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dymphna 's review for:
Youngblood
by Sasha Laurens
funny
hopeful
inspiring
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I'd like to start by saying that I enjoyed the time I spent reading this book! It was entertaining, had an engaging plot, an adorable romance, and some really funny moments.
Some things I liked:
- the relationship. It's trope-y and fun. Friends to rivals to lovers which I love. I found that the relationship built nicely. I saw some arguments saying it was too fast or they saw no chemistry. I did not feel the same at all. In my opinion, there was chemistry, and the 'suddenness' of Kat's feelings felt believable for a 16-17 year old girl. Besides, it was really cute.
- themes of activism. Definitely not done in the best possible way, especially since our main characters are white. It would have been better if the activism stuck to 'just' lgbtq+ themes and the sickness. But those I really liked. I liked how Kat thought about her sexuality. I liked how CFaD resembled aids/HIV. It was done in a sensitive way, and brought up really amazing points/thought that I did like.
Some things I liked less:
- it was very white. And I get that that was part of the point of Harcote, but it bothered me that just our two main white characters were talking about it. Since Kat was such a big ally, I feel like it would come across better had she not been white. It now felt very 'white saviour' to me.
- the plot went slow, and then too fast. I liked all the twists, I just feel like the pacing of them was a bit off? The last 5 chapters was literally plot twist after plot twist, just to solve everything in just 30 pages. And that while everything before that moved a little slow. Not in a bad way, but it made the end feel extra rushed.
I did really like this! I would still reccomend this to people who like YA, Sapphic vampires, and romance with a fun plot (so it's not just romance).
Some things I liked:
- the relationship. It's trope-y and fun. Friends to rivals to lovers which I love. I found that the relationship built nicely. I saw some arguments saying it was too fast or they saw no chemistry. I did not feel the same at all. In my opinion, there was chemistry, and the 'suddenness' of Kat's feelings felt believable for a 16-17 year old girl. Besides, it was really cute.
- themes of activism. Definitely not done in the best possible way, especially since our main characters are white. It would have been better if the activism stuck to 'just' lgbtq+ themes and the sickness. But those I really liked. I liked how Kat thought about her sexuality. I liked how CFaD resembled aids/HIV. It was done in a sensitive way, and brought up really amazing points/thought that I did like.
Some things I liked less:
- it was very white. And I get that that was part of the point of Harcote, but it bothered me that just our two main white characters were talking about it. Since Kat was such a big ally, I feel like it would come across better had she not been white. It now felt very 'white saviour' to me.
- the plot went slow, and then too fast. I liked all the twists, I just feel like the pacing of them was a bit off? The last 5 chapters was literally plot twist after plot twist, just to solve everything in just 30 pages. And that while everything before that moved a little slow. Not in a bad way, but it made the end feel extra rushed.
I did really like this! I would still reccomend this to people who like YA, Sapphic vampires, and romance with a fun plot (so it's not just romance).