Take a photo of a barcode or cover
fae_princess_in_space 's review for:
Into This River I Drown
by T.J. Klune
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Oooofff I wanted to love this one but honestly it just didn’t vibe with me. I love TJ’s books usually, but this one was such a struggle. The writing was, as always, beautiful which is why it still gets 3 stars from me, but the plot just didn’t bring me joy.
Maybe it’s my own daddy issues lol, but this one was very very dad heavy (Benji was absolutely obsessed with his dead father… to the point I don’t feel it was healthy at alllll). Also lots about god and his plans… as someone who is not religious, I just didn’t care. Although the sassy archangels brought me joy.
There was an overarching mystery plot, with strange happenings in the town, but it ended up being quite mundane? I thought it’d be more supernatural honestly… especially with angels knocking about! I was expecting this story to have the weird twists and turns of Murmuration… but it just didn’t.
But I guess my biggest disappointment was the romance; Benji is selfish right up to the end, and I just don’t understand what Cal saw in him? Also, Cal has watched over Benji since he was born… so that was a bit ick also 🤣 I’m all for age gap romances, but sometimes 200 years is a bit much, y’know? Like I guess I just didn’t gel with either of them, but mostly I didn’t like Benji as a character, so it affected the whole book for me.
Also, the trans slurs used in this book? Like I get the townsfolk are supposed to be uneducated and fairly intolerant but having Benji’s dad who we’re supposed to be sympathetic towards calling people trannies repeatedly wasn’t the vibe honestly.
I feel like I’m gonna be sticking to the Green Creek series honestly, this one probably won’t be getting a re-read from me 🙈
Maybe it’s my own daddy issues lol, but this one was very very dad heavy (Benji was absolutely obsessed with his dead father… to the point I don’t feel it was healthy at alllll). Also lots about god and his plans… as someone who is not religious, I just didn’t care. Although the sassy archangels brought me joy.
There was an overarching mystery plot, with strange happenings in the town, but it ended up being quite mundane? I thought it’d be more supernatural honestly… especially with angels knocking about! I was expecting this story to have the weird twists and turns of Murmuration… but it just didn’t.
But I guess my biggest disappointment was the romance; Benji is selfish right up to the end, and I just don’t understand what Cal saw in him? Also, Cal has watched over Benji since he was born… so that was a bit ick also 🤣 I’m all for age gap romances, but sometimes 200 years is a bit much, y’know? Like I guess I just didn’t gel with either of them, but mostly I didn’t like Benji as a character, so it affected the whole book for me.
Also, the trans slurs used in this book? Like I get the townsfolk are supposed to be uneducated and fairly intolerant but having Benji’s dad who we’re supposed to be sympathetic towards calling people trannies repeatedly wasn’t the vibe honestly.
I feel like I’m gonna be sticking to the Green Creek series honestly, this one probably won’t be getting a re-read from me 🙈