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martereadsbooks's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
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? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Homophobia, Grief, and Car accident
Minor: Cursing, Drug abuse, Suicide, Terminal illness, Blood, Alcohol, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
bookcaptivated's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-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? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Car accident, Lesbophobia, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death, Blood, and Grief
Minor: Addiction, Cancer, Cursing, Racism, Sexual content, Violence, Religious bigotry, Abandonment, and Classism
fe_aye's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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? Yes
4.5
Oh my GODS this book is amazing. The perfect sapphic story to read for pride month I am so glad I picked this one up. I laughed, I cried, I had an existential crisis. Poppy and Ash’s story is amazing to watch unfold, you feel every part of the journey with them. Well done Tanya Byrne, you should be very proud of this I commend you.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Homophobia, Grief, Car accident, and Lesbophobia
Moderate: Cursing, Drug abuse, Suicide, Terminal illness, and Alcohol
anna_wa's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
I find it hard to figure out fully how I feel about this book - there are things I really adored about it and also things I really disliked about it.
Let's start with the things I adored. I adored Ash and Poppy's love for each other. I adored Ash's family (especially her sister Rosh) and her best friend Adara. I adored Adara's passion about global warming and her Mom Friend level protectiveness over Ash. I adored Poppy's love of life and cafes and dreams to be like her mom one day. And I adored Dev and Esen.
To sum it all up in one single sentence: I adored the characters and the relationships they shared with each other. Byrne is great at dialogue and at creating characters who I quickly root for and can feel what they feel by reading the descriptions of it.
Also, the ending was beautiful. No spoilers I promise but it definitely left me feeling very reflective and hopeful about my own life.
But on the other hand... there were several things I didn't like. First off, and most importantly, I know that Ash is in love with Poppy and their love was brand new when Ash died so of course it makes sense that Poppy is Ash's main focus after she dies. But what about her parents? Her sister? Adara? She clearly loved them as well when she was alive, but we don't get to see her thinking about them post-death nearly as often as Poppy. And again, I get it; they're in love and their love was brand new when she died - but surely she would still want to know how her family and Adara are doing. It doesn't make sense that she never tries to find out how they are doing without her.
And in addition to that, there were several times when the flow felt a little weird to me. Like, the scenes themselves were beautifully written but it wasn't always 100% clear how one scene connected to another scene.
Finally, the biggest thing that stuck out like a sore thumb to me: All. the. shrugging. How did an editor not notice and point out how many darn times characters shrug in this book? I wish Byrne would have gone back and ctrl + f'd for all instances of "shrug" so that a few could be changed to a different verb, or no verb at all.
Other than the shrugging, I guess my critiques can be summed up as wishing this book was longer. If this book was longer, maybe "before" and "after" could have been spread out more and there could have been clearer transitions from scene to scene, as well as more time for Ash to think about the people she left behind who aren't Poppy. Maybe see one of them out and about the way she did with Poppy.
All in all though I did enjoy this book. And reading Byrne's acknowledgements discussing why this book was created: the feelings Byrne experienced after a personal loss, living life in "before" and "after", and wanting to show how that feels in a book, made me appreciate it more.
Let's start with the things I adored. I adored Ash and Poppy's love for each other. I adored Ash's family (especially her sister Rosh) and her best friend Adara. I adored Adara's passion about global warming and her Mom Friend level protectiveness over Ash. I adored Poppy's love of life and cafes and dreams to be like her mom one day. And I adored Dev and Esen.
To sum it all up in one single sentence: I adored the characters and the relationships they shared with each other. Byrne is great at dialogue and at creating characters who I quickly root for and can feel what they feel by reading the descriptions of it.
Also, the ending was beautiful. No spoilers I promise but it definitely left me feeling very reflective and hopeful about my own life.
But on the other hand... there were several things I didn't like. First off, and most importantly, I know that Ash is in love with Poppy and their love was brand new when Ash died so of course it makes sense that Poppy is Ash's main focus after she dies. But what about her parents? Her sister? Adara? She clearly loved them as well when she was alive, but we don't get to see her thinking about them post-death nearly as often as Poppy. And again, I get it; they're in love and their love was brand new when she died - but surely she would still want to know how her family and Adara are doing. It doesn't make sense that she never tries to find out how they are doing without her.
And in addition to that, there were several times when the flow felt a little weird to me. Like, the scenes themselves were beautifully written but it wasn't always 100% clear how one scene connected to another scene.
Finally, the biggest thing that stuck out like a sore thumb to me: All. the. shrugging. How did an editor not notice and point out how many darn times characters shrug in this book? I wish Byrne would have gone back and ctrl + f'd for all instances of "shrug" so that a few could be changed to a different verb, or no verb at all.
Other than the shrugging, I guess my critiques can be summed up as wishing this book was longer. If this book was longer, maybe "before" and "after" could have been spread out more and there could have been clearer transitions from scene to scene, as well as more time for Ash to think about the people she left behind who aren't Poppy. Maybe see one of them out and about the way she did with Poppy.
All in all though I did enjoy this book. And reading Byrne's acknowledgements discussing why this book was created: the feelings Byrne experienced after a personal loss, living life in "before" and "after", and wanting to show how that feels in a book, made me appreciate it more.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Car accident
Moderate: Homophobia and Lesbophobia
Minor: Cursing
fujo_cat's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Oh my Gods, this was a good read. It's gay, it's wholesome, it made me emotional a few times and more than I'd like to admit
This is my second read of 2022 and it's a great way to start off the year! 💕
On a more serious note, this was a fantastic reading experience. In a way, it made me imagine how it must feel losing my current partner and it fucking hurts. It hurts so much it made me feel... I don't know, more at peace with the idea of it? It gave me closure, you could say :')
If death (or any of the trigger warnings in it) as a theme doesn't trigger you, then yes, I do recommend it a lot!! 🌈😤👌
This is my second read of 2022 and it's a great way to start off the year! 💕
On a more serious note, this was a fantastic reading experience. In a way, it made me imagine how it must feel losing my current partner and it fucking hurts. It hurts so much it made me feel... I don't know, more at peace with the idea of it? It gave me closure, you could say :')
If death (or any of the trigger warnings in it) as a theme doesn't trigger you, then yes, I do recommend it a lot!! 🌈😤👌
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Car accident
Moderate: Homophobia, Suicide, Grief, Lesbophobia, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Cursing, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, Blood, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, and Alcohol
alphabetmafiamember's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- 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? No
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia and Lesbophobia
Moderate: Death, Sexual content, and Suicide
Minor: Cursing, Racism, Vomit, Car accident, and Alcohol