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greenlivingaudioworm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Bullying, Infidelity, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Grief, Car accident, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Classism
supermormongirl's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
0.25
There was no American Royals’ characteristic Gossip Girl- (tv show) widespread scandal and drama until literally 80% of the way through the novel.
I literally only refused to DNF because I used this book as an insomnia cure I already owned, making it essentially free, and also the next (and last!) American Royals book has ✨WAY✨ too intriguing of a premise to pass up, and I wanted to know the full tea and context of exactly everything that happened in the book before it.
This was easily one of the worst books I’ve ever read, and I don’t know what happened that made it so painfully bland and largely uneventful, light on drama, and BORING, but I feel relieved to finally be done with this!!! Now to go purge my soul of how painful this was to read, lol (I’m not exaggerating at all).
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Forced institutionalization, Dementia, and Death of parent
julierambaeck's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Moderate: Drug use, Infidelity, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Car accident, and Death of parent
haleybre's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Moderate: Ableism, Bullying, Chronic illness, Drug use, Infidelity, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
madsmcw_reads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
This installment is very character driven so it doesn't feel like there's a ton that happens plotwise. I missed seeing Teddy and Bea together, they made so many strides in Majesty and it felt like so much of that went backward in Rivals. I'm also extremely over the Nina-Daphne-Jeff love triangle, I really hope this gets resolved and Daphne is revealed for who she truly is.
My favorite storyline was Sam and Marshall. Out of all of the characters, I feel like Sam has stayed the most true to all of the character growth she's had this far in the series. It was nice to see that Sam and Beatrice's bond as sisters retained the growth from the previous books too. Sisters are so much stronger when they support one another and I love that they can be there for each other even though their personalities are so different. I also liked Nina and Daphne working together, I thought we were going to see some true change in Daphne from this but then she ends up even more horrible than before.
The book ended in a huge cliffhanger so I obviously can't wait for the next one, I just hope it lives up to the standard of the first two books.
Graphic: Misogyny, Racism, Grief, Car accident, and Death of parent
Moderate: Drug use, Sexual content, and Alcohol
dogbuttsandbooks's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Graphic: Infidelity, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Medical content, Grief, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Classism
Minor: Pregnancy