Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'

The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic by Breanne Randall

36 reviews

heatherjchin's review

fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cancer, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment

Minor: Rape, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Stalking, and Pregnancy

kiahsm's review against another edition

lighthearted mysterious 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? No

2.0

Funny enough I finally finished reading this book after buying it on my kindle a few months back, reading a few chapters, becoming bored and closing out the book. I was on a trip across the country when I bought a "blind book date" wrapped in plain paper from a bookstore that had an enticing description on it. I unwrapped it and found this book, again. I decided I should finish it since it kept finding it's way back to me. 

Don't get me wrong, this book is very cozy and sweet. I loved the nuggets of magic and Gigi's wisdom throughout. The recipes were a nice touch. I will say this isn't the type of book you want to tear through and not put down. It was more so a comforting and slow read. 

Some quotes that hit me were the quotes on grief, as I recently lost my own grandmother to cancer. "What were you supposed to do after the matriarch died?" "The real consolation was seeing their own grief reflected in the eyes and tears of friends and neighbors and cafe patrons because it meant they were unified in their sorrow and love for a woman who had touched so many lives." Those sort of things you reflect on differently after losing someone you love. I appreciated the sincerity in the thought behind those words and showing the depth of Sadie's grief for such an important person in her life.

I felt that the characters had so much more potential for depth and character development, but it did feel very surface level. I also couldn't help myself rolling my eyes at "Jake" the small town firefighter who couldn't seem to be honest with himself or Sadie. Some parts of the story seemed like distractions and almost like the author couldn't choose which path she was going to go down story-line wise. The dark energy in the woods ends up being Sadie's grandfather? This didn't make much sense to me considering Sadie was supposed to be this very in-tune witch, but she couldn't differentiate an evil spirit and her grandpa? Just seemed a bit of a rush to close that part of the story because it didn't pan out the way it had initially been written.

I also have to mention, Gigi killing a man, and Sadie and her brother being the products of SA seemed almost glossed over, with no actual reflection from any of the characters on this part of the story line. It seemed like a heavy explanation to toss into the book without it being a bit more of a discussion.

Otherwise, this book is a cute and cozy read. It would be a great book to read through the fall and I look forward to seeing other books this author puts out as I am sure her writing will grow with practice.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Grief, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, and Pregnancy

Minor: Murder

michelejenn's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Terminal illness, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Abandonment

touchegiantsquid's review against another edition

dark emotional lighthearted slow-paced

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

1.0

The thing that bothered me the most was the main character's suicide attempt led to her love confessing his feelings to her.

Was it just me or did it feel like she and her twin brother had too much sexual tension? Maybe it just didn't sound like different characters had different enough voices.

I was surprised her best friend referred to her as cariño - I thought you'd only use the masculine suffix for people with masculine identities.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt

Moderate: Cancer, Death, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, and Death of parent

celestepaed's review

emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent

Moderate: Mental illness and Pregnancy

lorinafletcherhill's review

Those book os horrible.  It's supposed to be a cozy witchy fantasy,  and it's mostly church with suicide ideation with a cancer death thrown in too. Almost no magic, and definitely not cosy. The writing is bad and it should have come with content warnings!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cancer, Death, Suicidal thoughts, and Terminal illness

anntharai's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Cried. Twice. Amazing storytelling. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Abandonment

mysteryspouse's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Cancer, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Terminal illness

ehoustonmyatt's review

dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

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

1.5

This had potential to be so fun, even with darker themes. It, instead, focused on things that weren’t important and whizzed past the reveals that were supposed to be big. The Bethany of it all was very stereotypical and predictable, the love interest sucked, and it dropped some big dark themes too casually and not very thoughtfully. Also, the diversity included seemed like a performative afterthought. 

It’s sold as a “cozy” read that feels like Gilmore Girls meets Practical Magic but it didn’t deliver any of that.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Abandonment

Minor: Addiction, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment

Hey, no dogs or cats die so I guess that’s one win!

ulviyyask's review

emotional hopeful mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment

Moderate: Death and Terminal illness