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maregred's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Terminal illness and Murder
Moderate: Body horror, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, and Violence
catsandbookspluspup's review against another edition
2.5
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
celina246's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Graphic: Body horror, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse, Terminal illness, and Grief
Minor: Death of parent
readingthroughinfinity's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Body horror and Death
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Self harm, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
andromeda_1998's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Death, and Gore
brucethegirl's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Suicide attempt, and Murder
stories_of_the_soul27's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
This book has slow burn romance too and honestly it killed me!!! I loved every Tess and Eliot moment!! Adolescent characters shouldering burdens that their 17 year olds shouldn't be worried about gets me everytime and this added depths to their personality. Nothing seems far fetched or out of plausibility.
There were some particular spooky scenes that I really liked, that gave me the creeps.
However, there were some areas where this book could improve. The pacing did get slow sometimes. Tess said she could see ghosts and Eliot can use magic. And both these aspects weren't delved deeper into. A backstory of why they had these abilities and where they came from could have enhanced the reading experience. Also I wanted to know about the devil when he was a boy. All this would have stretched the book to 500 pages maybe but the world that Tori Bovalino created was interesting enough that it required more details.
But as a debut book this was so well done. I honestly want Tess and Eliot to return in another book. I fell deeply in love with these two characters.
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And the last line of the book : I know what it means but seriously what does it mean?!?!?!?!?!?!
Graphic: Body horror and Child abuse
collinsd's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
2.75
Graphic: Body horror and Blood
Moderate: Cancer, Death, Gore, Self harm, Vomit, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Fire/Fire injury
onthesamepage's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
This is pretty dark for YA, and I definitely recommend looking into the content warnings before deciding to pick it up. It gave me very solid horror movie vibes; the author's writing is fantastic, and that means I could vividly imagine the horrors she was describing. I definitely flinched a few times.
I also think the way she writes characters is really good. Tess and Eliot are both dealing with a lot in their lives, making them come off as more mature than a normal teenager probably would, but that felt right in context. Tess has taken responsibility for her younger sister as a caretaker, juggling school and several part-time jobs, and that necessitates a certain level of maturity. Eliot is dealing with separated parents and a father that seems to be maliciously keeping him away from his terminally-ill mother. But they aren't just two unfortunate, tortured teenagers; they have flaws, they're very human, and I believed the connection between them. Yes, the romance is probably still a bit fast (it's hard to say how much time passes in the book), but I didn't mind it too much. I really enjoyed the side characters too; the friendship between Tess and Anna was heartwarming, and I liked Nat, Tess's little sister, quite a bit as well.
There are a few things that stop me from giving this book a full five stars.
We're told on the first page that Tess can see ghosts, and this sets up an expectation that this is somehow important to the plot. It never is, and I'm not sure why it was included at all.
The first interactions between Eliot and Tess are weird and potentially trying to set up a very short-lived enemies to lovers situation. Instead of sincerely apologizing when she was clearly in the wrong, Tess tries to blame Eliot when he confronts her, and it just didn't make sense for her to react that way.
Last but not least, the ending, which was confusing. I still don't really understand what happened and what the consequences could be.
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, and Self harm
l_lilly_05's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Self harm, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Vomit, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury