A review by k8lynn
I Need You to Read This by Jessa Maxwell

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

i received this book as an ARC from a storygraph Beta giveaway. i was very excited as it was my first print win. this book was a bit slow to start, but once i got into the meatier bits it was hard to put down. i will say it's one of the first books i've ever predicted, not sure if that's good or bad, but part of me felt a great deal of joy that i was right. the ending felt a bit rushed and abrupt, but i enjoyed my overall reading experience with this one. i would read it again in the published form to see if anything is different.

some little things took me out, such as the grammar and typos (too many to count) and the word choice was a bit redundant. for example, the author would say something was "squalling" or "teetering" then only a few paragraphs later were those words used again. or there'd be a series of three or four sentences that all began with "she" or "there" that just felt a little monotonous. some of the dialogue was very realistic, but other aspects of it i couldn't imagine anyone saying. & some of the letters were more descriptive than actual narration.

not totally sure the point of Raymond or Tom as characters or how they add to the story at all?
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