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tracee_nz's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
3.0
Beautifully written with lots of detail and description however it jumped around a lot, and not all the anecdotes added to the story.
delaneysinger's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
This book took a while to get through for many reasons. I picked this up thinking it would be a fun, dual timeline romantic beach read. This book was anything but that. Between the extreme detail in descriptions, the traumatic life stories of literally everyone involved, and the unsettling events that occurred in this book, it took me forever to get through it. There were many times I considered classifying this book as DNF but I kept coming back to it. I don’t think I would recommend this book but also wouldn’t say it was bad??? It honestly left me feeling unsettled and confused. Do with that what you will.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Rape, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Animal death and Child death
brennas's review against another edition
2.0
I honestly wouldn't have finished this if I'd been reading - but via audiobook it was easy to listen while driving, etc so I wasn't as precious with my time. I didn't really care about any of the characters and the level of tragedy and sadness in one family seemed over the top melodrama. It was beautifully written and I'd consider another title by the same author.
kaisaansamaki's review against another edition
dark
emotional
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
3.5
shanays22's review against another edition
2.0
I wanted to give it 2.5 stars. I found it confusing. None of the characters were all that likable. The descriptions of the Paper Palace made it sound like a dirty, rodent infested place that I would never want to visit. Parts of the story were compelling, parts were frustrating. The constant shifting of time periods was confusing. The litany of horrible things that happened to Elle felt a little over the top by the end of the book.
gabbykreider's review against another edition
4.0
I had a harder time getting into this book. The beginning was almost forced for me to continue. But mid book i was pretty hooked. Overall was a good read!
kvoshel88's review against another edition
3.0
This book had so much potential but was just stagnate the whole read. I was really ready for some plot twists and that just didn’t happen.
aunt_jess's review against another edition
4.0
I’m so torn about this, I was thinking this was going to be 5 stars from the beginning…I was so hooked!! But the depiction of child SA was disturbing. All the characters ended up being terrible people. I’m giving 3.5 stars…It was good but something I probably wouldn’t want to read again.
sarah_with_an_h's review against another edition
4.0
A little slow out of the gate, but about half way through it picked up. I ended up finishing it in one day. It was a good story and I enjoyed the writing. I felt heartbroken at one point during the story. It was all very relatable.