madanxiety's review against another edition
3.25
Spoiler
Firstly, Kennedy Monroe's character was so flat in such a cliché way, it was disappointing. It's just so uninteresting when women are pitted against each other in this way. She was just ridiculously vapid, and the closest we get to seeing any depth in her is a brief comment form Jack about how she's super insecure. The stalker/attempted murderer had more depth than her! I suppose he's a more significant character, but I still don't think there's much justification for such lazy writing. It's the bimbo vs. the pick me; have we not, by the 2020s, evolved beyond that? Have we not determined that actually, the real women that exist who like attention and are conventionally attractive, are still multifaceted people with histories and interests like anyone else? I can tolerate tropes like fake dating that simply move the plot forward, but I cannot tolerate tropes that work solely to demonize women.The second thing I didn't like all that much was the twist at the end. This isn't a major gripe tho. I was just so caught off guard because it seemed to so clearly be a nightmare that would never end, which seemed logical because Jack struggled with nightmares, and I was like oh he'll be able to return the favor and comfort her. Like when she was walking back to the car and it took a million years, that seemed to obviously signal to how slow you are in your dreams. I think I wouldn't have minded the twist too much if it had been revealed a little sooner. Because by the time she was watching the footage (which is when I finally became convinced it wasn't a dream - probably later than most, I'll admit lol), I had to replay the whole last like 30m I feel like lol bc I'd spent most of it impatiently grumbling, waiting for the supposed dream sequence to end already. Am I an idiot for this lol? Maybe, but it was a little too Twlight Breaking Dawn for me.
I also wished there'd been a little more romance between Hannah and Jack. We only really got two scenes of them together communicating/acting in their feelings. Obviously the whole book was them like developing the feelings, and that in itself isrl romance, but I'd have liked if they got more time actually together. Which is funny bc I saw a similar comment under a different book I recently read and thought they were crazy. So it's probably a to each their own kind of situation.
I know this has been a mostly critical review, but I really didn't hate the book. The style of narration was interesting; it reminded me of voice-over narrators in film and TV, both humorous and personal. I think it's just one of those books you can breeze through quickly, needing to know the resolution, but that won't really stick with you all that much.
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Death, Grief, Infidelity, Cancer, Gun violence, Car accident, Toxic relationship, and Sexism
Moderate: Alcohol
Minor: Alcoholism
winterdelight's review
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.75
~~
“...Despite all my rules, that memory just shared itself. I wasn’t a sharer. I didn’t even share things with nonclients. Especially not painful things. But I suddenly understood why people did it. It felt like relief. It felt like dipping your feet in cool water on a hot day.”
Wow. It has been so long since I stayed so late reading a book. Like until 8am lmao
And now I'm running on 6 hours sleep 🥲
I was a bit worried at the first when I started it because I was finding it a little bit hard to engage with the story (my head is full of images of my beloved Nine that when the author described Jack Stapleton having "shaggy hair" and then grinning, I immediately thought of Nine my way to). Thankfully the writing and MC's POV was easy to digest and pretty funny (which is slightly similar to how Rick Riordan wrote PJO/Percy's sarcasm wit). That immersed me quickly to the detriment of my sleeping hours, that is lol.
The last arc conflict felt anticlimactic that's why I took off a few stars from my rating.
4.25 ✨
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Infidelity
laheath's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Moderate: Infidelity, Cancer, Death, Stalking, Injury/Injury detail, and Car accident
Minor: Gun violence
theespressoedition's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Death, Toxic relationship, Car accident, and Bullying
Moderate: Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Infidelity
Minor: Sexual content
kimveach's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Moderate: Alcoholism, Car accident, Kidnapping, Sexual content, Cancer, Infidelity, Death of parent, Terminal illness, Abandonment, Addiction, Blood, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Toxic relationship, Death, Grief, and Suicidal thoughts
katievh's review
- 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
3.25
Graphic: Stalking, Car accident, and Gun violence
Moderate: Mental illness, Death of parent, Grief, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Suicide attempt, Infidelity, and Cancer
Minor: Vomit and Blood
kdailyreads's review
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Abandonment, Blood, Cancer, Car accident, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Grief, Death of parent, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Infidelity, Gun violence, Murder, Stalking, Vomit, Suicide attempt, and Violence
bookmarkedbyal's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Infidelity, Gun violence, and Stalking
sarahbythebook's review
4.0
I think the author achieved her goal of balancing the dark with the light, and while the scenario was more than a little unbelievable, the characters were relatable and lovable. The story worked, and it was fun!
Moderate: Stalking, Injury/Injury detail, and Infidelity
Minor: Body shaming
meredith_williams_'s review
- 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? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Death, Grief, Infidelity, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Cancer and Car accident
Minor: Cursing