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maistfu's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
the storyline was very interesting but I feel like something was missing. the character development in this one was great though.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gun violence, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
abicaro17's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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
5.0
Jesus H Christ! I ADORED this book. I felt so seen with all the talk about mental health. I was sobbing the last 20 pages of the book. James and Phoenix have such great chemistry but what's even better is that their relationship isn't perfect or smooth. They have bumps and bruises (some more literal) and it was awesome reading about them.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Drug use, Blood, Forced institutionalization, Death, Medical content, Miscarriage, Suicide attempt, Body horror, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Addiction, Cursing, Body shaming, Cancer, Drug abuse, Grief, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, and Stalking
tingelinda91's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Suicide, Mental illness, and Suicidal thoughts
ea82625's review against another edition
Dnf @ 20%. This book had an interesting/unique plot, but the flow just wasn’t there. The interactions between the characters felt a bit awkward and like there was something missing that I couldn’t put my finger on.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide attempt and Death of parent
daisycantread24's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Blood, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
annasannotations's review against another edition
emotional
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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Suicide attempt, Mental illness, Suicide, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Schizophrenia/Psychosis
bekacrook's review against another edition
challenging
dark
hopeful
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
A promising premise but it honestly was just too much, there was too much focus on her suicide attempt and depression. I totally understand it's a key part of her and her life story but not everything needs to be a lesson or a screw you to it. There were lots of monologues that felt like being lectured about mental health and positivity and mindfulness (very much like a Pinterest quote) when everyone has a unique experience of it even if they have the same diagnosis.
I liked the characters, I thought Leo was funny and genuine, he had a solid head on his shoulders and is so much better at reading situations and people than his brother. I liked Phoenix's kindness and capacity for empathy and forgiveness, I feel like those are super important characteristics to have. She was also super resilient but not shown to be unfeeling. James was very kind and definitely showed he cared through actions, he grew a bit as a character as he learnt more about himself through therapy and understood more about depression -- his reaction to her telling him about her attempt was a big no no for me though. His remorse for that at least was genuine and quick.
I did think it was good that it showed you can try to reach out to people but also that you are allowed to fully cut off people who aren't good for you or don't help you.
Didn't really feel the Cory storyline was needed either, felt tact on rather than integral to the story.
I liked the characters, I thought Leo was funny and genuine, he had a solid head on his shoulders and is so much better at reading situations and people than his brother. I liked Phoenix's kindness and capacity for empathy and forgiveness, I feel like those are super important characteristics to have. She was also super resilient but not shown to be unfeeling. James was very kind and definitely showed he cared through actions, he grew a bit as a character as he learnt more about himself through therapy and understood more about depression -- his reaction to her telling him about her attempt was a big no no for me though. His remorse for that at least was genuine and quick.
I did think it was good that it showed you can try to reach out to people but also that you are allowed to fully cut off people who aren't good for you or don't help you.
Didn't really feel the Cory storyline was needed either, felt tact on rather than integral to the story.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide attempt and Mental illness
oakleylynch's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- 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
4.5
I had been following the author of this novel for quite some time on Instagram prior to reading this book, and I can confidentally say it did not disappoint! Despite being a 'steamy'/'spicy' romance, the first half of this book (I read this on Kindle, I can confidentally gear this at 60% of the book) was almost completely mental health focused, alongside a 10/10 did NOT see it coming twist at the end! The rest of the review is tagged with spoilers as it includes not only spoilers, but trigger warnings.
At the start, Phoenix, the protagonist and heorine of the story, has just gotten out a mental health hospital due to a suicide attempt. In this hospital, she had a schizophrenic best friend named Drew who spends the novel communicating with Nix through phone calls up until the epilogue. She also, for reasons not shown until later, prefers 'Nix' as a nickname rather than Phoenix. Immediately meeting her neighbours, by them breaking into her home (it was funny), she quickly finds a family with them as she falls for James, the oldest son of Jim Russo. The younger son, Leo, is a former drug addict and partakes in underground fight clubs at the beginning of the novel, up until Phoenix is injured after attending one with him in which he decides to get sober and clean. At this point, the dislike of Phoenix's name is brought up as she says that she is nothing like a phoenix, and James says he disagrees in a very lovey-dovey way. Leo is also very quickly adopted into Phoenixs' life as 'Nixie' and her being his 'older sister'. Throughout the novel, Phoenix is grieving over her fathers death and being disowned by her mother and feeling unloved by her family while the Russo men are dealing with the death of their mother/spouse. At the turning point and midpoint of the entire novel, James reveals to Phoenix that their mother died via suicide, and that he feels at fault for her death for not answering a phone call she made to him beforehand. James also very blatantly does not understand depression as a mental health struggle, and how it can affect people. Leo knocks some sense into him (somewhat literally) after Phoenix reveals her true past after the reveal of his mothers cause of death and James freaks out on her and says he can't do that with someone else and have that risk. They resolve this, talk it over, and have a fairly healthy relationship throughout the entire novel, based around communication and willingness to understand. James doesn't understand why his mother did what she did, or why Phoenix did what she did, but he explicitly expresses interest to try to. At around this time, they travel to Nix's hometown where they run into her mother and both James and Phoenix speak to her. Throughout the novel, I felt as though I was seeing two people with trauma and mental health issues learn to move past heartache as well as the trauma and struggles they experience in healthy ways through communicating what they are feeling - even if at first there is disagreement or negative reactions. I won't mention the big plot twist, but I will put a trigger warning for gun violence and child death, at around the midpoint to the end.
All in all, I would rate this book a 4.5/5 stars and I would definitely read again! The other .5 is due to some of the reptitive nature of wording, but I genuinely adored this story and it made me sob (at a ridiculous time in the late hours of the morning) with how emotional it gets when the characters get vulnerable and honest with each other and start growing in their arcs. I'd say it's a medium paced book, it feels as though it moves fast once you get past the first half, but I was not bored in the slightest reading through the mental health segments. As someone with diagnosed mental health things, I felt seen in Phoenix and felt as though it was a very accurate portrayal of depression and anxiety and other mental health issues, and had good mental health representation. Also, 10/10 steamy scenes!
All in all, I would rate this book a 4.5/5 stars and I would definitely read again! The other .5 is due to some of the reptitive nature of wording, but I genuinely adored this story and it made me sob (at a ridiculous time in the late hours of the morning) with how emotional it gets when the characters get vulnerable and honest with each other and start growing in their arcs. I'd say it's a medium paced book, it feels as though it moves fast once you get past the first half, but I was not bored in the slightest reading through the mental health segments. As someone with diagnosed mental health things, I felt seen in Phoenix and felt as though it was a very accurate portrayal of depression and anxiety and other mental health issues, and had good mental health representation. Also, 10/10 steamy scenes!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Violence, Sexual content, Death, Death of parent, Self harm, Cancer, Abandonment, Suicide attempt, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, Suicide, Blood, Medical trauma, and Medical content
Moderate: Addiction, Stalking, Animal death, Alcohol, Gun violence, Drug abuse, Drug use, Animal cruelty, and Child death
Minor: Miscarriage, Infertility, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Pregnancy
nuriacarot's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide attempt
Minor: Suicide
moodreadererin's review against another edition
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Suicide, Alcoholism, Addiction, Panic attacks/disorders, and Drug use