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sammykat's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Violence, Vomit, and Death of parent
jekarlen's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Moderate: Animal death, Domestic abuse, and Vomit
the_true_monroe'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
4.0
There was one prevalent issue that has my rating at a 4 star and it is something that I noticed originally from another review when I was earlier in the book- but it would have become apparent on my own. Over 15 years ago Natalie’s siblings Lynn and Jake were sentenced to jail time as a result of illicit drug use which resulted in the death of their close friend. Natalie had been the person who called the cops both out of anger but also since Lynn really did hurt herself. The friend took his own life after realizing the cops were called.
Below this point has some minor spoilers.
Natalie is blamed for ALL of it. Even her mom does not talk to her for those 15 years, and her mom’s death is what leads to the premise of the book as she wants to bring the three siblings back together. Those sympathetic to her mention it having been an “honest mistake”. Everything is about forgiving Natalie, not addressing that even though she “rat” them out that she did not set them up for anything- they were adults who honestly had Natalie in a dangerous situation. Lynn and Jake later react incredulously when Natalie did not call the cops during a time when it was absolutely critical to, due to all of that trauma of last time she called.
While that did bother me, I really enjoyed the combination of drama, romance, nerdiness and a bit of mystery. It was a great read.
Graphic: Animal death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Suicide, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Confinement and Terminal illness
bean_7088's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
People reconnecting and growing is a great trope.
I loved the relationship between Natalie and her nephew. It was very sweet.
There were a few annoying bits, the microscope miscommunication was annoying and I'm glad it didn't last too long.
Paul sucks. Allan extra sucks.
I did like the exploration of complicated family relationships.
Graphic: Animal death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Physical abuse, Vomit, and Medical content
Moderate: Death of parent
Book circles around the death of a parent and a past night of drug use leading to a death. 1 violent domestic abuse scene near the end of the book. Everyone is ok in the end. Oh, and the main character likes to sketch dead animals.erebus53'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
4.25
I was surprised to find myself as the target audience. The main character is a woman who has been settling for much of her life and has never chased up on her passion projects. She has allowed her partner to belittle her efforts and has fallen into a rut where it is normal for him to be the controlling partner in her life. When 2 life changing influences coincidentally shake her life up, she is given the headspace to reassess what she is doing with her life.
The main character is someone who is interested in drawing biological specimens. I vibed with her whole habit of finding cool minibeasts or bits of broken animal and wanting to keep records of them. FOR SCIENCE! I deeply identified with the feeling of having others disgusted by the objects of your fascination, wanting to get pictures of dead birds' feet, and also the problem of having baby mantises accidentally hatch in your bedroom.. or.. all over your bedroom.
This is also a story of family reconciliation. Getting an estranged family back together again as part of a family bequest makes this an inheritance story with some cool twists. It's got a lot more trauma than I was expecting. The sister is a kick-ass goth who is a trained mortician. I think I can see a theme in the way this family works.
Didn't really expect it to be so focused on romance though. I found the development of friendships and relationships in the story so captivating that I forgot to stop the book.. and then found I had oopsed a 1-day-read. Uhm.. yes I quite liked this one.
Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Bullying, Cancer, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Minor: Vomit
meganpbennett's review against another edition
- 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
2.0
Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Stalking, and Abandonment
Moderate: Cancer and Death of parent
lizziaha's review against another edition
2.5
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, and Violence
Moderate: Animal death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Cancer, Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, and Vomit
kiakrat's review against another edition
- 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
2.5
1. If Natalie loves her cat, she’s not going to have a roommate/best friend who hates her cat.
2. The whole plot about penguin going missing seemed random and unnecessary.
3. The flashback to “that night” was unnecessary since it’s the only time we jump in time like that. It would have made more sense to reveal what had happened through context etc rather than slapping us in the face with it.
4. The biggest one. Why does everyone seem to think Natalie did something so wrong by calling the police? If their friend overdosed, one of her siblings could have too. She might have saved their lives. Shouldn’t they be the ones apologizing to her for being irresponsible older siblings and putting her in that position to start with? Even if they felt betrayed and were angry at the time, it’s still not Natalie’s fault that they were doing something illegal and dangerous.
5. I can sort of understand the stepdad not reaching out when the mom was sick if she asked him not to, but why wouldn’t he have reached out after she died to let her kids know?
6. I never understood why the mom cut all her kids out of her life. This subject was brought up a lot but could have been explored more.
7. As someone in science research, the portrayal of academia didn’t seem very realistic to me.
8. The way domestic violence was covered seemed too light-hearted. That situation is seriously terrifying and I didn’t feel like it was handled with the gravity warranted.
9. Why did it have to be so graphic? The descriptions of dead animals and bodily fluids. Seemed incongruous with the rest of the book’s vibe.
Graphic: Animal death, Domestic abuse, and Violence
overthinkereading's review against another edition
3.5
Graphic: Animal death, Domestic abuse, and Drug use
Moderate: Grief and Death of parent
trademark's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Animal death, Gore, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, and Death of parent
Moderate: Terminal illness