Reviews with content warning for Blood - Una última parada

Wow... Wow, wow, wow!!! I literally just finished the (audio) book and my goodness, I loved every single minute of it! Definitely one of my absolute favorites now, will be re-reading(/listening) this one many times for sure.

The diversity of the characters is amazing, and I honestly can't say I disliked any of them. They all have their own stories and their own distinct personalities, even the side-characters really grew on me, a lot.

As for the story, I was so incredibly intrigued! From the very beginning I had my suspicions and really made me think, trying to solve the 'puzzle'. Without throwing any spoilers in here, I can say that it is not super lighthearted all the time, but it has made me laugh out loud, have me nearly bite my nails while on the edge of my seat, cursed with frustration and blushing during certain scenes, which almost never happens.

Huge kudos to the narrator, because she did an absolute phenomenal job, in my opinion. I thoroughly enjoyed her narrating style, all the character's voices and the way the emotions came across so vividly. I practically binged this audio book and had to (begrudgingly) kick my own ass to bed at 2.30am with only about 2 hours and 15 minutes left to go. It was nearly impossible to hit the pause button, so that's proof of how good it is.

Will definitely be recommending this (audio) book to everyone I know, because this one's fantastic <3

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pandemonicbaby's review against another edition

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emotional funny inspiring lighthearted mysterious medium-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

3.75

I started enjoying this much more near the end, I think. It got more emotional and the writing became a tad more lyrical, and I liked that part. I'm happy I was able to predict some of the plot twists, I think they were well constructed in a sense that they were hinted at but not stated too obviously (like, an attentive reader would catch onto them).
I didn't *completely and absolutely fall in love* with the entire cast of characters as most other people seem to, but I did end up liking them a lot.
Also. I can excuse sex on an empty subway cart. but sex on a PACKED subway??? thats crazy😭😭😭

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rainbowrocky's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

My final thoughts on the book are: fun concept, cute characters, dull execution. The beginning was soooo slow but the ending was really good. It took me a year to read this and usually that’s not a good sign for me lol. I feel like I knew the friends better than the love interest August is supposedly bending space and time for to be in love with. Don’t get me wrong, I love found family and I enjoyed seeing them interact, but shouldn’t we know more about Jane? Like we find out about her past, but as a person her character fell a little flat for me. And I found August’s hero complex a touch annoying and fell into the white savior trope a little too hard. I also didn’t care for the “save the diner” side plot (you mean to tell me August is suddenly sad for a place she barely shows up to for work?), but the “find her uncle that’s been missing since the 70s” side plot worked really well for both August’s narrative and Jane’s. I enjoyed McQuiston’s lyrical writing style, especially for the spicy scenes, and how they do dialogue. Overall 4/5 stars. Probably won’t ever read again but I will keep my book cause it’s cute.

Edit: You know what I think this novel needs? Jane's POV. If we had a dual POV with Jane and August, I think it would have been so much better. We could have seen her flashbacks instead of just being told about them through August's eyes. That would have been so much better and maybe getting her inner thoughts about how she feels about August wouldn't make the romance so one-sided for me.

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isabelindia's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

Loved the book, at some point i thought it was a bit slow, and i wasn't even halfway HOWEVER the second half of the book was better, and i couldn't be happier i finished this book.

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kappafrog's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious 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

4.0

I really loved this book. The writing was great, the cast of characters sparkled off the page, and the mysteries were really fun with a slow build to unraveling them all. I loved the steamy romance. This book made me feel more confident as a queer woman. It made it easier to imagine a community and I loved the found family. I was totally absorbed while I was reading it and while I had a few quibbles, overall I found it a wonderful world to escape into with a fresh and fun concept.

Edit: dropping my review from 4.5 to 4. When the excitement of being in the story has worn off I have a few more criticisms of some of the racial dynamics in the book.

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tangleroot_eli's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

A very sweet love story about young New York disaster queers. The dialogue sparkles; the characters are interesting and well-drawn; and I personally appreciate how much is happening in most of the characters' lives: even the romantic leads have more going on than just dealing with their love lives.

A lot of things about the book don't stand up to Fridge Logic. You sort of accept them as you read, but the instant you put the book down and start doing something else, your brain tells you all the things that don't make sense about what you've just read. Initially I found this incredibly annoying. After a while, though, the story became so engrossing that I stopped noticing. But those things are definitely still there, so caveat lector if that'll bug you no matter how sweet the love story is.

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amberinpieces's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious medium-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

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