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hedonsgaybookshelf's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Murder
abookishgoth's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Self harm, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
regulusreads's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
⭐️ | 4.5 stars
uhm WHAT. the ending of this book left me shattered, it was over before i was ready to depart from this world and im anxiously anticipating the sequel (and looking forward to reading Forever Red).
but going back to the beginning, this book follows Arlo. Arlo is a sweet but deeply anxious young man who’s at the beginning of his journey and just as he begins to think he understands what his life will be, everything changes. however, this change lights the path to a whole new understanding of himself and the parts of himself that had been obscured.
I also really enjoyed this take on . I haven’t read a lot of vampire-centric fiction but I liked that this was different and almost veering into sci-fi territory in how it works.
while I was unsure of the writing style at first it began to make sense due to it following Arlo and the way he thought. I relate to Arlo, not fully, but especially in regards to him being aroace and seemingly neurodivergent (at least to me). pages 269-272 made me cry, I felt so seen. while my heart experiences of being aroace are different to Arlo’s, his struggle with his identity is familiar. I’m still struggling with my identity and reading books like this are so healing. Arlo is not broken and neither am I.
the book had its slower moments and faster moments but I think it works. after the first couple chapters the book flew by and I finished it far quicker than I thought I would because I couldn’t put it down. the stakes hit you like a brick. i was devastated at the end and yet, it felt necessary.
ANYWAYS GOOD BOOK, GOING TO CRY NOW 👍
uhm WHAT. the ending of this book left me shattered, it was over before i was ready to depart from this world and im anxiously anticipating the sequel (and looking forward to reading Forever Red).
but going back to the beginning, this book follows Arlo. Arlo is a sweet but deeply anxious young man who’s at the beginning of his journey and just as he begins to think he understands what his life will be, everything changes. however, this change lights the path to a whole new understanding of himself and the parts of himself that had been obscured.
I also really enjoyed this take on . I haven’t read a lot of vampire-centric fiction but I liked that this was different and almost veering into sci-fi territory in how it works.
while I was unsure of the writing style at first it began to make sense due to it following Arlo and the way he thought. I relate to Arlo, not fully, but especially in regards to him being aroace and seemingly neurodivergent (at least to me). pages 269-272 made me cry, I felt so seen. while my heart experiences of being aroace are different to Arlo’s, his struggle with his identity is familiar. I’m still struggling with my identity and reading books like this are so healing. Arlo is not broken and neither am I.
the book had its slower moments and faster moments but I think it works. after the first couple chapters the book flew by and I finished it far quicker than I thought I would because I couldn’t put it down. the stakes hit you like a brick. i was devastated at the end and yet, it felt necessary.
ANYWAYS GOOD BOOK, GOING TO CRY NOW 👍
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm
Moderate: Body horror, Death, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Vomit, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Gore, Mental illness, Torture, Excrement, and Kidnapping
crusoe's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Fallen thorns was not what I expected at all which is okay because it's a fun read anyway. Only in the last 'act' does the story get truly dark and the tonal shift is quite a twist.
I think the characters and their relationships with each other are very fun as well though Lucy especially suffers from some one-dimensionality, mostly because we aren't given an indepth backstory on most of the characters. (You could read the novellas Baxter is working on but really it should be a vital part of the story.)
Unfortunately, you can also easily tell Baxter is a first time author. The writing suffers from some growing pains in terms of its pacing, some cliche dialogue and a slight lack of personal style. Nevertheless, these are all things that can only get better over time and I'm excited to see what they'll write next.
So, in short, the story didn't blow me away as much as I'd hoped but I had a good time reading it!
I think the characters and their relationships with each other are very fun as well though Lucy especially suffers from some one-dimensionality, mostly because we aren't given an indepth backstory on most of the characters. (You could read the novellas Baxter is working on but really it should be a vital part of the story.)
Unfortunately, you can also easily tell Baxter is a first time author. The writing suffers from some growing pains in terms of its pacing, some cliche dialogue and a slight lack of personal style. Nevertheless, these are all things that can only get better over time and I'm excited to see what they'll write next.
So, in short, the story didn't blow me away as much as I'd hoped but I had a good time reading it!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Body horror
Minor: Torture
spot_the_book_unicorn's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Torture, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Drug use, Blood, Vomit, Acephobia/Arophobia, and Alcohol
avaa1000's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Self harm, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Acephobia/Arophobia, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Torture
charthegoose's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Mental illness, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
hazelwood's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Yay finally an aroace vampire story!!! Though I'm quite annoyed that the next book in the series is apparently a prequel... I need to know what happens next! The narrator (Arlo) was very relatable although his voice took some getting used to, especially his tendency to over-analyze every social interaction - a very realistic representation of social anxiety. I like that each side character has their own lives outside of their interactions with Arlo too. I found Arlo triply relatable, as an aroace introvert and kind of touch-repulsed person myself. I liked the illustrations of each character in between chapters, although it was frustrating not being sure who was who (no labels for illustrations). The plot revolves around Arlo becoming a vampire after a fateful encounter with a "date" with devious intentions. At first he doesn't take it well despite there being a whole group of good vampires (the Thorns) who offer him help. He goes into a self-destructive spiral that only ends when he finally accepts their help. Eventually, he joins the Thorns and gains a loving queer found family. There is a mysterious (evil?) being stalking him the whole time, trying to turn him into something else. The ending was kind of sad and confusing to be honest, and I'm not sure what to think about it. Which is why I hope it will be expanded into a series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Eating disorder, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Stalking, Acephobia/Arophobia, Murder, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
lonelyghostsclub's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, and Stalking
Moderate: Body horror, Self harm, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexual assault