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lisettemarie's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
3.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Death of parent, and Drug abuse
kizzy's review
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Drug abuse, Sexual assault, Grief, Bullying, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, Addiction, and Drug use
References religious cultism and associated child abusekatrinarose's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
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? No
4.0
Such a sweet story of love, overcoming trauma, and found family. It took me a bit longer than I expected to connect with the characters but it was a platonic slow burn and by the end I got emotional for all of them!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Grief, Addiction, Emotional abuse, Child death, and Abandonment
Minor: Pedophilia and Sexual assault
pjv's review
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Addiction, Child abuse, Death, Abandonment, Drug abuse, and Death of parent
staylorreads's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness, Addiction, Death, Grief, Child abuse, Child death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Incest, Sexual assault, Stalking, Physical abuse, and Violence
mimpart's review
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This may just be me, but I liked all of the characters except for Zoey - she felt a little too Mary Sueish for me and didn't have a very memorable personality. Also the plot was kind of basic. Good plot twists at the end though!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Child abuse, Stalking, Drug use, Grief, and Drug abuse
joblo's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
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
4.0
This was really nice! Read on a recommendation from a friend— I don’t typically read contemporary fiction or novels that are as light and sweet as this one, but I enjoyed it. Sweet characters and a really beautiful setting. Must-read for folks with mommy issues and a soft spot for the southeastern U.S. lol
Content Warnings
Minor: Child abuse, Drug abuse, and Death of parent
mayaep's review
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
fun character study book- the plot picks up towards the end
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Mental illness
Minor: Alcohol, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Addiction, Stalking, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, and Death of parent
chimichannika's review
challenging
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
This book was really quite good and ended on a beautifully hopeful&optimistic note, made all the more meaningful because of all that the characters had been through in their lives, but a HEAVY disclaimer to proceed with extreme caution if you are a survivor of domestic abuse, child abuse, sexual assault, or have religious trauma, as this book does heavily deal with those themes.
The premise of the book—without giving specific spoilers—, in the end, is people with varying kinds of horrible pasts living next to each other, by chance, and making this charming corner of the world a better place through their gradually deepening bonds of friendship and camaraderie. It ends on a hopeful note, and is truly about the love permeating throughout, but it does extensively handle those potentially-triggering/retraumatizing topics, at length, for multiple portions of the book.
I still consider it a good book, but would only recommend it to specific people with specific disclaimers, and also a note to please care for your own well-being if any of those topics can be especially triggering or distressing. I’m off to go seek out some comfort media because I physically reacted to the way some of the content triggered me, and need to go un-tense my muscles now.
And yet, the book had portions of charming and sleepy loveliness in it too, the way the characters began forming this “group of misfits” was so sweet, and the last couple chapters were so satisfying, showing where the characters were at now.
One other thing— I mentioned in the content warnings section a brief description of animal violence— the animal is okay, it survives, is loved, and treated very well after it’s rescued. just wanted to note that the animal is more-than-okay ♡
The premise of the book—without giving specific spoilers—, in the end, is people with varying kinds of horrible pasts living next to each other, by chance, and making this charming corner of the world a better place through their gradually deepening bonds of friendship and camaraderie. It ends on a hopeful note, and is truly about the love permeating throughout, but it does extensively handle those potentially-triggering/retraumatizing topics, at length, for multiple portions of the book.
I still consider it a good book, but would only recommend it to specific people with specific disclaimers, and also a note to please care for your own well-being if any of those topics can be especially triggering or distressing. I’m off to go seek out some comfort media because I physically reacted to the way some of the content triggered me, and need to go un-tense my muscles now.
And yet, the book had portions of charming and sleepy loveliness in it too, the way the characters began forming this “group of misfits” was so sweet, and the last couple chapters were so satisfying, showing where the characters were at now.
One other thing— I mentioned in the content warnings section a brief description of animal violence— the animal is okay, it survives, is loved, and treated very well after it’s rescued. just wanted to note that the animal is more-than-okay ♡
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse and Child abuse
Moderate: Violence, Sexual assault, Child death, Sexual violence, Child abuse, and Abandonment
Minor: Animal cruelty, Stalking, Infidelity, Fire/Fire injury, and Drug abuse
rover_under's review
hopeful
lighthearted
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
It was a charming book. I enjoyed the setting and grew to like the characters, but I feel like by the end of the book everything felt a little underdeveloped. A lot is said about the history of Mallow Island and and the characters' backstories, but I feel like there just weren't enough moments of the characters experiencing things in the present to really connect with them.
It felt expository at points and I think with a book with such an emphasis on the scenery and sense of place, it would have been nice to explore it a bit more or have a few more characters outside the Dellawisp residents to add vibrancy of the narrative.
I would have liked to have seen more of the characters bonding, overcoming shared obstacles, and doing things together so I could have felt more convinced by the ending, where the characters are very close and refer to each other as their family. Their challenges felt very individual for the most part, and it wasn't until a few moments near the end that the characters helped each other address their mutual struggles.
I liked that certain characters had secrets or things that they only shared with one other character, like Charlotte and Mac revealing their pasts', but I felt like something to unite the whole group, including Fraiser, was missing.
The magical realism elements didn't go as far as I would have liked, but that's a personal preference. Overall a cozy book that I felt could have had a bit more meat on it when it came to the story and the setting.
It felt expository at points and I think with a book with such an emphasis on the scenery and sense of place, it would have been nice to explore it a bit more or have a few more characters outside the Dellawisp residents to add vibrancy of the narrative.
I liked that certain characters had secrets or things that they only shared with one other character, like Charlotte and Mac revealing their pasts', but I felt like something to unite the whole group, including Fraiser, was missing.
The magical realism elements didn't go as far as I would have liked, but that's a personal preference. Overall a cozy book that I felt could have had a bit more meat on it when it came to the story and the setting.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Toxic relationship