Reviews tagging 'Adult/minor relationship'

El juego de los deseos by Leire García-Pascual Cuartango, Meg Shaffer

18 reviews

melchncookies's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

It’s an easy read, but around chapter 19 it picks up and is a page turner, like a read to the end in one sitting. This book was only a 2 day read for me though. Anyway, I would definitely recommend this book. This will be one of my favorites. I love it enough I’m going to buy it. 

Cozy mystery.
When Lucy gets back to the island
I saw it coming but not exactly, the twist is slightly unexpected, but I guessed the overall ending. It’s definitely
a feel good
, exciting read.

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kpflea's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny inspiring fast-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? No

5.0

LOVED this book. Emotional, heart-pounding, romantic, exciting; there are not enough words in my dictionary to describe the feelings this book gave me. MUST READ!!

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yarnarh's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

It’s a wonderful cozy book. Things I have issues with

- The way Lucy was so obsessed with Christopher. It doesn’t scream I love you, more like I’m obsessed and I can’t live without you.
- The age gap between Lucy and Hugo. 8 years age gap is quite a lot. I mean it make sense that Hugo have to be 21 to make his own decision and live on an island with an old man. But 13 and 21 feels like a huge gap. 
- luring kids to his clock island. He is an adult. He should know how gullible and naive little kids are. And if a Hogwarts letter come to my house as a kid I would have do whatever I can to get there.

Other than that, I love the book. Heartwarming, and magical

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kitausu's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful 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

This book had me crying by page 16 and kept me emotional throughout the entire thing. What an absolute lovely gut punch of a book. 

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louisekf's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious 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

4.5


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jaimee_reads's review against another edition

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DNF very early on. I can already tell I'm not going to like the way adoption is portrayed in this book. Lucy is obsessive and naive and is in no way fit to be a parent in her current situation. And no amount of money will change that overnight. Also her "wishing game" with Christopher seems super problematic and manipulative, setting him up with false hope.

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gholdreith's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

1.0


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lastblossom's review against another edition

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  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
tl;dr
A sometimes tragic, mostly hopeful story about the dreams we had as kids, and the courage it takes to make them come true as adults.

Thoughts
When a mysterious reclusive author invites people to his remote island to compete for a prize, the first thing my mind conjures up is backstabbing, cynically evil people, and a murder or two. And at first, it seems like we might be heading in that direction, but the Wishing Game willfully chooses a more hopeful voice. The competitors are all flawed, but sympathetic, with difficult (sometimes traumatic) and relatable histories that make it very easy to wish the best for everyone involved. The game creator in particular is incredibly human, and potentially the most sympathetic of the entire cast. I normally have a clear favorite character, but I found myself invested in everyone on the island. Hugo the artist perhaps squeaks out as my fave, but only because I have a soft spot in my heart for grumpy rebellious artists. The plot is fairly straightforward - a chocolate factory-esque competition, but for adults (or perhaps for kids who simply got older), and I appreciated the perspective of people who have lived long enough to understand what's really at stake. With the addition of some light romance and a few fun puzzles, this was far from the dark cynical book I expected, and I am immensely grateful for it. Strong recommend for anyone looking for an honest, but hopeful take on being an adult and making your wishes come true.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for an advance copy. All thoughts here are my own.

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