soniajoy98's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, Death of parent, and Grief
Moderate: Medical content, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Cursing, and Animal death
Minor: Violence, Abandonment, and Child abuse
taroroot's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
frankly, i would never trust a man named Saul. additionally, i should not ever have to read "Ping!" in a non-corporate setting. other than that, it was okay. grief was really well explored throughout the book with both June and Saul.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Death of parent
Moderate: Death, Chronic illness, Cancer, and Blood
Minor: Animal death, Alcohol, and Suicide
znvisser's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
This was my first magical realism in a while and it started off good: I was really invested, especially for the first half. Just a cute story, interesting build-up, and the magic was just mysterious enough to pull you in. Unfortunately in the second half the magic and memories derailed a bit for me and the previously well-outlined current day characters kind of fade away with it. It started to feel like a list of essential memories that makes the reader understand quickly what happened, but then you still have to sit through many more memories, while the two MCs are very slow in their understanding of it all and then finally there is a whole event where the past is literally spelled out, but it takes unnecessarily long by being buried in even more elaborate magic scenery (and unfortunately I am not a scenery type of reader).
So unfortunately this story went a bit downhill for me but because I enjoyed the first half I was invested enough to continue; it didn’t completely ruin my experience but I would have preferred to stay closer to the earlier vibes.
So unfortunately this story went a bit downhill for me but because I enjoyed the first half I was invested enough to continue; it didn’t completely ruin my experience but I would have preferred to stay closer to the earlier vibes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and Grief
Moderate: Blood, Cancer, Child death, and Dementia
Minor: Animal death and Suicide
maggienistler's review against another edition
emotional
funny
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, and Death
Moderate: Cancer, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, and Blood
Minor: Child death and Suicide
lainiereads's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
"I wanted to forget this feeling forever. The feeling of being ripped into two people: the you of before and the one you'll always be once you know what it is to lose something."
Emily Henry discusses grief in a way that feels extremely personal. At times, it felt as though she took a look inside my own brain and somehow put my feelings into the story; it's her ability to take such a painful subject and make it so beautiful made this book an immediate favorite of mine. I picked it up on a whim and found myself hours later, absolutely in love. This book combines both dark and heavy topics with a witty, giggle-inducing romance in the way that only Emily Henry can do.
June is the best main character. She understands grief so well and is still so kind to those that she loves. She also grows so much! She is the perfect protagonist, because she is imperfect, and she learns and wants to be better! And she is also so funny. The banter between her and Saul is perfect and creates bright spots during the dark storylines.
And then there's Saul. Man, oh man, do I love Saul. He also has this great understanding when it comes to grief, and I found myself relating to him even more than June at times. His perspective on loss really helps June (and the reader) see what can come from loss and how important it is that you don't lose sight of the good in life.
Add in the most genuine friendship and a loving family, and there's still so much left to love in this book. I recommend it to everyone. It is extremely powerful and beautiful and poetic and cute and I JUST LOVE IT SO MUCH. Like ?? Thank you Emily Henry once again, love u.
Emily Henry discusses grief in a way that feels extremely personal. At times, it felt as though she took a look inside my own brain and somehow put my feelings into the story; it's her ability to take such a painful subject and make it so beautiful made this book an immediate favorite of mine. I picked it up on a whim and found myself hours later, absolutely in love. This book combines both dark and heavy topics with a witty, giggle-inducing romance in the way that only Emily Henry can do.
June is the best main character. She understands grief so well and is still so kind to those that she loves. She also grows so much! She is the perfect protagonist, because she is imperfect, and she learns and wants to be better! And she is also so funny. The banter between her and Saul is perfect and creates bright spots during the dark storylines.
And then there's Saul. Man, oh man, do I love Saul. He also has this great understanding when it comes to grief, and I found myself relating to him even more than June at times. His perspective on loss really helps June (and the reader) see what can come from loss and how important it is that you don't lose sight of the good in life.
Add in the most genuine friendship and a loving family, and there's still so much left to love in this book. I recommend it to everyone. It is extremely powerful and beautiful and poetic and cute and I JUST LOVE IT SO MUCH. Like ?? Thank you Emily Henry once again, love u.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Death, Death of parent, Child death, Cancer, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Blood, Animal death, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Murder
readwithde's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Coywolves and cherries and whites, oh my!
I absolutely adore this magic realism story about two warring families. It felt a lot like Hatfields and McCoys mixed with the movie Big Fish meets the wonder and depth of The Invisible Life of Addie La Rue.
June is an apt narrator, and though I would have loved to get a few chapters from Saul's perspective, I feel like the surprise at the end would have been ruined. Also, Hannah is the absolute best.
Once again, I found myself appreciating the fact that the narrative gained both pace and stakes as it went along, not sagging in the middle like a lot of other books I've read recently. It's as if Feathers, June's pink ghostly guardian, had forged her own story to tell, allowing June to find it in the manner and order she desired.
As much as I prefer a neatly ended story, it felt wrong in this book of moments, a story of a heavy past that nearly took away June's future, to end things so tightly. I'm glad it was open,
My only complaint was how abstract the ending seemed. I would have preferred something more tangible. There were some minor continuity errors that broke the verisimilitude, but they were barely noticeable.
I absolutely adore this magic realism story about two warring families. It felt a lot like Hatfields and McCoys mixed with the movie Big Fish meets the wonder and depth of The Invisible Life of Addie La Rue.
June is an apt narrator, and though I would have loved to get a few chapters from Saul's perspective, I feel like the surprise at the end would have been ruined. Also, Hannah is the absolute best.
Once again, I found myself appreciating the fact that the narrative gained both pace and stakes as it went along, not sagging in the middle like a lot of other books I've read recently. It's as if Feathers, June's pink ghostly guardian, had forged her own story to tell, allowing June to find it in the manner and order she desired.
As much as I prefer a neatly ended story, it felt wrong in this book of moments, a story of a heavy past that nearly took away June's future, to end things so tightly. I'm glad it was open,
Spoiler
that Saul and June were free to discover themselves and the world, that their choice to let go of the past have them complete freedom over the future.My only complaint was how abstract the ending seemed.
Spoiler
After pages of concrete examples and places and memories, why have the place of all memories seem so nebulous?
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, and Grief
Minor: Alcohol, Animal death, and Child death
klavanger's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I truly did not want to put this book down. Like I considered cancelling plans just to hunker down with this book. I found this book through Emily Henry’s contemporary romance, and while it may be quite different, it is absolutely excellent story telling. It will fully punch you in the gut with emotion, I was not prepared. I found the perspective on grief to be incredibly compelling and accurate, which made for a more interesting and addictive story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Child death, Death, Death of parent, and Grief
Moderate: Dementia and Mental illness
Minor: Alcohol and Animal death
vee's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Really well paced and intriguing, but it gets messy towards the end. The characters feel real and cute and it felt like a relatively quick read. It has a bit of a tone/mood problem but overall pretty satisfying.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Death, Child death, and Animal death
Minor: Cancer
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