Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

Yerba Buena by Nina LaCour

78 reviews

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!

---

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

---

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

emfass's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful 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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Blood, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Drug use, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Grief, Abandonment, and Alcohol

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.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Child abuse, Death of parent, and Alcohol

theelizabethjoy's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness

Moderate: Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Addiction, Drug abuse, and Drug use

mcampbell's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

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

2.75

Authors 1st adult fiction.  Thought it would be way better than this. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Death of parent, and Alcohol

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, and Grief

Minor: Cursing

thisbriannahope's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Drug use, Pedophilia, Death of parent, and Alcohol

mx_sunshine's review against another edition

dark hopeful 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

3.0

I love the relaxing way Nina LaCour describes spaces. I love how the passions of the main characters were explored. Nina conveys her great appreciation of beauty through her writing. Buildings, drinks, and flowers are romantically described.
I appreciate the many different life events Nina covered. Death, grief, trauma, moving and heartache. I liked the pace of the book. I was surprised at how dark the content was in the beginning.
I feel like side characters weren’t fleshed out beyond their relationship to the main characters. 
I would’ve liked to read more about how Emilie and Sarah supported each other. I feel like I understood their passions as a reader, but I would’ve liked the characters to express their admiration for each other.
I really enjoyed Emilie’s development over the book.
Emilie and Sarah spend more time apart in the novel than together. I feel like Sarah was 
It would have been interesting to see how Emilie and Sarah discuss and reflect on their class differences. There was a lot of emphasis on Emilie’s immigrant grandparents. But she grew up in a home where she was financially supported. She spends years as an undergraduate in university and finishes with a degree that she doesn’t use.
Sarah mentions she read books that were on a university list.
I want to know how Spencer is doing. It feels like characters are given a happy ending through the establishment of a relationship. 
I thought the way Collette’s retreat couldn’t be defined was strange. It felt like an easy way to rush character development.
Emilie’s and Sarah’s experiences with drugs was used as a similarity between them. But this history wasn’t expanded on in how they managed that in the present.
There seems to be a lot of unhealed trauma in this book that people aren’t seeking help for. This makes me wary to accept the “happy” ending.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Moderate: Cursing

ohmygoshtosh's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

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

lady_valhella's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-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? It's complicated

4.0

This book is dark and emotional, especially if you have any experience with what the two main characters experience. I suppose this book is meant to bear witness, to let the reader know you are not alone. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Suicide, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Alcohol