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julesfrigault's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident and Blood
Moderate: Child death and Death
toy_masterpiece's review against another edition
emotional
funny
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
⭐️🎧Audiobook Listener🎧⭐️
I have never giggled while reading a book as much I as I did listening to this one. Is this how all romance novels are? It was such a riot! The dialogue is on point, I loved it when these characters interacted with one another, especially Feyi and Joy. I loved those two.
These characters are a classic case of saying the quiet part out loud which can come off as unsubtle but I found it refreshing. No pointless miscommunication arcs, no letting bad behavior slide for a love interest. Yes, holding people accountable. Yes, allowing past relationships to help you, not to grow bitter, but to grow and to mature. As someone who also overthinks and rethinks and regrets, I appreciated the drawn out moments of planning, rationalizing, and self-doubt.
Bahni Turpin brought this elegant writing to life. I was the tiniest bit upset when she couldn't do the Nigerian accent for some slang that I believe was meant to be read that way, but it's literally an almost negligible complaint. She really made me fall in love with Feyi throughout this book.
Spiciness Level: Not too spicy
- 2 descriptive scenes
- 2 mentioned scenes
"Let out a breath she didn't know she was holding" check at 3h (lol)
I have never giggled while reading a book as much I as I did listening to this one. Is this how all romance novels are? It was such a riot! The dialogue is on point, I loved it when these characters interacted with one another, especially Feyi and Joy. I loved those two.
These characters are a classic case of saying the quiet part out loud which can come off as unsubtle but I found it refreshing. No pointless miscommunication arcs, no letting bad behavior slide for a love interest. Yes,
Bahni Turpin brought this elegant writing to life. I was the tiniest bit upset when she couldn't do the Nigerian accent for some slang that I believe was meant to be read that way, but it's literally an almost negligible complaint. She really made me fall in love with Feyi throughout this book.
Spiciness Level: Not too spicy
- 2 descriptive scenes
- 2 mentioned scenes
"Let out a breath she didn't know she was holding" check at 3h (lol)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Sexual content
Moderate: Car accident and Death of parent
Minor: Child death
zombiezami's review against another edition
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Cursing, Death of parent, Sexual content, Blood, Violence, Death, Car accident, and Grief
Moderate: Toxic relationship and Outing
Minor: Child death, Homophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Cancer, and Biphobia
condls27's review against another edition
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
5.0
This was an achingly beautiful. Haunting but also funny? This is going to be one of those books that sticks with me for a long time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, and Sexual content
Minor: Child death
k_lupin's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Minor: Child death and Homophobia
camilleberedjick's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
fast-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: Death and Death of parent
Moderate: Child death and Homophobia
Minor: Domestic abuse
friendly_neighborhood_grandma's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Car accident, Grief, Sexual content, Blood, and Alcohol
Moderate: Alcohol, Biphobia, Racial slurs, and Cursing
Minor: Child death
iamamyyyyy's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, and Blood
Moderate: Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual content
Minor: Child death
bisexualwentworth's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
This book made me mad.
First, the good.
Akwaeke Emezi’s prose is, as always, gorgeous and poetic and capable of hitting me in ways I’ve never even thought about before.
Feyi’s grief and pain and joy and messiness are written with so much heart and sensitivity and depth of feeling. She was a wonderful character to spend this time with. And I even related to her in some sweet and painful and messy ways.
Despite the age gap, etc, Alim is such a fantastic love interest, and, despite my qualms with certain things, one of the most well-written bisexual men I’ve encountered in fiction. I adore him.
This is very much a romance novel, but it’s a little bit less of one than Emezi would like to admit, I think. The main focus here is on grief and new growth, and the characters work through those things beautifully. It’s also single POV, and the love interest isn’t introduced til over a quarter of the way in, and that makes it read very unconventionally for a romance novel.
My big gripe here is that this novel’s approach to sex is SHOCKINGLY cisheteronormative for a book with bisexual leads written by a trans author. I’ve noticed a weird amount of bioessentialism and internalized transphobia in all of Emezi’s adult fiction, and this one is no exception. Also, what’s with the biphobia in Joy’s part of the story? Super weird.
Nasir and Lorraine are also super homophobic and the book kinda brushes that off a lot.
And I wish that we’d gotten one or two more real conversations between Feyi and Alim. I felt a bit lost in the sauce of the poetics at time at the expense of the characters.
I would still like to get Joy’s book, though, and I WOULD watch a movie of this. It made me uncomfortable at times, but it was oh so very fun and messy and delightful.
First, the good.
Akwaeke Emezi’s prose is, as always, gorgeous and poetic and capable of hitting me in ways I’ve never even thought about before.
Feyi’s grief and pain and joy and messiness are written with so much heart and sensitivity and depth of feeling. She was a wonderful character to spend this time with. And I even related to her in some sweet and painful and messy ways.
Despite the age gap, etc, Alim is such a fantastic love interest, and, despite my qualms with certain things, one of the most well-written bisexual men I’ve encountered in fiction. I adore him.
This is very much a romance novel, but it’s a little bit less of one than Emezi would like to admit, I think. The main focus here is on grief and new growth, and the characters work through those things beautifully. It’s also single POV, and the love interest isn’t introduced til over a quarter of the way in, and that makes it read very unconventionally for a romance novel.
My big gripe here is that this novel’s approach to sex is SHOCKINGLY cisheteronormative for a book with bisexual leads written by a trans author. I’ve noticed a weird amount of bioessentialism and internalized transphobia in all of Emezi’s adult fiction, and this one is no exception. Also, what’s with the biphobia in Joy’s part of the story? Super weird.
Nasir and Lorraine are also super homophobic and the book kinda brushes that off a lot.
And I wish that we’d gotten one or two more real conversations between Feyi and Alim. I felt a bit lost in the sauce of the poetics at time at the expense of the characters.
I would still like to get Joy’s book, though, and I WOULD watch a movie of this. It made me uncomfortable at times, but it was oh so very fun and messy and delightful.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Grief
Moderate: Biphobia, Car accident, Child death, Death, Homophobia, and Violence
displacedcactus's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
I don't normally go in for the dramatic, messy side of the contemporary romance genre. I'd passed over this book a few times because "MC falls for her current squeeze's dad" just isn't my kind of thing. But all of my library holds were taking *forever* to come in, and this was available, and I'd enjoyed Pet and Bitter earlier this year.
Just so we're clear: The only thing this book has in common with Pet and Bitter is that both involve talented Black artists. Do NOT hand this one to your YA-reading kids.
Emezi is a very talented author. The language in this book is simply lush and beautiful. The food and art descriptions are dazzling. So I went along for the messy ride, even if I disagreed with most of the choices that Feyi made. If you like a romance that has lots of big emotions and a hint of the forbidden, then you'll probably enjoy this. And if you have to read something messy and spicy for some sort of reading challenge, this would be a good way to dip your toe into a genre you normally avoid.
Just so we're clear: The only thing this book has in common with Pet and Bitter is that both involve talented Black artists. Do NOT hand this one to your YA-reading kids.
Emezi is a very talented author. The language in this book is simply lush and beautiful. The food and art descriptions are dazzling. So I went along for the messy ride, even if I disagreed with most of the choices that Feyi made. If you like a romance that has lots of big emotions and a hint of the forbidden, then you'll probably enjoy this. And if you have to read something messy and spicy for some sort of reading challenge, this would be a good way to dip your toe into a genre you normally avoid.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Car accident, Cursing, and Death
Moderate: Biphobia, Homophobia, and Blood
Minor: Misogyny, Death of parent, and Child death
All of the major characters in this book are black and they use the slangy "a" ending version of the n word to refer to each other *a lot*.