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cmkrasman's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Death, Blood, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Biphobia, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicide, Transphobia, Violence, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexual content
sleepy_stardust's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
But oh my god, does Maeve Chambers ruin it.
At first, a romance subplot began with one of the side characters, Roe. It's eased into, and I found myself enjoying their relationship. Then, out of nowhere, they share a passionate kiss. No build-up, nothing, nada. From then on, I found it difficult to empathize with the main character's love problems; it's difficult to be surprised that a relationship isn't going well when the couple doesn't know one another.
Maeve's also pretty unlikeable in general. In the beginning, she seemed realistically imperfect. Were her flaws difficult to tolerate? Yes. Could I understand where she was coming from? Also, yes. However, as the novel progresses, her perspective becomes increasingly infuriating. She invalidates her partner's insecurities about their unstable relationship (which started after his sister went missing, mind you, and partly because of Maeve). She's overly capricious and causes mini-conflicts in the novel that are entirely superfluous and unworthy of the reader's attention.
Besides Maeve's characterization problems, the novel's ending is incredibly cliché. It reads like the end of a pilot episode of a crime-fighting show, where the main characters have finally realized that they're meant to take on the mysteries of the world together. It's horrendously underwhelming; O'Donoghue would have been better off starting the second book and adding exposition throughout to explain the characters' backstories.
Roe and Fiona were enough to save this book from being a total drag for me, though.
2.5☆ / 5☆
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, and Suicide attempt
veggiestrawenjoyer13's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Hate crime, Homophobia, Transphobia, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Cursing and Death
Minor: Domestic abuse, Racism, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
claireclimbstrees's review
- 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
3.75
Graphic: Homophobia and Self harm
Moderate: Racism
se_wigget's review
- 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
44%: Wow--a sea monkeys reference... about an hour after I finished listening to an American Hysteria podcast episode about Sea Monkeys!
Graphic: Biphobia, Bullying, Hate crime, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Lesbophobia, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death and Grief
oddduck's review
4.0
Moderate: Bullying, Deadnaming, Hate crime, Homophobia, Racism, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Lesbophobia, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Domestic abuse and Alcohol
beckyyreadss's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Hate crime, Homophobia, Violence, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Bullying, Racism, and Self harm
theoriginalbookdragon's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Hate crime, Homophobia, Self harm, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Racism, Suicide, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Medical content
elliereadsthings's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
“I lean my head on his shoulder and wonder just how much easier life would be if I weren’t in love with Roe O’Callaghan. But, oh god, how boring.”
Graphic: Cursing, Hate crime, Homophobia, Self harm, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Biphobia, Bullying, Mental illness, Racism, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Trafficking, Suicide attempt, Lesbophobia, and Alcohol
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicide, Excrement, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Abortion, Murder, Outing, and Classism
radler's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Hate crime, Homophobia, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Medical content, Religious bigotry, and Injury/Injury detail