great book for people who like best-friends-to-lovers, stories that deal with grief, and beautifully executed themes.
Graphic: Child death, Cursing, Death, Sexual content, Car accident, and Grief
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail and Alcohol
Minor: Drug use
crndlmn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Car accident and Death
sophiji94's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Car accident, Death, and Grief
krystalframe's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Death, Car accident, and Alcohol
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Drug use
_mm_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death, Alcohol, and Car accident
Minor: Drug use and Sexual content
mypatronusisajedi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Child death, Death, and Car accident
Moderate: Cursing and Alcohol
Minor: Sexual content, Drug use, and Infidelity
rillastone's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
Graphic: Car accident
theastj's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Car accident and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Drug use and Alcohol
sarahlovestoread's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Car accident