sapphicswrld 's review for:

Vibe by Liza James

1.0

challenging dark tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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This book, while entertaining, is extremely "dark", for the lack of a better word, which is fine, literature is meant to encapsulate all human feelings and not just the ones that makes us comfortable, but the things the two women go through seems to be written in an over the top way that makes it seem more like a trauma porn than a story about resilience. I was craving to read a sapphic dark romance, but I haven't had much luck with them, with the exception of two books — one of them being by this author herself — The Mad House. If you read this book and then read The Mad House, the improvement in the story is huge. While retaining the dark elements of Vibe, and focusing more on the religious aspect of a cult, it was infinitely more careful with the depictions of trauma, and they felt more important to the narrative of the two characters than Vibe's trauma ever did to Aura and Ruby. I have read the Mad House recently so I remember mostly everything, however I did not remember almost anything from Vibe, and I was craving a sapphic dark romance, so I decided to reread it, which is not something that I do, which proves the entertainment value of the book. While rereading it for the second time after having read The Mad House, I see what the book is trying to become, so I can appreciate it more. Despite this, if you want to read a sapphic dark romance, you're better off reading The Mad House by the same author.