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bootrat's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Grief
Moderate: Blood and Car accident
Minor: Homophobia
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, Child death, Death, Homophobia, Violence, and Car accident
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: Cursing, Death, Sexual content, and Car accident
Moderate: Biphobia, Homophobia, and Blood
Minor: Child death, Misogyny, and Death of parent
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*.honeyenbee's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Blood, and Car accident
Moderate: Cursing, Incest, and Violence
Minor: Homophobia
pages_with_panda's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- 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
3.0
So let me start off by saying the writing and prose in the story was beautiful and poetic in a way that made the plot of the book secondary. Second, don’t read this and expect a traditional romance book. That’s NOT what this is.
“She didn’t have to end up with anyone, no matter how pretty the picture looked to strangers.”
The story was slow to move along, but I enjoyed seeing life through Feyi’s eyes as she grappled with survivor’s guilt, her grief, and how she tried to find a meaning of her life.
Feyi’s an artist who deals primarily in blood - a result of having survived a car crash that killed her husband. She’s reckless with her one-night stands.
The descriptions of her art pieces and the 3D exhibition that she sets up are so beautiful and tragic I had to pause for a second. I couldn’t imagine seeing something so beautiful in real life and really liked the descriptions of those.
“If she could do tonight, she could do anything—the rest of a life, for example.”
The second half of the story has been described as “messy” and I don’t want to mention too much without spoiling the book, but I like that Feyi followed her heart, as cliche as it sounds.
Was she a messy character or did she not give a damn what other people expected of her?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, and Car accident
Moderate: Blood and Death of parent
Minor: Child death and Homophobia
readers_sea's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- 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
3.0
As a romance, this one was just okay for me.
I felt bored for most of the book and by the end, I just didn't get the relationship. I KNOW why the love interests connected, but I personally didn't FEEL it so it was hard for me to root for them in the end. I wanted more time with the couple, but by the time they got together a whole bunch of drama came with it (understandably).
While I liked our main character, Feyi, I just wanted a bit more romance. I felt as an overall contemporary this works. Seeing Feyi talk about her past and try to heal was a journey that I enjoyed reading about! Just couldn't get behind the romance personally.
I felt bored for most of the book and by the end, I just didn't get the relationship. I KNOW why the love interests connected, but I personally didn't FEEL it so it was hard for me to root for them in the end. I wanted more time with the couple, but by the time they got together a whole bunch of drama came with it (understandably).
While I liked our main character, Feyi, I just wanted a bit more romance. I felt as an overall contemporary this works. Seeing Feyi talk about her past and try to heal was a journey that I enjoyed reading about! Just couldn't get behind the romance personally.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, and Car accident
Moderate: Drug use and Alcohol
Minor: Child death and Homophobia
takarakei's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
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
4.0
Look is this story messy as hell? You bet! But also, life is messy as hell. Come for the mess, and stay for Emezi's gorgeous and real writing. I can't wait to read more of their books.
3.5/5🌶️
3.5/5🌶️
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Grief, and Car accident
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Blood, and Alcohol
Minor: Biphobia, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, and Death of parent
Domestic abuse:gdavis254's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
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? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, and Car accident
Moderate: Cancer, Child death, Homophobia, Sexual content, and Blood
nerdysread's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- 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
4.0
I did not excepted that. But I really like this book. Normally I don’t like age gap, but here, it’s okay I guess. What else, oh yes. What I really loved about this story is how the author talks about grief and being alive after surviving a loved one.
It’s a beautiful story, once again Akwaeke Emezi wrote a good book.
It’s a beautiful story, once again Akwaeke Emezi wrote a good book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, and Grief
Moderate: Death and Car accident
Minor: Homophobia and Death of parent
wilybooklover's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
2.5
It’s hard to know how to rate this one because there were some things I loved and some things I didn’t.
Feyi and Alim felt like real, complex people. It’s hard to sell me on an age-gap romance (especially where one is old enough to be the other’s parent) but I think the author just about made it work. Loved the depiction of friendship between Feyi and Joy, and the vibrant island setting too. The writing was very pretty but I didn’t quite vibe with it; it felt like it was so overwrought that it got in the way of the narrative at times.
My main issues: not only did the romance feel a little rushed, but it also felt as though there was something missing. I’m not sure whether it was because the MCs don’t meet until the book is quite far in (27%), or because Alim’s character and emotional arc felt secondary to Feyi’s, or maybe a combination of both. They had like three conversations and suddenly they were madly in love? I just needed to see more interaction to buy it. It also felt like overcoming grief was the primary plot and the romance was the secondary plot. I wish there had been a little more focus on the romance and that Alim had more page-time. Maybe if the first third was condensed and the last third expanded, it would have worked for me better.
If you like complex, nuanced characters, messy emotions, questionable decisions, and romance-adjacent women’s fiction that leans literary then I think you’ll like this one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Blood, Grief, Car accident, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Biphobia, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Death of parent
Minor: Cancer and Child death