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A review by ishi_time
We Were Restless Things by Cole Nagamatsu
3.0
I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This book cover is GORGEOUS and that is what first drew me to it. The synopsis sounded intriguing and the book was also compared to The Raven Boys, which is one of my favorite books. This book was as lyrical and whimsical as I expected it to be and overall, I enjoyed it.
My favourite character was Noemi, and I looked forward to reading through her perspective the most. I really loved Link as well, even though he was dead. The writing style was lush and imaginative; the metaphors were beautiful. It was like reading a dream. I also loved reading the dream journal entries. They were beautiful and nonsensical (in a good way). They were definitely my favorite parts of the book!
This book came across more as a character study, which is not necessary a bad thing. The dream journal entries told us a lot about Noemi as a character, but did nothing to move the plot forward. I didn't see the point of Jonas having his own POV chapters since he spent most of his time with Noemi anyway. Though I think I might be a bit biased in my dislike for Jonas POV chapters because I found him particularly irritating.
Amber seemed like a nice person but her chapters added absolutely nothing to the plot at all, though we did get to learn a bit more about her. Still, I thought that Lyle and Amber were pale echos when compared to Link and Gate, both of whom were strong characters I really liked. Sometimes even Noemi's "not like other girls" narrative got a bit hard to read about. Even though I liked Noemi, I found it hard to believe that she's fun and quirky and different and that literally every boy in the story was in love with her.
Overall, I enjoyed it and I thought that the writing was beautiful. I am a character-driven reader, so I didn't mind that the book had little plot.
*SPOILER*
I did not like Noemi and Jonas' relationship AT ALL. I thought it was a bit unhealthy and that Jonas was pushy. It felt like Noemi was often rushed into making decisions that she wasn't ready to make yet because Jonas would constantly start with his "woe is me" monologue.
This book cover is GORGEOUS and that is what first drew me to it. The synopsis sounded intriguing and the book was also compared to The Raven Boys, which is one of my favorite books. This book was as lyrical and whimsical as I expected it to be and overall, I enjoyed it.
My favourite character was Noemi, and I looked forward to reading through her perspective the most. I really loved Link as well, even though he was dead. The writing style was lush and imaginative; the metaphors were beautiful. It was like reading a dream. I also loved reading the dream journal entries. They were beautiful and nonsensical (in a good way). They were definitely my favorite parts of the book!
This book came across more as a character study, which is not necessary a bad thing. The dream journal entries told us a lot about Noemi as a character, but did nothing to move the plot forward. I didn't see the point of Jonas having his own POV chapters since he spent most of his time with Noemi anyway. Though I think I might be a bit biased in my dislike for Jonas POV chapters because I found him particularly irritating.
Amber seemed like a nice person but her chapters added absolutely nothing to the plot at all, though we did get to learn a bit more about her. Still, I thought that Lyle and Amber were pale echos when compared to Link and Gate, both of whom were strong characters I really liked. Sometimes even Noemi's "not like other girls" narrative got a bit hard to read about. Even though I liked Noemi, I found it hard to believe that she's fun and quirky and different and that literally every boy in the story was in love with her.
Overall, I enjoyed it and I thought that the writing was beautiful. I am a character-driven reader, so I didn't mind that the book had little plot.
*SPOILER*
I did not like Noemi and Jonas' relationship AT ALL. I thought it was a bit unhealthy and that Jonas was pushy. It felt like Noemi was often rushed into making decisions that she wasn't ready to make yet because Jonas would constantly start with his "woe is me" monologue.