Reviews with content warning for Alcoholism - Summer Sons

Reviewing this several months after I first read it, so I don't remember details. I found it very difficult to stay engaged with this book and the character's hedonistic attitudes. I just wasn't endeared to any of the characters and most of them felt irritatingly entitled, regardless of how intensely the author seemed to want to make you think otherwise. The length of the book and amount of pages used solely to describe drunken parties the characters attended did nothing to improve how dull it was to me. There's also the ickiness of the leading character and the dead boy he's in love with legally being brothers. Why was that necessary... The book's description of grief and tragedy were decent, but I was so disinterested in the plot that I already forgot how it ended. If not for the gorgeous cover art I probably would have brought it to the secondhand store by now, which sounds almost too mean to include, but I don't see myself reading it again.

Content Warnings

therainbowshelf's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I don't know how to review this. I feel like I didn't enjoy it as much as it deserves, though I did enjoy it. I couldn't fully get into Andrew or Sam as characters, so even though the writing was good and I enjoyed the story overall (other than a few things that needed a bit more development toward the end), I feel so-so on it. I also don't love atmospheric books, and this was very atmospheric. This came to me from Rainbow Crate Book Box.

Content Warnings

bookishlesbian's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

Content Warnings

foreverinastory's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

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

4.5

What a ride.

Rep: white achillean-questioning male MC with anxiety, white queer male love interest, white queer polyamorous trans male side character, various queer coded side characters, Black male side character (sexuality not indicated).

CWs: Suicide, death, blood, grief, murder, drug use (smoking and snorting), violence, body horror (including haunting/possession), gore, alcohol consumption, homophobia/homomisia, sexual content, injury/injury detail, vomit, panic attacks, self-harm, cursing, racism (systemic and interpersonal), drug abuse, alcoholism, torture, toxic relationship, toxic friendship. Moderate: confinement, kidnapping, mental illness, death of parent, animal death, biphobia/bimisia, car accident, medical content/trauma, suicidal thought, suicide attempt, psychosis, cancer, fire, transphobia/transmisia, terminal illness. Minor: mentions of slavery.

Content Warnings