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lemonwrlds's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Hate crime, and Antisemitism
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Racism, Violence, Blood, Antisemitism, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Alcohol, and War
jelkebooks's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This is one that has been on my TBR for AGES, and now with the tv show adaptation being out and getting a lot of hype I finally pushed myself to read this one. Sadly enough, it did end up dissapointing me quite a bit. I don't know it didn't fully work for me.
I did quite like Jane and G. I thought they were great characters to follow. I loved their dynamic, and overall I thought they made for a really cute ship. I loved the way their relationship was developed throughout the book. I also quite liked our cast of side characters. I thought they helped bring the novel to live. The only character I really disliked is our third POV, Edward. I thought he was a misogynistic piece of shit, and his redemption arc felt extremely forced and disingenious. I get that him being extremely sexist is period accurate, but considering so much of this book isn't period accurate I feel like we could have left that character trait out as well.
I do think the plot was a bit dragged out and lackluster. I feel like for most of this book not a whole lot happened, and it overall just was extremely slow moving. On top of that I feel like what was happening was extremely high stakes, but we kept getting side tracked with stupid, juvenile, romantic drama. I get that these feelings are accurate for the age of these characters, but Edward constantly thinking about how he hasn't kissed a girl yet in an extreme life or death situation just didn't work for me. It feels like it completely undermines the stakes of the novel.
I do think this book was very fun, and silly. It definitely needs some suspension of disbelief. You need to go with the very unserious flow. The magic system doesn't always make the most sense either, but it never really is that bothersome if you don't let it be.
I did quite like Jane and G. I thought they were great characters to follow. I loved their dynamic, and overall I thought they made for a really cute ship. I loved the way their relationship was developed throughout the book. I also quite liked our cast of side characters. I thought they helped bring the novel to live. The only character I really disliked is our third POV, Edward. I thought he was a misogynistic piece of shit, and his redemption arc felt extremely forced and disingenious. I get that him being extremely sexist is period accurate, but considering so much of this book isn't period accurate I feel like we could have left that character trait out as well.
I do think the plot was a bit dragged out and lackluster. I feel like for most of this book not a whole lot happened, and it overall just was extremely slow moving. On top of that I feel like what was happening was extremely high stakes, but we kept getting side tracked with stupid, juvenile, romantic drama. I get that these feelings are accurate for the age of these characters, but Edward constantly thinking about how he hasn't kissed a girl yet in an extreme life or death situation just didn't work for me. It feels like it completely undermines the stakes of the novel.
I do think this book was very fun, and silly. It definitely needs some suspension of disbelief. You need to go with the very unserious flow. The magic system doesn't always make the most sense either, but it never really is that bothersome if you don't let it be.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism
Moderate: Grief and Alcohol
greatexpectations77's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
What a TREAT of a book! I had so so so much fun with this audiobook, and I've simply fallen in love with both the authors and the incredible narration gift of Ms. Kellgren. I join the scores of people who mourn her loss. This book feels like it was written by fun history and book nerds for fun history and book nerds, and the easter egg quotes from other works totally tickled me. This def feels like a vacation read for me - light and funny and a delicious little happy ending.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Gaslighting, and Classism
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Violence, Abandonment, Alcohol, and War
Minor: Confinement, Misogyny, and Death of parent
kassidyreads's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexism
Minor: Death, Incest, and Alcohol
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