Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

Yerba Buena: A Novel by Nina LaCour

67 reviews

aloemoronic's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective fast-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual violence, and Death of parent

Minor: Blood, Abandonment, and Alcohol

katwhiskerz's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

• 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

I love Nina LaCour. This was my second book from her and she absolutely excels at writing complex female characters. This book is far from the silly, sweet lesbian rom-com I was expecting. I felt deeply for Sara, who underwent a number of traumas and I related to Emilie's lack of direction and identity. Both main characters felt like full, real people and I think that's a testament to LaCour's seamless writing; you can feel how much thought and love she put into their stories. 

I enjoyed the rich descriptions and the yerba buena motif of their relationship being something that is sweet, bitter, and healing. I enjoyed their first meeting. It felt fast and swift, the way love sometimes is. I understand why it may seem insta-lovey to some people though. 

Unfortunately though, things kind of took a downturn for me after the point where Emilie and Sara reconnected a second time. I just thought there could have been a more concise way for Sara to explain her history and maybe more time to really explore their relationship with each other. They spent so much time apart that it was difficult to really envision the two of them together, rather than one idealizing the other. I also saw someone say that the Sara in Emilie's POV felt different than the Sara in her own POV and I wholeheartedly agree. I was hoping this book was another 5 star read, but it was still worth picking up!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Death, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Trafficking, and Alcohol

Minor: Drug abuse, Drug use, and Murder

lorriss's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Grief, and Abandonment

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Blood, Medical content, Death of parent, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Child abuse, Homophobia, Racism, Fire/Fire injury, and War

seventhswan's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

I loved both of the main characters in this book. From their first introduction, Sara and Emilie felt extremely real and multifaceted, as did their family members (I also particularly liked Colette and Spencer, and think the exploration of sibling relationships throughout the book was strong). I also enjoyed the plot, once the first few chapters were out the way. I wish the story would have started with Sara and Emilie as adults, and delved into their backstories later on, rather than opening with lengthy infodumps about their traumatic childhoods. These were so dark, particularly in Sara's case, that the amount of detailed telling didn't match the rest of the story and had a Jacqueline Wilson-esque feel about them.

I'm glad I pushed through the opening chapters because I did like the rest of the story - I found the central romance enticing and believable, thought the setting really came to life, and was pleased by the ending, which was conclusive without being too neat. Unfortunately, I *hated* the writing style. I can't explain exactly what was so off-putting about it, and I suspect it's a matter of personal preference rather than anything technically wrong with it, but it has made me not want to read another of LaCour's novels despite enjoying the storyline.

I would recommend this book to fans of Taylor Jenkins Reid; it reminded me of Malibu Rising especially. If it weren't for the opening, this would be a fun summer-book-club style read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Child abuse, Death of parent, and Alcohol

madysen's review against another edition

dark emotional sad fast-paced

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Death of parent

beecaelin's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• 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

I feel that Lacour’s writing style is very accessible whilst still being deep and thoughtful. The characters’ backgrounds seemed very intense and thought out however I think this wasn’t developed fully in the actual story- maybe due to the blunt writing style. Some parts did feel slightly flat but overall I loved the characters and their depth. Tbh I think the book could have been a bit longer but I like it either way. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Drug use, Sexual violence, and Death of parent

stephaccola's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Drug use, and Sexual violence

tilder's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

4.0

Queer and heartwrenching. Got lost in some of the characters sometimes, felt like some of them could have been more fleshed out. Appreciated the ending and sense of closure for both of them. However, I do think that Sara’s trauma was resolved a bit too quickly, the whole reveal felt rushed and I wish we could have had more tension build up or something to complement the beginning of the book in the same way. Great read and look forward to LaCour’s other work!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

bellavictoria's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

I don't know any other way to say it other than this book was perfect. it's going into my top 5 favorites ever. I felt so drawn into the story instantly. The characters are so fleshed out and real. It's heartbreaking, tragic even but I also started to feel so much hope while reading. I couldn't put this one down and truthfully don't think many books will ever make me feel what this one did.
There are some heavy themes of drugs (use and dealing), sexual manipulation, and cheating.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use and Sexual violence

ada_rosales's review against another edition

challenging fast-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Grief, and Abandonment