neverlandingonabook's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt
Moderate: Sexual content, Drug use, Alcohol, and Mental illness
parfait52's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
This book barely has a plot. It is almost entirely a character study that then adds an additional smaller character study later on. If the writing were not as effortless and beautiful as it is, I probably wouldn't have finished this book. It was kind of tedious to read through over 400 pages of exposition and flashbacks and ponderings. The plot points that do exist are all very predictable and played out, so there wasn't really anything there to tantalize or excite. And I also can't exactly tell if this banal disappointment betrayed the book's themes or exemplified them. The characters were all fairly interesting and likeable and real (within the setting), with Henry being a personal highlight for me.
If you enjoy reading gorgeous, languid writing that feels almost burdensome at times, with some insightful peeks into the mind of an unfortunate soul, this is the book for you. If you enjoy a clear plot with characters that are revealed through actions instead of long ramblings, this is not the book for you. Ultimately, I am glad that I read this book but I probably wouldn't want to do it again. Kind of like life itself.
If you enjoy reading gorgeous, languid writing that feels almost burdensome at times, with some insightful peeks into the mind of an unfortunate soul, this is the book for you. If you enjoy a clear plot with characters that are revealed through actions instead of long ramblings, this is not the book for you. Ultimately, I am glad that I read this book but I probably wouldn't want to do it again. Kind of like life itself.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Mental illness, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Sexual content, Grief, Alcohol, Drug use, War, Death, Abandonment, and Stalking
Minor: Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Torture, Confinement, and Cursing
cturn's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, and Death
Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug use, Addiction, and Drug abuse
Minor: Child death, Mental illness, and Sexual content
sarahflanders's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Drug use, Addiction, Alcoholism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Grief
runrun's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Panic attacks/disorders, Addiction, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Grief, Drug use, Alcohol, and Suicidal thoughts
madscanread's review against another edition
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide attempt and Toxic relationship
Minor: Misogyny, Alcohol, Sexism, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual violence
classicpseudonym's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
yknow, i meant to write this review two weeks ago when i finished this book, but because this wasn't a super fast paced with some plot twist of an ending or a really heavy depressing book that made me question my whole entire life and casually spiral into an existential crisis, i didn't feel compelled to rant about my thoughts on this book nerd website immediately after i finished the book. but to the (probably not even) one person that reads these (hi angela moon if you're out there :)), don't you fret, the long-awaited review has arrived B)
and also shoutout to emma because this was the book i annotated for her birthday gift. if emma ever reads this (woah that'd make two people reading this), hi emma.
okay anyway :))
this was a pretty good book, ve schwab really outdid themself with the writing. every single chapter was beautifully written, and there were so many one-liners except they were deep wise and philosophical thoughts all beautifully packaged into singular sentences for use in my day-to-day contemplation of life? it was great, honestly.
as a disclaimer before i start picking apart this book, i did enjoy this book overall. i promise.
meanwhile, it was a slow read for my taste, and there wasn't much of a plot? the book was pretty much entirely dependent on the characters and the interactions between them, which is good if you're into that, but i personally am not.
to elaborate on the slight lack of plot, i feel like the concept of a life and a person that nobody remembers is decently fascinating (but got a slight bit repetitive somewhere in the middle of the 400 pages), but other than that this book is a typical girl meets boy kind of thing. oh except it involves deals with the devil, 300 years of one-night stands, and some really sad (depressing actually) shit that makes you question everything. so maybe it's not that generic and i just hate romance and feel the need to cancel every book in existence because they all involve a boy and a girl. oh well.
yeah, i would recommend that people read this book for the prose-like writing and really nice imagery and details woven into the text, but i personally wouldn't read it again for the reasons i just rambled about.
anyway, that's all B)
and also shoutout to emma because this was the book i annotated for her birthday gift. if emma ever reads this (woah that'd make two people reading this), hi emma.
okay anyway :))
this was a pretty good book, ve schwab really outdid themself with the writing. every single chapter was beautifully written, and there were so many one-liners except they were deep wise and philosophical thoughts all beautifully packaged into singular sentences for use in my day-to-day contemplation of life? it was great, honestly.
as a disclaimer before i start picking apart this book, i did enjoy this book overall. i promise.
meanwhile, it was a slow read for my taste, and there wasn't much of a plot? the book was pretty much entirely dependent on the characters and the interactions between them, which is good if you're into that, but i personally am not.
to elaborate on the slight lack of plot, i feel like the concept of a life and a person that nobody remembers is decently fascinating (but got a slight bit repetitive somewhere in the middle of the 400 pages), but other than that this book is a typical girl meets boy kind of thing. oh except it involves deals with the devil, 300 years of one-night stands, and some really sad (depressing actually) shit that makes you question everything. so maybe it's not that generic and i just hate romance and feel the need to cancel every book in existence because they all involve a boy and a girl. oh well.
yeah, i would recommend that people read this book for the prose-like writing and really nice imagery and details woven into the text, but i personally wouldn't read it again for the reasons i just rambled about.
anyway, that's all B)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Alcoholism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Mental illness
Moderate: Drug use
Minor: Death of parent
_fallinglight_'s review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.25
If a book takes me 5 days or more to finish and it's not bc of its length, like being 500+, it sucks, no more to it lol. It got the .25 bc unbelievably I liked the last three chapters writing but this book was never-ending torture. Ultra bad and boring, and not just bc this style and type of book is incompatible with me. The writing for 94% of the book was so sluggish bc VES has a fascination with writing crammed sentences in the name of enigmatic lyricism and it's just not it. The story is not more ethereal or beautiful bc of repetition in this case. Or in VE Schwab's case 😬. There really was a reason I avoided this book bc of the hype and bc I can't stand VE Schwab's writing. If you've ever seen me like a book of two of hers, no you didn't. Also ALL the characters suck. I only tolerated Luc bc he gave off Saint Dane vibes, if you read or have read the Pendragon series you would know what I mean. Also also, please authors make your books shorter. This book wouldn't have benefitted from that though but I would have been done with it much sooner. But overall, books don't need to drag on in the 21st century.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Drug use, Suicide attempt, and Alcohol
Moderate: Sexual content
zeppelinnyx's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
3.00
This is certainly an…interesting read. The characters are definitely intriguing, but the relationships between them don’t really feel… sincere? I guess it feels like Addie’s connections with people are supposed to be the most important part, but none of them really feel compelling to me. The pacing is slow for my tastes, but I recognize that that’s the type of story being told here. The prose in this novel is very dramatic and stirring; I appreciate that, but the plot drags a bit. The ending of this novel definitely leaves you with a lot of mixed emotions, but it’s solid. Hard to swallow if you’re not a fan of open endings, though.
Quality of Writing: 8/10
Pacing: 5/10
Plot Development: 5/10
Characters: 9/10
Enjoyability: 6/10
Ease of Reading: 3/10
Ending: 6/10
This is certainly an…interesting read. The characters are definitely intriguing, but the relationships between them don’t really feel… sincere? I guess it feels like Addie’s connections with people are supposed to be the most important part, but none of them really feel compelling to me.
Spoiler
Even with Henry or Luc. Her feelings for Henry— and his feelings in return, I think— seem to only come from a place of deep loneliness. That’s very impactful, for sure, but it doesn’t make me feel much other than sadness. Maybe that’s the point? I’m not sure. Then Luc only knows obsession; that’s obvious. Addie’s feelings of attachment to him only shows her loss of humanity, in my opinion. Especially when it’s obvious that she still has a deep hatred and resentment for him.Quality of Writing: 8/10
Pacing: 5/10
Plot Development: 5/10
Characters: 9/10
Enjoyability: 6/10
Ease of Reading: 3/10
Ending: 6/10
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Grief
Moderate: Sexual harassment and Sexual content
Minor: Child death, Cancer, Death of parent, War, and Death
lizcastner's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- 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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Dysphoria, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, War, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Death, Drug abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Misogyny, and Sexual content