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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: Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, and Grief
Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Suicide, Death of parent, Murder, and Gaslighting
Minor: Confinement, Cursing, Gore, and Abandonment
elazza3540's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Animal death, Cancer, Child death, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
wormgirl'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
4.0
Graphic: Child death, Death, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Cancer, Chronic illness, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Car accident
Minor: Abandonment
kriti's review against another edition
- 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: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Terminal illness, Grief, and Abandonment
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders and Death of parent
Minor: Suicide, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
izypup's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Death, Panic attacks/disorders, and Grief
Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Confinement, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Murder
Minor: Misogyny, Racism, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment
scout_jones's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Death, Panic attacks/disorders, and Suicide
Minor: Abandonment
headachesince03's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Homophobia and Sexual content
sarahna's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Spoiler review ahead!
The first chapter painted him as a heartless, selfish, apathetic, carreer oriented lawyer firing an employee and cancelling her daughter's scholarship. He belittles her and is just a caricature of a white cis man in power whilst in reality he's lonely and doesn't do anything but live for his job. He ends up dying from a sudden heart attack and has a hard time accepting that. He's a prick to Mei who's trying her best to get him to Hugo's teashop after his sparsely attended funeral and several tantrums.
Suddenly Wallace changes, becomes a better man and the insta love ensues. Hugo and Wallace's hit it off and whilst I did like some of the yearning and dialogue they've shared it wasn't believable or prominent enough to justify the HEA ending. Wasn't the whole point of the book to learn how to grief and let go once one has died? That it's okay to make mistakes and regret certain decisions but that in the end peace is at the other side of the whispering door? I honestly would've preferred Wallace crossing over with Nelson and Apollo and reading an Epilogue of Hugo and Wallace reuniting in the after life, that way we could've gotten a glimpse what's behind the whispering door as well.
That being said, I did like the found family aspect of it and how Wallace came to terms with being bisexual. I worried that he would've realized that he didn't love his ex-wife and was gay instead. While that is a valid experience and does happen, we need more bi rep and it was nice to see that here. The fact that they aren't teenagers or conventionally attractive was refreshing as well. It was an aspect that I loved in THITCS as well.
Sadly a big portion of the book felt repetitive (a lot of dialogue, barely any scenery changes) and didn't touch me as much as it should have. Still the novel is extremely original and it'd do better in movie form in my opinion. So much of it was visual, even some of the jokes!
Once the romance picked up, Wallace was less of a prick and the manager was confronted it got interesting again which is why I gave it 3 stars.
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, and Abandonment
shakakan's review against another edition
- 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
2.25
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, and Abandonment
Moderate: Child death, Suicide, and Death of parent
Minor: Animal death, Cancer, and Terminal illness
alid73's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Child death, Death, Suicide, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Animal death and Abandonment