ebancroft's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I really enjoyed this book, good enemies to lovers trope, full of steamy moments (but nothing to full on if you don’t like that).
I loved the character development and fell more in love with Tate and Charlie and the book went on, I especially enjoyed how different Charlie was for the main love trope in a steamy book.
A good read, didn’t feel like a 700ish page book. I wish there was a few less contemporary references (felt a little bit cringe at times) but overall I loved it, and I love the way this author writes.
I loved the character development and fell more in love with Tate and Charlie and the book went on, I especially enjoyed how different Charlie was for the main love trope in a steamy book.
A good read, didn’t feel like a 700ish page book. I wish there was a few less contemporary references (felt a little bit cringe at times) but overall I loved it, and I love the way this author writes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Alcoholism, Infertility, Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Death, Drug abuse, Addiction, Grief, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
alisa_b's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Addiction, Death, Grief, Drug use, and Eating disorder
tatireads02's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Death of parent, Infertility, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Death, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, Bullying, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Suicide, and Abandonment
samix3reads's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Medical trauma, Alcohol, Death of parent, Drug use, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
willowmcquerry's review
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Death of parent, Suicide, Self harm, and Fire/Fire injury
deeloro's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
sad
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? Yes
5.0
This book broke my heart. I went in blind and I don’t regret that. I think if I knew some of the plot points that shocked me and hurt me, the read wouldn’t have been the same. I ignored the trigger warnings (because I don’t really have any. If you need them, I won’t suggest skipping them.) since I feel they sometimes give away plot points. I dove in head first and got hurt. But I don’t regret it. I never do.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Blood, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Vomit, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Sexual content, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infertility, Pregnancy, and Self harm
kaleygb's review
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Drug use, Death, Bullying, Mental illness, Grief, Death of parent, Addiction, Drug abuse, Suicide, and Alcoholism
Minor: Infertility, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, and Child death
ladylaurenexplorer's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
A 5 is the only rating I can give this book. It has bad me cry so much. Not only because it was sad, but because the moments, a lot of them, were so relatable to me.
I’ve been so seen when it comes to Kel thoughts and the strength of Charlotte.
I loved Tate & Terry’s growth. From the guilt, acceptance, and accountability for their actions. I really wish Kel could have been there to see everything through.
But I understand the feeling of there being nothing you can do to stop the actions of a loved one when you see the impact coming.
To me this was bittersweet and so hard for me to read, but I knew I won’t be able to continue if I stopped. I’m glad I did though!
I would definitely recommend, but to tell you the truth. At this time in my life, I can’t reread this! It’s to close to reality for me at times.
But please read it! It’s a beautiful piece of getting past the grief of losing someone you love as a family member or romantically. But finding the will to move forward and love for yourself!
I’ve been so seen when it comes to Kel thoughts and the strength of Charlotte.
I loved Tate & Terry’s growth. From the guilt, acceptance, and accountability for their actions. I really wish Kel could have been there to see everything through.
But I understand the feeling of there being nothing you can do to stop the actions of a loved one when you see the impact coming.
To me this was bittersweet and so hard for me to read, but I knew I won’t be able to continue if I stopped. I’m glad I did though!
I would definitely recommend, but to tell you the truth. At this time in my life, I can’t reread this! It’s to close to reality for me at times.
But please read it! It’s a beautiful piece of getting past the grief of losing someone you love as a family member or romantically. But finding the will to move forward and love for yourself!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Suicide, Death, Death of parent, and Drug abuse
leda64's review
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
relaxing
sad
slow-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: Alcoholism, Bullying, Death, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Addiction, Death of parent, Grief, Pregnancy, Self harm, Suicide, Stalking, and Toxic relationship
lianareadss's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
⚠️TW// SUICIDE, STILL BIRTH, SH, DEPRESSION, FIRE — potential spoilers ⚠️
i've read positive and negative reviews on this book and there were a lot of opinions i agreed and disagreed with,, here's my personal opinion on all the different topics covered in this book. i want to start with the fact that this is not a romance book; the romance is a subplot. people who are promoting it as one are so wrong 😭
to begin with the suicide/mental health aspect, a lot of people were saying it was romanticized, but i honestly didn't see it. in my opinion, i think this book showed a realistic situation of teenage depression and suicide. the whole emo/goth stereotype was unnecessary or more like overdone bc it sets a bad impression on people who dress or present themselves in that style but aren't depressed or suicidal. the reasons kellan chose to do it might not seem realistic to everyone reading the book, bc through communication and therapy it might have gotten better. i want to note that kellan was an addict. other than his mental illnesses, he took heavy drugs at such a young age and that alone can heavily fuck with someone's brain. depression is much more complex though and mental illness can be so overbearing and difficult, one's decisions can get blurry. as much as the people who loved kellan wanted to help, no one could have saved him but himself. this book portrayed a worst case scenario. you see how it affects your loved ones and how much there is that kellan could've lived for, but chose not to. no matter what though, suicide is never ever the answer. if you are having suicidal ideation, please reach out to trusted ones, a suicide hotline or call 911. no matter what you're going through, your life is so important and you're worth SO much.
next, i loved how the author represented so many different types of complicated familial relationships. leah and charlotte, terry and tate, kellan and his entire family,, all of them were such great stories. through leah and charlotte's troubled past, the author showed how much an older sibling can sacrifice for their younger sibling <i>because</i> they love them, and yet those sacrifices can bring upon so much resentment for all that they've lost for others. i do think leah should've worked on her relationship with charlotte sooner, because what had happened wasn't charlotte's fault, and that reality check tate gave leah was one of the very few situations i applauded him in. through terry, the author showed how catastrophic addiction can be on families. they can cause so much damage that is so hard to repair, maybe even irreversible.
lastly, i wanna touch on the romance. honestly??? if kellan was alive, he would have despised both of them for getting together. it is absolutely NOT what he would have wanted and i bet he's haunting them from the grave <s>as he should</s>. also it was so fucking weird when charlotte walked in on tate and JUST KEPT WATCHING?????? THAT WAS SO CREEPY!!!!!! that ob-gyn scene was so embarrassing i literally felt the second hand embarrassment in my chest. i get the fantasy, but it was SO POORLY EXECUTED 😭😭😭 i liked the fact that charlotte and tate helped each other get through their grief, but tate is such an asshole and charlotte's savior complex is so annoying. when a guy tells u he's going to hurt you, YOU BELIEVE HIM!!!! it's not your responsibility to fix or save a grown man, let alone a whole ass DOCTOR. you can be there for him, but you can't change him. also i hate age gaps and this book did NOTHING to change that. he called her a kid more than once then spoke about how horny he was for her and that is honestly so predatory to me. they were also so inconsistent; if they had just communicated properly, all would have been well.
regardless of its flaws, this book was <i>really</i> good. i loved kellan and i loved leah and i loved how grief was portrayed in such a complex manner and showed all the ups and downs that one goes through as they heal from all types of grief and inner child wounds. it is such a well written book if you minus the romance 🥴
i've read positive and negative reviews on this book and there were a lot of opinions i agreed and disagreed with,, here's my personal opinion on all the different topics covered in this book. i want to start with the fact that this is not a romance book; the romance is a subplot. people who are promoting it as one are so wrong 😭
to begin with the suicide/mental health aspect, a lot of people were saying it was romanticized, but i honestly didn't see it. in my opinion, i think this book showed a realistic situation of teenage depression and suicide. the whole emo/goth stereotype was unnecessary or more like overdone bc it sets a bad impression on people who dress or present themselves in that style but aren't depressed or suicidal. the reasons kellan chose to do it might not seem realistic to everyone reading the book, bc through communication and therapy it might have gotten better. i want to note that kellan was an addict. other than his mental illnesses, he took heavy drugs at such a young age and that alone can heavily fuck with someone's brain. depression is much more complex though and mental illness can be so overbearing and difficult, one's decisions can get blurry. as much as the people who loved kellan wanted to help, no one could have saved him but himself. this book portrayed a worst case scenario. you see how it affects your loved ones and how much there is that kellan could've lived for, but chose not to. no matter what though, suicide is never ever the answer. if you are having suicidal ideation, please reach out to trusted ones, a suicide hotline or call 911. no matter what you're going through, your life is so important and you're worth SO much.
next, i loved how the author represented so many different types of complicated familial relationships. leah and charlotte, terry and tate, kellan and his entire family,, all of them were such great stories. through leah and charlotte's troubled past, the author showed how much an older sibling can sacrifice for their younger sibling <i>because</i> they love them, and yet those sacrifices can bring upon so much resentment for all that they've lost for others. i do think leah should've worked on her relationship with charlotte sooner, because what had happened wasn't charlotte's fault, and that reality check tate gave leah was one of the very few situations i applauded him in. through terry, the author showed how catastrophic addiction can be on families. they can cause so much damage that is so hard to repair, maybe even irreversible.
lastly, i wanna touch on the romance. honestly??? if kellan was alive, he would have despised both of them for getting together. it is absolutely NOT what he would have wanted and i bet he's haunting them from the grave <s>as he should</s>. also it was so fucking weird when charlotte walked in on tate and JUST KEPT WATCHING?????? THAT WAS SO CREEPY!!!!!! that ob-gyn scene was so embarrassing i literally felt the second hand embarrassment in my chest. i get the fantasy, but it was SO POORLY EXECUTED 😭😭😭 i liked the fact that charlotte and tate helped each other get through their grief, but tate is such an asshole and charlotte's savior complex is so annoying. when a guy tells u he's going to hurt you, YOU BELIEVE HIM!!!! it's not your responsibility to fix or save a grown man, let alone a whole ass DOCTOR. you can be there for him, but you can't change him. also i hate age gaps and this book did NOTHING to change that. he called her a kid more than once then spoke about how horny he was for her and that is honestly so predatory to me. they were also so inconsistent; if they had just communicated properly, all would have been well.
regardless of its flaws, this book was <i>really</i> good. i loved kellan and i loved leah and i loved how grief was portrayed in such a complex manner and showed all the ups and downs that one goes through as they heal from all types of grief and inner child wounds. it is such a well written book if you minus the romance 🥴
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Suicide attempt, Miscarriage, Grief, Self harm, Infertility, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Drug abuse, Bullying, and Addiction