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adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Suicide, Terminal illness, Death of parent
Moderate: Confinement, Medical content, Grief, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Blood, Murder
Moderate: Body horror, Cancer, Torture, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, War
Minor: Homophobia, Sexual content
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder
Moderate: Cancer, Violence, Death of parent
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Grief, Injury/Injury detail
reflective
sad
tense
fast-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
This book had me sobbing by the end. It was so beautifully written
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Death, Blood, Grief
Moderate: Gore, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent
Minor: Medical content, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
dark
emotional
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:
Complicated
Beautifully heartbreaking. Some of the best Prose I've read in a while, but a gut punch of a book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Grief, Murder, War
Moderate: Cancer
Minor: Medical trauma
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I would have liked a little more depth to the two main characters relationship. It often felt repetitive at times without much clarity on the direction the book was going. That is, until closer to the end when the climax was reached. I wish I had felt more emotion from the characters in the way of the writing instead of being told their emotions through the author themselves.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Violence, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder
Moderate: Cancer, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, War
Minor: Torture, Suicide attempt
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
sigh. what a repetitive, plodding mess of a book
how did they manage to make reincarnation with a side of mutual murder deeply uninteresting after the first 3 times it was explained. this book is very much in the running for squandered premise of the year, neck and neck with Blob
the numerous flashbacks felt like a low-budget music video. oh look, we’re in Paris with baguettes! Now we’re in China with concubines!!! Next, the desert with camels~ When the author mentioned Pompeii as an aside I actually snorted out loud. It felt like fucking Disney Channel Pass the Plate except someone got stabbed at every cheesy location. most of the flashbacks could’ve been a recap in the present; many of them in the middle felt like fluff to try and add dimension— they didn’t reveal anything new about Arden or the reasoning
the drawn-out“reveal” was like a soggy firework- i expected something really interesting and just got a bit of smoke and even more disappointment. very handwavy hellscape with demon deals- it felt like a scrapped teen wolf episode. the “solution” even more so
i felt absolutely nothing for any of the characters because we didn’t really know them- every 5 pages they were kind then cold then loving then hateful then smart then dumb then sad then laughing. It was hard to root for Evelyn or Arden because they were such cardboard people with “many lives” as an excuse for not being fleshed out. the villain was just… a random creature… this story feels unfinished or rushed or something… like where is the rest of the char dev or magic system building
how did they manage to make reincarnation with a side of mutual murder deeply uninteresting after the first 3 times it was explained. this book is very much in the running for squandered premise of the year, neck and neck with Blob
the numerous flashbacks felt like a low-budget music video. oh look, we’re in Paris with baguettes! Now we’re in China with concubines!!! Next, the desert with camels~ When the author mentioned Pompeii as an aside I actually snorted out loud. It felt like fucking Disney Channel Pass the Plate except someone got stabbed at every cheesy location. most of the flashbacks could’ve been a recap in the present; many of them in the middle felt like fluff to try and add dimension— they didn’t reveal anything new about Arden or the reasoning
the drawn-out“reveal” was like a soggy firework- i expected something really interesting and just got a bit of smoke and even more disappointment. very handwavy hellscape with demon deals- it felt like a scrapped teen wolf episode. the “solution” even more so
i felt absolutely nothing for any of the characters because we didn’t really know them- every 5 pages they were kind then cold then loving then hateful then smart then dumb then sad then laughing. It was hard to root for Evelyn or Arden because they were such cardboard people with “many lives” as an excuse for not being fleshed out. the villain was just… a random creature… this story feels unfinished or rushed or something… like where is the rest of the char dev or magic system building
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, War
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
✨I should've DNF'd this✨
I did not enjoy this and I was relieved to finally be done with it. This may end up being a harsh review, so apologies in advance. While I could appreciate the prose within this book, the story just fell so incredibly short to me. The mystery revolving around Arden murdering Evelyn before turning 18 very quickly lost its shine and soon became a strong annoyance. This book was repetitive and it felt shallow to me. With how often this story jumped between lives and time periods, I found it extremely difficult to feel any sort of connection to these characters. Not to mention, I stopped caring about when, where, or who we were with each jump. It was challenging to keep my mind from wandering while working through this story.
This reminded me of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, and I honestly didn't care much for that story either yet it was a lot better than this one. The romance did absolutely nothing for me. I think the inability to develop a connection to these characters played a huge part in that sentiment. The minute I felt like I was getting comfortable with where the story was headed, we were thrown into another life and time period and all of that progress went back to 0. This turned into a massive slog for me.
When the motivations behind Arden's murders were finally revealed, I found myself unable to care. I just wanted to be done reading.
Beautiful writing, but the structure and characters really did not work for me at all. I heard such great things about this book and desperately wanted to give it a chance but I should've saved myself the trouble.
Here's to hoping that my next read is leagues more enjoyable than this one.
Goodreads Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7366091847
Fable Review: https://fable.co/review/7dd18eb6-ee01-4f98-a1bd-ac9d0c716f72/share
I did not enjoy this and I was relieved to finally be done with it. This may end up being a harsh review, so apologies in advance. While I could appreciate the prose within this book, the story just fell so incredibly short to me. The mystery revolving around Arden murdering Evelyn before turning 18 very quickly lost its shine and soon became a strong annoyance. This book was repetitive and it felt shallow to me. With how often this story jumped between lives and time periods, I found it extremely difficult to feel any sort of connection to these characters. Not to mention, I stopped caring about when, where, or who we were with each jump. It was challenging to keep my mind from wandering while working through this story.
This reminded me of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, and I honestly didn't care much for that story either yet it was a lot better than this one. The romance did absolutely nothing for me. I think the inability to develop a connection to these characters played a huge part in that sentiment. The minute I felt like I was getting comfortable with where the story was headed, we were thrown into another life and time period and all of that progress went back to 0. This turned into a massive slog for me.
When the motivations behind Arden's murders were finally revealed, I found myself unable to care. I just wanted to be done reading.
Beautiful writing, but the structure and characters really did not work for me at all. I heard such great things about this book and desperately wanted to give it a chance but I should've saved myself the trouble.
Here's to hoping that my next read is leagues more enjoyable than this one.
Goodreads Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7366091847
Fable Review: https://fable.co/review/7dd18eb6-ee01-4f98-a1bd-ac9d0c716f72/share
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Death, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, Murder
Moderate: Cancer, Death of parent
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
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:
Complicated
Je pense que c’est honnêtement un des meilleurs livres que j’ai jamais lu et une des plus belles histoires d’amour écrites.
J’ai à peine les mots pour décrire ce livre car tout était parfait du début à la fin, en 350 pages ce livre m’a complètement retourné.
Ce livre est concentré sur une timeline en particulier : 2022 en Écosse mais tout au long de l’histoire il y a des flashbacks de leurs vies antérieures, qui nous transportent à travers le temps et les époques. L’autrice a su me faire voyager dans une dizaine de pays, que ce soit en Sibérie, au Peru, en Chine, au Vietnam, aux États-Unis, en France mais aussi à travers toutes les époques et civilisations. Les protagonistes ont vécues milles vies, ils ont étés pauvres, riches, dans la famille royales, soldats, voleurs, pirates, expéditeurs et j’en passe. Les chapitres ont beaux êtres courts j’ai vraiment été transporté et j’ai l’impression d’avoir vécues ces choses avec eux.
Dans leurs différents vies ils ont étés hommes et femmes, parfois deux hommes, parfois deux femmes, parfois un homme et une femme, leur amour a travers n’importe quels genres. J’ai beaucoup aimé cette aspect là car ce sont bien plus que deux corps genrés : ce sont deux âmes qui se retrouvent à chaque fois.
La plume de l’autrice est magnifique, j’ai plusieurs fois été bouleversée par des citations car il y a des réflexions sur la vie, la mort, le deuil, l’amour, le bien, le mal et l’existence.
« life gives us grief like mounds of wet clay,
ripe and heavy beneath our reluctant hands,
and with it we can do one of three things.
we can carry it with us wherever we go,
stooped beneath its awful weight,
we can shove it back of a wardrobe,
buried beneath an old waxed coat,
or we can make something beautiful,
and let it live on beyond us »
Leur histoire amour est absolument magnifique, malgré tout les obstacles ils finissent toujours par se retrouver. J’ai à peine les mots pour décrire la beauté de leur amour, si beau et pur.
Je pense que la meilleure manière de décrire Evelyn c’est par cette citation :
« The Evelyn I know… they love over and and over and over again, even thought it can only ever end in tragedy. Even though they’ve lost everyone they’ve ever loved, and they miss them in the next life, and the next, and the next. Never have they developed hard edges, like I have. Never have they tried to protect themselves from that pain. They love softly, and fiercely, and openly, and it’s the bravest thing I know. The most human thing I know. »
Evelyn aime entièrement dans chacune de ses vies, même si elle sait que ses proches vont finir par mourir et qu’elle aussi va finir par mourir, elle n’a pas peur du deuil alors qu’Arden s’est construit une carapace au fil des siècles, pour se protéger contre toute cette souffrance, existence après existence et j’aime beaucoup ces deux aspects de ces personnages.
« My heart feels like an open wound. I don’t understand how everyone just… walks around with the knowledge that everyone they love will soon be dead. I look at my sister, my mum, and it’s all I can see. Inevitable loss »
Comment parler de la fin ? De ce plot twist qui m’a retourné le cerveau ? De cette décision impossible ? De la tristesse que j’ai ressentie même si elle est mêlé a beaucoup d’espoirs…
« Then again, I had always found a way to live with the grief of the loves I had lost - to carry them inside me like candles that never blew out, until the slow tide of time eventually extinguished the memories »
Tout dans ce livre était absolument incroyable, c’est le parfait cocktail : un one shot relativement court, des chapitres concis, une histoire d’amour belle et tragique, des personnages attachants et torturés, un univers qui nous fait voyager, des plot twists, une touche de fantasy et une fin qui accroche aux tripes.
J’ai à peine les mots pour décrire ce livre car tout était parfait du début à la fin, en 350 pages ce livre m’a complètement retourné.
Ce livre est concentré sur une timeline en particulier : 2022 en Écosse mais tout au long de l’histoire il y a des flashbacks de leurs vies antérieures, qui nous transportent à travers le temps et les époques. L’autrice a su me faire voyager dans une dizaine de pays, que ce soit en Sibérie, au Peru, en Chine, au Vietnam, aux États-Unis, en France mais aussi à travers toutes les époques et civilisations. Les protagonistes ont vécues milles vies, ils ont étés pauvres, riches, dans la famille royales, soldats, voleurs, pirates, expéditeurs et j’en passe. Les chapitres ont beaux êtres courts j’ai vraiment été transporté et j’ai l’impression d’avoir vécues ces choses avec eux.
Dans leurs différents vies ils ont étés hommes et femmes, parfois deux hommes, parfois deux femmes, parfois un homme et une femme, leur amour a travers n’importe quels genres. J’ai beaucoup aimé cette aspect là car ce sont bien plus que deux corps genrés : ce sont deux âmes qui se retrouvent à chaque fois.
La plume de l’autrice est magnifique, j’ai plusieurs fois été bouleversée par des citations car il y a des réflexions sur la vie, la mort, le deuil, l’amour, le bien, le mal et l’existence.
« life gives us grief like mounds of wet clay,
ripe and heavy beneath our reluctant hands,
and with it we can do one of three things.
we can carry it with us wherever we go,
stooped beneath its awful weight,
we can shove it back of a wardrobe,
buried beneath an old waxed coat,
or we can make something beautiful,
and let it live on beyond us »
Leur histoire amour est absolument magnifique, malgré tout les obstacles ils finissent toujours par se retrouver. J’ai à peine les mots pour décrire la beauté de leur amour, si beau et pur.
Je pense que la meilleure manière de décrire Evelyn c’est par cette citation :
« The Evelyn I know… they love over and and over and over again, even thought it can only ever end in tragedy. Even though they’ve lost everyone they’ve ever loved, and they miss them in the next life, and the next, and the next. Never have they developed hard edges, like I have. Never have they tried to protect themselves from that pain. They love softly, and fiercely, and openly, and it’s the bravest thing I know. The most human thing I know. »
Evelyn aime entièrement dans chacune de ses vies, même si elle sait que ses proches vont finir par mourir et qu’elle aussi va finir par mourir, elle n’a pas peur du deuil alors qu’Arden s’est construit une carapace au fil des siècles, pour se protéger contre toute cette souffrance, existence après existence et j’aime beaucoup ces deux aspects de ces personnages.
« My heart feels like an open wound. I don’t understand how everyone just… walks around with the knowledge that everyone they love will soon be dead. I look at my sister, my mum, and it’s all I can see. Inevitable loss »
Comment parler de la fin ? De ce plot twist qui m’a retourné le cerveau ? De cette décision impossible ? De la tristesse que j’ai ressentie même si elle est mêlé a beaucoup d’espoirs…
« Then again, I had always found a way to live with the grief of the loves I had lost - to carry them inside me like candles that never blew out, until the slow tide of time eventually extinguished the memories »
Tout dans ce livre était absolument incroyable, c’est le parfait cocktail : un one shot relativement court, des chapitres concis, une histoire d’amour belle et tragique, des personnages attachants et torturés, un univers qui nous fait voyager, des plot twists, une touche de fantasy et une fin qui accroche aux tripes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, Death of parent, Murder
Moderate: Cancer, Child death, Terminal illness, Violence, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Car accident