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seren's review
- 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
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Grief, Death of parent, and Gaslighting
ghostlyprince's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Self harm, and Death of parent
Moderate: Grief, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol
Minor: Misogyny and Sexism
alishav's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The things you love shouldn’t hurt you… You don’t have to hurt yourself to be worthy of pursuing your dream. You don’t have to deny pieces of yourself in order to be good.
An easy-to-read, young adult fantasy with a rivals-to-lovers, grumpy-sunshine sapphic romance. But more than that, this book delves into what defines success and touched the heart of this forever recovering perfectionist, overachiever (and music lover). Sofi grapples with her future being upended time and time again as choices and discoveries challenge everything she knew about herself, her world, and her art. Lara and other lovable - and despicable - characters influence Sofi’s journey and help her uncover a new, healthier relationship with herself, her past, her music, and ultimately her future.
I really appreciated Tooley’s ability to weave a story together and immerse readers in an interesting world with a very cool magic system and fantastic characters.
I think there is a parallel that could be drawn between the themes in this book and the current dialogue about the use of AI in art… could be an interesting book club discussion.
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Death of parent
Minor: Suicide
emily_mh's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Self harm, and Death of parent
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Physical abuse, Suicide, and Grief
Minor: Ableism, Animal death, Drug use, Blood, Vomit, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: imprisonment Minor: capital punishment, childbirth, self-injury, menstruation, theftsassycoder's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Emotional abuse
Moderate: Death of parent
trickphoenix's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I discovered while reading that I only like the enemies-to-lovers trope if BOTH characters dislike each other from the start. In this book the "enemies" part was very one-sided and it felt more like bullying than real rivalry or enmity. I didn't get very invested in the romance or the characters, just found them more vexing than lovable, and felt like their bonding was hard to believe. I also realized partway through that it hadn't given me any occasion to laugh, and I prefer a romance to involve some witty banter.
The plot didn't leave me guessing much, mostly as predicted with a slight twist at the end, so just a little too predictable for my tastes but not to an extent unusual for YA.
I enjoyed the world building, interesting setting, magic system, and culture built around music. The diversity of the characters was great, and there were some difficult topics handled quite tactfully. No complaints about the writing style itself either. Unfortunately just not to my taste.
Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Self harm, and Classism
Minor: Bullying, Death, Death of parent, and Abandonment
wysperias's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Self harm, Suicide, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Confinement
a_ab's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
It also suffers from "all fathers are monsters" syndrome - not a single father mentioned in the book (in their fatherly capacity), even in passing, could be described as even a half-decent person. It got a little weird there.
But otherwise this was an interesting young adult fantasy book with some thoughtful observations about talent, excellence and self-discovery.
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Self harm, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Suicide, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Toxic relationship
empng'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? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse
Moderate: Death of parent
mwager's review against another edition
- 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
Moderate: Child abuse, Suicide, and Death of parent