Reviews tagging 'Grief'

The Afterlife of Holly Chase by Cynthia Hand

11 reviews

sxndaze's review against another edition

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hopeful reflective medium-paced
  • 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

2.0

holly chase is insufferable but that’s the point isn’t it? the growth she experiences makes it an excellent read, but it was definitely hard to get through at times. the story excels when it’s not about the romance and it focuses on literally anything else like the systems and holly’s life.
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doodeedoda's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted reflective relaxing medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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_viola__'s review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad fast-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

5.0

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odditiex's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-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

3.5

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lauren_shilling's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced
  • 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

This book was good, and I enjoyed it. When I first started it, I thought it was going to be a huge disappointment, but it ended up getting so much better. I thought I didn't like where this story was going, but I actually ended up hating it a lot less than I thought I would, and as time went on, I found I actually started to love how that particular aspect of the story was handled. I loved it especially at the end. The main character, Holly, was just a bad person all around. This was to be expected going into it, as she is a failed scrooge that did not want to change. I loved watching her growth throughout the story and how she learns to see points of view of the world. I was bored of the story at times, and I will say sometimes there were time skips that bothered me a little bit. I know why, because this book does span a long period of time, but I feel like the skips were done and explained away lazily with a quick recap of anything that had happened during that period. Other than those little things, though, I really enjoyed this book, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a fun Christmas story!
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mghrt06's review against another edition

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3.0

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ainsley_reads's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I found this book boring and the character’s unlikeable. I gave it a 2 and not I 1 because it was an okay ending. 
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samsspines's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful lighthearted mysterious 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

3.25

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brookey8888's review against another edition

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funny inspiring lighthearted mysterious 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

4.5

I really enjoyed this! I actually teared up at the end which surprised me. I really liked Holly as a main character with her dry/sarcasm humor. I liked the friendships she formed and her found family. The romance was cute but honestly not a main part which I didn’t mind. I thought this was an interesting retelling because she didn’t get saved, and it goes from there. I did see the ending coming, but I still enjoyed it and like I said I cried. I would recommend this to read during Christmas time. 



Reread still really enjoyed it but this year sucks a lot, so I’m not really in the Christmas spirit.

Reread: lol I cried again reading this which surprised me because I feel like I wasn’t loving it as much as previous. This is still cute and I like the twist on it. 
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sarahwallacewriter's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-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

5.0

This is easily my favorite Christmas book. I discovered it in 2019 and it immediately made its way to my holiday traditions. I like to describe it as A Christmas Carol meets The Good Place. It's funny and heartwarming. It's about love and family and friendship and growth and grief and second chances. Such a good book. Highly recommend!
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