gracieec's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Suicide, Suicide attempt, Car accident, Domestic abuse, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Lesbophobia, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Alcoholism, Homophobia, Abandonment, Alcohol, Drug use, Misogyny, Cancer, Death, Grief, Toxic relationship, Adult/minor relationship, Classism, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Sexual violence, Infidelity, Pregnancy, Addiction, Biphobia, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, and Outing
Minor: Death of parent, Medical content, Abortion, Body shaming, Miscarriage, Racism, and Blood
bella_01'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? Yes
4.0
I know not all books that "blow up" and become popular are great but this book is absolutely amazing.
Graphic: Car accident, Homophobia, Biphobia, Alcoholism, Lesbophobia, and Alcohol
Minor: Suicide, Terminal illness, Sexual content, Sexism, Misogyny, and Pregnancy
ellianderjoy's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
4.5
Moderate: Classism, Death, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Dysphoria, Grief, Mental illness, Misogyny, Biphobia, Medical content, Sexism, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Cancer, Car accident, Pregnancy, Racism, Homophobia, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Lesbophobia, Terminal illness, and Toxic friendship
caroo_reads'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? Yes
5.0
spice: 🌶️
pace: medium
honestly i only read this book because of booktok and i didn‘t expected much but wow
this book was so good
so inspiring and i learned so much
i also loved the format of this book
i definitely recommend reading this masterpiece
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Lesbophobia, Pregnancy, Racism, Biphobia, Cancer, Grief, Homophobia, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Blood, Car accident, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Sexual content, and Suicide
nindie'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: Chronic illness, Grief, Biphobia, Terminal illness, Death, Death of parent, Homophobia, Infidelity, Lesbophobia, and Sexual content
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Car accident, Domestic abuse, Outing, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, and Suicide
Minor: Abortion, Blood, Medical content, Miscarriage, and Pregnancy
nordicat'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
5.0
Graphic: Car accident, Suicide, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, and Lesbophobia
big_nerd's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Graphic: Lesbophobia, Outing, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Cancer, Car accident, Toxic relationship, Violence, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infertility, Abortion, Alcohol, Biphobia, Child death, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Suicide
disneyfan_1711'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: Car accident, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Lesbophobia, Cancer, Death, Classism, Physical abuse, Alcoholism, Adult/minor relationship, Biphobia, Alcohol, Body shaming, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Grief, Hate crime, Mental illness, Outing, Pregnancy, Sexism, and Toxic relationship
rllbth'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? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Grief, Death of parent, Abortion, Car accident, Homophobia, Alcoholism, Lesbophobia, Chronic illness, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Racism, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Cancer, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Transphobia
thebookwhale's review against another edition
4.25
This book, I absolutely love the concept and the idea. I mean, I love historical fiction, especially when it's sapphic, and this story about Evelyn and also about the film industry is amazing.
I liked that we were introduced to Evelyn through Monique who is writing her biography.
Though, Monique's story felt entirely unnecessary. It felt like it was only there to fill the book, and I would give this book a 5 star review immediately if it weren't for the absolutely unbelievable plot twist.
Spoiler
like no. I literally screamed out of frustration (over the writing) when I read this part. Like what is this"oh you remember the guy I left at the car accident? Yeah that's your father."
Yes, we were waiting for the explanation on why Evelyn chose Monique, but please, it was just so forced. I would have believed it more when the reason was something like "I liked the article you wrote about the struggles of suicidal people".
Also, I just couldn't care less for Monique as a character. I didn't care for her failed marriage or anything, but I understand that we needed to see the influence Evelyn had on people back at her time and also in the present.
Now, let's talk about Celia and Evelyn. I don't get why they are shipped everywhere on social media. Personally, I found both of them extremely toxic together.
Spoiler
Evelyn telling herself that her career is more important than Celia and Celia demanding that Evelyn leaves everything for her, it's just not good.I think what made it even harder for them and had a huge impact on how the relationship went is the taboo that was (and is) on gay relationships. It's interesting to see how the world evolves on queer rights during that time period and also how the importance of Celia's and Evelyn's career in comparison to living out who they are changes throughout the book.
So overall, this was great and the only thing that stops me from a 5 star review is Monique. I didn't like her, I didn't care for her, she felt unnecessary, and I was inclined to skip the parts where she was talking with Evelyn ( I didn't tho).
Still, a great book that's worth a read.
Graphic: Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, and Sexism
Moderate: Car accident, Biphobia, Gaslighting, Homophobia, and Lesbophobia
Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Infertility