May come back to it at a later date - book is at my partner's house, which is 3000 miles from mine, so limited time mainly decided this for me. But also eh, just not really my thing. Westerns aren't my vibe, and I found this book very heavy on the Western tropes and all its downsides for me. Also the protagonist feels very YA-y, if you know what I mean. Strong, independent, and completely void of personality.
May return to this, but if I don't I won't feel like I've missed out.

The Sound of Stars by Alechia Dow

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

All of the Above by Juno Dawson

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challenging emotional funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Content Warnings

Guard Your Heart by Sue Divin

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emotional reflective tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

I was disappointed by this book, if I'm honest. What I had hoped to be a Romeo-and-Juliet in modern day Ireland ended up too light on the romance and too heavy on the myriad of complex subjects that weren't handled generously enough for me to enjoy.
Two main issues with the setting of this book - you need to have a fairly nuanced understanding of The Irish Troubles to be able to follow exactly the divides and betrayals of the story. Maybe that's on me and my schooling, but I had rather hoped that this book would function as an immersive introduction to it. My fault. But the other is that teenage life is not depicted well. The author clearly grew up before mobile phones and the internet were commonplace - nothing wrong with that, but it made the teenage characters read more like children of the 80s and 90s than the Gen Z children they are expressly stated to be.
The plot meandered drastically, going from a violent and graphically depicted hate crime to a soft love story between forbidden lovers ignoring the pressures on their relationship, back to gang violence, religious tension and social divides, class struggles, addiction, domestic violence, and a vast amount more with very quick changes in tone and pace. I found it rather hard to care properly about one or the other when the balance was so shaky - by trying to have both, this book let down both sides.
I will say that there were moments where I was really taken in by Iona and Aiden's budding relationship. Their first proper date had me grinning like an idiot to myself, and at times Aiden seemed like the perfect slightly-broken-but-golden-hearted love interest I find appealing. Equally, his unchecked misogyny and generalised comments about women detracted from that significantly, especially when it came to his perception of Iona as being "natural" and "not like other girls" (a trope I cannot believe is still being repeated in 2021 publications).
However, I think my main issue with the balance of this book comes from the amount of weight given to Aiden as a character. Aiden is the one with a long tragic backstory, with the huge amount to lose by falling for Iona, and it is he who most of the biggest issues in the book rest on. Comparing the action-packed final chapters from his perspective where all the New IRA violence comes to a head and he is left with nowhere to turn, to Iona being grounded by her dad for telling him she's in love with a Catholic... It didn't really match up. If the story had been told without Iona's perspective, or if she had been developed enough and the privilege she has coming from a white middle class Protestant family compared to Aiden's working class and very underprivileged roots were addressed, maybe it would have felt more equal. As it was, she falls distinctly flat, and Aiden gets all the YA protagonist talking points of dead parents, brothers involved in gangs, and a toxic ex.
I wish this book had been better, because it had a lot of good going for it, but sadly the execution and handling of key aspects of the plot and story didn't do it for me.

Content Warnings

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thepretentiouspoet's reviews 104 reviews

thepretentiouspoet's reviews
104 reviews