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celesteleila's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This book was an interesting read. There’s magical realism and a lot of exploration on the concept of love. I found the overall plot and certain elements of the story compelling but the story did not flow very well. There were so many side stories and new characters all the way until the end and I found it took away from the plot. In general, Alice was a fun main character but I think that the elements of her story got lost in the plot and it left me confused. I think if there were a few less subplots there would have been more continuity and more exploration of some of the amazing characters in the story whose stories didn’t feel complete to me. This book also got dark at parts and I actually appreciated the tone shift at times because it really put love in a different perspective for me. Those reflective aspects helped me finish the book in its entirety.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Car accident, and Death of parent
bringmybooks's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Thank you to Edelweiss, Park Row, & HarperCollins for the opportunity to read and review this book before it's publication date! This in no way affected my review, opinions are my own.
✨ 𝗕𝗥𝗜𝗡𝗚 ✨ B̷O̷R̷R̷O̷W̷ B̷Y̷P̷A̷S̷S̷
Sometimes magical realism doesn't work, and sometimes it works AMAZINGLY.
...and then, sometimes, it works really well even though you're not sure what you just read (??) but you know that you'll think about it for years to come (!!) and there are parts you don't really know why you liked so much but you know that you did and the book left an indelible mark on you (!!) but if you were told to explain it to someone or face unimaginable consequences you would just be sitting there like (??) "Ok, so, well, um, this book was amazing and you should read it."
^ That's kind of like what reading this book was like.
I requested an advanced copy of this on a whim a couple days before publication date because I thought it would be fun to read right before Valentine's Day, and while I was definitely right, it wasn't in ways that I expected.
Honestly, it really and truly is hard to describe, but I know the following things: I loved the writing (a lot). I really liked the characters. I loved the way her books and writing process were described. I loved how much I didn't "understand," while also knowing in my bones that I fully GOT this book and this story. And for someone that doesn't typically love when books end the way that this one does ... I loved that too.
Q: Should you read it?
A: Totally.
Q: Why?
A: Um, well, because of all the things I said up there. ^ Don't make me try to explain this again because honestly it can only get more confusing if I keep going.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Death, Terminal illness, and Death of parent
Minor: Infidelity, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Murder
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