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kittens_say_meoww's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
sad
tense
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
4.75
Where to begin, maybe by addressing the very few things I didn’t like. This book is…devastating. I cried often. It’s so well done and not at all what I expected. I will be buying a physical copy to cherish. The biggest cons are the HEA epilogue and the marketing both of which come off as cheap and inauthentic. This is marketed as romance and I suppose it technically is. However, it’s more apt to say it’s about grief, and flawed humans, and complexity of the human experience. It’s a book within a book. Why this story is marketed as dark romance is beyond me. It’s not “spicy” as it’s marketed and intimate scenes (albeit one) seem pretty authentic to everyday life. The cover(s) don’t represent the story, at all. It doesn’t even match the description of any of the characters. Moving on, some reviews mention the length of this book. And I can see that for a “best friends brother romance” it would seem long. But, as I’ve said that’s not actually a good description of the book in the first place. That being said, it feels like the ending was rushed. Without spoiling, it’s the classic everything sucks and is pulled together in the last chapter and the bow is the HEA 5 page epilogue. I hate thattt and in this particular story it cheapened it. Some of the angst in the middle (particularly as it pertains to Terri) could have been cut out to give more attention to a more authentic ending that honored all that the main characters had been through. All in all, I loved this book and it will be hard to move away from. I desperately wish I knew someone that had read it so I could talk about it with them. Best of luck, it won’t be what you expect it to be if tiktok sent you to it. Please realize it’s a messy, devastating, not overly exaggerated story of broken families and trauma and death. Even though it betrays some plot points, please check triggers if you’re sensitive to almost anything.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail