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em_h_ma's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Sexual content, Violence, and Grief
llams'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? No
5.0
Graphic: Biphobia, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Sexual content, Blood, Grief, Car accident, and Fire/Fire injury
sarahmcg's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I guess for as much as I love a trope-filled rom-com, I can also really appreciate a complicated lit-fic love story, romance but also an exploration of grief, friendship, and art/creativity.
Read this if you love MESS, taboo/forbidden/age gap romance, finding love after loss, complicated FMC.
The writing was very beautiful; poetic, with gorgeous descriptions of the tropical island mountain home, art, music, and food. This was my first read by Emezi and it won’t be my last.
The only critique I have is I totally understood the emotional connection that Feyi and Alim formed, but for some reason I still had a little bit of difficulty with the believability of their chemistry (not sure if it was maybe the age gap or something else?) - but overall I’d give 4.5⭐️
I want a book about Joy!!!
CW/TW: discussions of loss of spouse (in past but discussed throughout - 1) car accident 2) drowning), sexual content, descriptions of blood, domestic incident.
Graphic: Death, Car accident, and Death of parent
Moderate: Cursing, Sexual content, and Blood
tosleepperchancetoread's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
2.5
Moderate: Cursing and Death
Minor: Blood
iftheshoef1tz's review against another edition
- 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
My biggest beef with this book is that the set-up felt like it took forever (although I just checked the book and it’s not that many pages) and then Feyi and Alim fall for each other super fast. I am always a fan of a slow(er) burn, so maybe that’s my issue here, but I would have thought that Alim, at least, as Nasir’s father, would have really hit the brakes on anything for longer than he did. So much of the end was also not what I was expecting? A lot of it felt very pat and trite (
There was a lot of beautiful writing in this book though, as well as thoughtful prose on grief and mourning. Just didn’t quite stick the landing for me.
Graphic: Cursing, Infidelity, Sexual content, and Grief
Moderate: Blood and Car accident
Minor: Death of parent
alli_andrews's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
2.0
Minor: Ableism, Biphobia, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Mental illness, Sexual content, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, and Alcohol
taleofabibliophile's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Sexual content, and Grief
Moderate: Biphobia, Homophobia, Infidelity, Violence, and Car accident
Minor: Child death, Drug use, and Death of parent
caitlinemccann'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
4.5
Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Death, Sexual content, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Sexism and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Biphobia
queenkath32's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Child death, Cursing, Death, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, and Alcohol
gabichatslit's review against another edition
4.5
I don’t even know what to do, what to say, where to go from here… Like, this was amazing. The way Emezi tackled grief, what it means to feel alive, the uncertainty of choosing yourself above all else. I’m just truly shocked. I completely understand why in all the reviews I’ve seen of this book, no one has ever been able to fully articulate how amazing this story is.
The writing in this book is just so beautiful. I would find myself pausing to just marvel over these jaw dropping sentences that felt so real, like Emezi finally gave me the language for emotions/feelings I hadn’t been able to explain before.
There were moments when reading this book felt like watching a train crash and being unable to look away from the inevitable collision. But there was so much honesty in Feyi’s messiness, in her uncertainty, in her commitment to being alive— knowing what it felt like to just exist. I loved her inner monologue, she felt so real and flawed and thoroughly fleshed out. And I applaud Emezi for taking it there, for not being afraid to have Feyi make a wild ass decision and then sitting with us and unpacking how she got there.
Do I agree with everything that Feyi did? No. However, I think when approaching Feyi’s story from a place of compassion, you can sympathize with a woman who lost her lifeline and had been trying to fit herself into a life she did not recognize. One that she hadn’t planned for and that was unfamiliar. And then she found herself on an island with someone who she didn’t feel like she needed to stuff her grief down for. Someone with whom she could let herself be soft with. And knowing how precious life is, she refused to let that go.
This book will stay with me for awhile. And I look forward to all the things I take away from my next read.
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Grief, Car accident, and Death of parent