leahisdudish's review against another edition
emotional
slow-paced
2.5
the first tjr to not make me cry (which is weird considering it is a book about grief). didnt feel like a tjr book, was v repetitive and didnt have her usual pizazz
Graphic: Car accident
Moderate: Death and Grief
avery_hutchinson's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- 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
4.5
This book was wonderful, but also the textbook definition of bittersweet. I loved it
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Death
hollymileham's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-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
omg this book has destroyed me, do not read this if you are emotionally fragile you will break but it is so stunning, its especially impactful bc of the past/present pov meaning that as you see elsie fall in love with ben you also see her grieve him and it was so beatifully done (i excepted nothing less)
the relationship between elsie and susan is such a notable part of this book and the way it all worked together to deal with grief and love is so special to me, i cried a lot
in other news i am finally up to date with tjr books and now idk what to do with myself
the relationship between elsie and susan is such a notable part of this book and the way it all worked together to deal with grief and love is so special to me, i cried a lot
in other news i am finally up to date with tjr books and now idk what to do with myself
Graphic: Grief and Death
lenaschrn's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Death
snowwhitehatesapples's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Review can also be found at Snow White Hates Apples.
I completely loved the two TJR books I’ve read ( Daisy Jones & The Six and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo ) and wanted to give her debut novel a try, but sadly, Forever, Interrupted is not for me.
I was lured in by the first page when I read it and was certainly prepared for my heart to be stomped on by all the angst. However, as I read on, my interest waned because the execution of the story is just too poorly done.
To start, the writing is incredibly juvenile. It’s all chunks of tell, tell, tell which were a chore to go through, and the emotions in the narrative were so exaggerated and repetitive that it actually took away the impact. Furthermore, the switches between past and present felt disjointed. While I appreciate knowing how Elsie and Ben got together and all that, it was still draining to go continuously back and forth between joy and grief, grief and joy.
Appreciation of knowing the how aside, everything else about Elsie and Ben’s romance is an eye-roll fest. The insta-love was cringey, cliché and nauseatingly cheesy. I do actually read romances, and enjoy a good one in between all the other books I read, but this book was just too much at all the wrong places. I also couldn’t stand Elsie and Ben. The situations (including some of the side characters involved) they went through were often ridiculous, convenient and pointless. Plus, many of their actions and thoughts were so illogical that I can’t even label their illogicality as part of being human-like characters.
Anyway, I skipped a lot of the huge non-dialogue chunks in the story just so I could maintain my sanity while satisfying my desire to know what happened next. The final few chapters were nice, but ultimately, meh since I had expected things to end that way.
Everything considered, it’s clear that TJR has improved tremendously since her debut book. I don’t think I’ll be giving her other older books a try, but I definitely look forward to her newer releases.
I completely loved the two TJR books I’ve read ( Daisy Jones & The Six and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo ) and wanted to give her debut novel a try, but sadly, Forever, Interrupted is not for me.
I was lured in by the first page when I read it and was certainly prepared for my heart to be stomped on by all the angst. However, as I read on, my interest waned because the execution of the story is just too poorly done.
To start, the writing is incredibly juvenile. It’s all chunks of tell, tell, tell which were a chore to go through, and the emotions in the narrative were so exaggerated and repetitive that it actually took away the impact. Furthermore, the switches between past and present felt disjointed. While I appreciate knowing how Elsie and Ben got together and all that, it was still draining to go continuously back and forth between joy and grief, grief and joy.
Appreciation of knowing the how aside, everything else about Elsie and Ben’s romance is an eye-roll fest. The insta-love was cringey, cliché and nauseatingly cheesy. I do actually read romances, and enjoy a good one in between all the other books I read, but this book was just too much at all the wrong places. I also couldn’t stand Elsie and Ben. The situations (including some of the side characters involved) they went through were often ridiculous, convenient and pointless. Plus, many of their actions and thoughts were so illogical that I can’t even label their illogicality as part of being human-like characters.
Anyway, I skipped a lot of the huge non-dialogue chunks in the story just so I could maintain my sanity while satisfying my desire to know what happened next. The final few chapters were nice, but ultimately, meh since I had expected things to end that way.
Everything considered, it’s clear that TJR has improved tremendously since her debut book. I don’t think I’ll be giving her other older books a try, but I definitely look forward to her newer releases.
Moderate: Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Death, and Grief
Minor: Toxic friendship and Car accident
lyla_wicks's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
very heart-warming and reflective - i felt everything elsie was going through and found it really interesting to read about her journey
Graphic: Grief
allidone's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Grief
kellybobelly96's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
It took me a long time to read this book, mostly because TJR does such a painfully good job of putting you into the heart of the main character. I loved the way that TJR took such a sad beginning and melted it into an ending where it felt hopeful, yet still justifiably melancholy. TJR did a beautiful job balancing grief with hope and as always - made the characters so vivid that they feel like someone you actually know. I recommend all TJR books, but please be prepared to deal with some heavy grief themes in this novel.
Graphic: Grief and Death
bealittlebrave's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Child death and Death
Minor: Cancer and Death of parent
jneverland's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Moderate: Grief and Death
Minor: Cursing