diana_raquel's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
T.J. Klune is rapidly becoming one of my favorite authors. I loved this story! I didn't know what to expect from this story but I wasn't expecting a deep story about life, death, grief, and change. However, at the same time, I should be expecting a deep story. In every book that I have read by this author, there is always some deepness to the story.
The characters are interesting, well-written, and well-developed. I really loved them and the fact that the cast is diverse (with good representation), which is always a good point in my book. However, the only reason that I have for not giving a 5-star rating to this book is that I think that the pacing is a little unbalanced. I think that there are some places in the story where the pacing became faster than it should. But, overall, is a solid narrative.
I strongly recommend this book.
Graphic: Grief, Violence, Death, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Murder, Child death, Animal death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Suicide
Minor: Gore, Cursing, Confinement, and Abandonment
batwinggoth's review
- 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
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Grief, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Injury/injury detail, Bullying, Panic attacks/disorders, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Suicide
Minor: Animal death, Child abuse, Car accident, Homophobia, Racism, Sexual harassment, and Self harm
The book is centered around dead people and meeting people from all walks of life as they die in various ways - understanding and helping them process their dead and pass. Most characters are complicated and real with great detail of their emotions, feelings, and inner dialogue and they process their life and what happened to them or what they're currently going through. There's a childSpoiler
who died from terminal illness whose mother is actively grieving and constantly visiting the tea shop (central setting of the book).Spoiler
murdered in an ally who recounts his death and expresses his extreme anger drastically.Spoiler
by his parents and experiences a sudden loss of his partner in the hospital and ends up dying by suicide due to his overwhelming grief.Spoiler
is only in reference to a man and a woman who visit their tea shop often and constantly hits on Hugo in inappropriate ways and in one instance the man even says he'll 'wear him down' despite Hugo already rejecting him multiple times.Spoiler
is only mentioned because a main character, Apollo, is a ghost dog who had passed.breadwitchery's review
- 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
Graphic: Death and Grief
Moderate: Suicide, Child death, Panic attacks/disorders, and Mental illness
Minor: Death of parent, Car accident, Gaslighting, and Sexual content
chichisode's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Child death, Death of parent, Death, Suicide, Murder, and Grief
Moderate: Chronic illness, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, and Animal death
zoe_m's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Graphic: Abandonment, Death, Grief, Mental illness, and Suicide
Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Murder, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Car accident, Death of parent, and Gaslighting