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sparker4345 's review for:
Daisy Haites: The Great Undoing
by Jessa Hastings
challenging
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
holy. cow. definitely my favorite book in the series thus far. i really appreciated how there were more complex plot elements in addition to the romances that the series centers around. I LOVE that we get so many perspectives, and it was so powerful to get further insight on events that played out in "long way home" (knowing why julian pushed magnolia away made everything all the more heartbreaking-i need him to find love and realize he is deserving of love!!)
characters!!
I love daisy and julian sm and they deserve the world they may never get to have. for daisy, i think jessa hastings did a great job of explaining her hesitancy towards female relationships while not making her an 'i'm not like other girls" woman. this book also provided so much more backstory for both of the siblings and their relationship to eachother/the other Lost Boys. they've both been through so much and their roles in the criminal underworld will follow them forever (see: the heartwrenching ending of this book-DAISY THOUGHT SHE WAS GETTING OUT AND JULIAN THOUGHT HE WAS GETTING THE GIRL).
julian and magnolia <3
seeing julian's feelings for magnolia progress even as he tries to fight them is so heartbreaking to witness (wish i had tandem read this and "long way home" for many reasons, one of the main being seeing magnolia's responses to julian's behavior and his reading of facial expressions). seeing magnolia through julian and daisy's perspective made me like her so much more-you can really see her character and silliness shine through when it's not all. about. BJ.
WHAT IS GOING ON WITH HENRY, JONAH AND TAURA THIS IS PMO-i need at least one of their perspectives.
also jessa hastings is the queen of leaving us on cliffhangers to then follow up with a book from the perspectives of the characters who did not experience those cliffhnagers (ex. i was so wrapped up in julian, daisy and christian's storylines that I FORGOT ABOUT BRIDGET'S ENDING IN LONG WAY HOME!!) and now we're going back to BJ and Magnolia (I assume) without getting a satisfying conclusion to daisy and julian's rapid departure.
I KNOW there is so much more to the haites' and hemmes' storylines that needs to be explored in upcoming novels (what happened to the hemmes' younger sister? updates on their mom?? who killed the haites parents??)-again, this book became my favorite because it was more plot-driven and suspenseful; we finally get more action/info on what julian is truly grappling with. with that being said, there were moments where I felt like the novel was balancing almost TOO many narratives and lines got crossed, but that didn't diminish my enjoyment of the novel, only made my brain hurt a few times.
all the language about art/comparisons of the haites' loved ones to art was such a lovely and powerful motif :)
favorite quotes/moments:
- “In another life I reckon I could have loved you,' I tell her. She gives me a little smile back. 'In another life I would have let you-' Never you mind that I already love her in this one.” (KILL ME WHY DONT YOU JESSA)
- “She is the goddess in the Botticelli clam shell, her eyes are the waterlilies in Monet’s pond, she is the hand of God reaching down to mankind. Klimt’s kiss is a portrait of us and I’m gonna steal it. Take it, make it mine, make her mine too.” (let this kind of love find me pls)
- DAISY AND CHRISTIAN ON NEW YEARS
- “What am I to you?” “Oh, I don’t know—” I give her a little shrug, stare straight ahead. Take a long sip before I look over at her. “Like, just—everything.”
- “I just never saw her coming, I couldn't have picked loving her out of a lineup”
-“You’re Central Park at midnight.”
characters!!
I love daisy and julian sm and they deserve the world they may never get to have. for daisy, i think jessa hastings did a great job of explaining her hesitancy towards female relationships while not making her an 'i'm not like other girls" woman. this book also provided so much more backstory for both of the siblings and their relationship to eachother/the other Lost Boys. they've both been through so much and their roles in the criminal underworld will follow them forever (see: the heartwrenching ending of this book-DAISY THOUGHT SHE WAS GETTING OUT AND JULIAN THOUGHT HE WAS GETTING THE GIRL).
julian and magnolia <3
seeing julian's feelings for magnolia progress even as he tries to fight them is so heartbreaking to witness (wish i had tandem read this and "long way home" for many reasons, one of the main being seeing magnolia's responses to julian's behavior and his reading of facial expressions). seeing magnolia through julian and daisy's perspective made me like her so much more-you can really see her character and silliness shine through when it's not all. about. BJ.
WHAT IS GOING ON WITH HENRY, JONAH AND TAURA THIS IS PMO-i need at least one of their perspectives.
also jessa hastings is the queen of leaving us on cliffhangers to then follow up with a book from the perspectives of the characters who did not experience those cliffhnagers (ex. i was so wrapped up in julian, daisy and christian's storylines that I FORGOT ABOUT BRIDGET'S ENDING IN LONG WAY HOME!!) and now we're going back to BJ and Magnolia (I assume) without getting a satisfying conclusion to daisy and julian's rapid departure.
I KNOW there is so much more to the haites' and hemmes' storylines that needs to be explored in upcoming novels (what happened to the hemmes' younger sister? updates on their mom?? who killed the haites parents??)-again, this book became my favorite because it was more plot-driven and suspenseful; we finally get more action/info on what julian is truly grappling with. with that being said, there were moments where I felt like the novel was balancing almost TOO many narratives and lines got crossed, but that didn't diminish my enjoyment of the novel, only made my brain hurt a few times.
all the language about art/comparisons of the haites' loved ones to art was such a lovely and powerful motif :)
favorite quotes/moments:
- “In another life I reckon I could have loved you,' I tell her. She gives me a little smile back. 'In another life I would have let you-' Never you mind that I already love her in this one.” (KILL ME WHY DONT YOU JESSA)
- “She is the goddess in the Botticelli clam shell, her eyes are the waterlilies in Monet’s pond, she is the hand of God reaching down to mankind. Klimt’s kiss is a portrait of us and I’m gonna steal it. Take it, make it mine, make her mine too.” (let this kind of love find me pls)
- DAISY AND CHRISTIAN ON NEW YEARS
- “What am I to you?” “Oh, I don’t know—” I give her a little shrug, stare straight ahead. Take a long sip before I look over at her. “Like, just—everything.”
- “I just never saw her coming, I couldn't have picked loving her out of a lineup”
-“You’re Central Park at midnight.”