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kristinconnolly's review against another edition
Graphic: Child death, Pedophilia, and Trafficking
ohmygoshtosh'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
4.25
Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Grief, Death of parent, and Alcohol
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Alcoholism, Cancer, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, and Violence
avasbookmark'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
Graphic: Death, Infidelity, and Trafficking
Moderate: Drug abuse and Alcohol
priadrummond'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
Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, and Abandonment
Minor: Pedophilia, Violence, and Trafficking
alaina'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? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This is a story about falling in love but isn’t a romance.
I wanted the Creole family identity to be explored more deeply.
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual content, and Trafficking
Moderate: Death of parent
rgibbons's review against another edition
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
2.5
Moderate: Death, Drug abuse, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Trafficking, and Alcohol
Minor: Homophobia
lynxpardinus's review against another edition
3.5
Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism, Racism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Vomit, and Trafficking
Minor: Confinement, Violence, and War
andreadelo'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
3.75
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Trafficking
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
disastercryptid'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
4.0
Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, and Death of parent
Moderate: Sexual content, Trafficking, and Death of parent
kingrosereads'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
3.0
This book starts off the way you expect it to as this kind of sad summer vibe with Sara and Emilie’s adolescent traumas. Sara’s childhood best friend turned girlfriend is found dead in a river which results in 16 year old Sara running away to LA. Emilie, at 15, witnesses her older sister overdose in their home. The books goes back and force between the two POVs and it also switches from their past and present throughout the book. This flow works at times and other times is very clunky. I found myself liking their stories separately but not really caring about their story together.
The book is advertised as being this romantic drama where these two women are connected by this one small thing, and they have to overcome their past trauma to make their relationship work. However, the women don’t meet until the halfway point. They meet briefly and then don’t meet for another year where it then takes a few months before they run into each other again and start a relationship that’s gone on for a couple of months before they hit a (albeit mild) snag that has them both questioning the relationship and their own self-worths. It’s this point that’s lost on me. Their connection is instant which I get and could be on board with, but then it’s all very instalove and high stakes when it’s only been a couple of months. And their entire relationship is brushed over. Which, if this is just literary fiction, say that, don’t advertise it as this romantic drama when the romance is barely in the book, and the romance that is there, is pretty insignificant. These women are 26 and 28, which is relatively young, but they’re acting like they’re 19 and 21.
I did like Emilie’s struggle with her Creole identity and passing, but it’s just kind of brushed over. Just like Sara’s past is brushed over.
The book eventually meanders through these two stories that takes away from the emotional aspect of the book. I’d honestly prefer if this was just their two respective stories to show maybe their hardships so you can connect to them, but make the stories more linear, only jumping back when it’s relevant. Then end with them meeting and leaving it open ended.
It gets points for the first half and actually getting my cold, dead heart to feel something.
Moderate: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, and Murder
Minor: Pedophilia, Trafficking, and Death of parent