Reviews with content warning for Death - Yerba Buena: A Novel

Reviews tagging 'Death'

Yerba Buena: A Novel by Nina LaCour

224 reviews

grclnntt's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

5.0

Nina LaCour, you get me everytime with your books. This one made me cry and slow down and want to look for love in the quiet and small moments. I loved this one so much

Content Warnings

emfass's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional hopeful 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? Yes

4.5

Content Warnings

calicos's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional hopeful 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? Yes

4.5

this was a lot more intense than I was expecting but a lovely, gripping read. I loved how their stories were intertwined and the bittersweet tinge of it all

Content Warnings

annaks17's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

Tender and deeply emotional. I was not expecting it to be quite so heavy. Stunning prose. It did take me a bit of time to settle into the two storylines and how everyone was connected.

Content Warnings

daralexandria's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional hopeful reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

seventhswan's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional reflective 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? Yes

3.25

I loved both of the main characters in this book. From their first introduction, Sara and Emilie felt extremely real and multifaceted, as did their family members (I also particularly liked Colette and Spencer, and think the exploration of sibling relationships throughout the book was strong). I also enjoyed the plot, once the first few chapters were out the way. I wish the story would have started with Sara and Emilie as adults, and delved into their backstories later on, rather than opening with lengthy infodumps about their traumatic childhoods. These were so dark, particularly in Sara's case, that the amount of detailed telling didn't match the rest of the story and had a Jacqueline Wilson-esque feel about them.

I'm glad I pushed through the opening chapters because I did like the rest of the story - I found the central romance enticing and believable, thought the setting really came to life, and was pleased by the ending, which was conclusive without being too neat. Unfortunately, I *hated* the writing style. I can't explain exactly what was so off-putting about it, and I suspect it's a matter of personal preference rather than anything technically wrong with it, but it has made me not want to read another of LaCour's novels despite enjoying the storyline.

I would recommend this book to fans of Taylor Jenkins Reid; it reminded me of Malibu Rising especially. If it weren't for the opening, this would be a fun summer-book-club style read.

Content Warnings