Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Stargazer by Laurie Petrou

8 reviews

ttumbletree's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

stargazer was a solid 4 ⭐️ read for me.

i was incredibly excited to start the book when i bought it on a whim in a bookstore after seeing it amidst the secret history, if we were villains, bunny and all the other dark academia favorites.
and in many ways it lived up to my expectations.
i have to say it wasn’t quite as addicting for me as i expected it to me. i didn’t mind putting it down for a couple of days and reading something else in between, but in some ways that might have helped my reading experience… i have learned from past mistakes and maybe it’s okay to not binge read certain books… and it probably helped my mental state to not binge the downward spiral that is happening in the book.

the story is dark, and enticing, and intoxicating in many ways. i loved the setting and the dark spiral that you can see from the beginning (or at least i could)
the twists of the story didn’t quite surprise me, simply because i already associated the book with the dark academia aesthetic, but i didn’t mind that either. it made it all the more heartaching to watch the characters drag each other down and to watch every twist and turn lead them to a darker place. 

all in all it’s a wonderfully solid 4⭐️ read and i’m sure i’ll reread it within the next couple years

also: i very much enjoyed all the small pop culture tidbits, the 90s setting and the anne of green gables references :)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Abortion, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

carlytenille's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Abortion, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

heatherwardlaw's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Grief, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Gore, Blood, and Abortion

amaya_jam's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.75

don’t do drugs kids!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, Murder, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Emotional abuse

bethany_grace's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

maybe they're just gay...

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Sexual content, Vomit, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Moderate: Abortion and Abandonment

whiston01's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Unlike any other 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Grief, Abortion, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Alcohol

anniefwrites's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

This book is like a creeping vine that wraps its way slowly around you until you realize you’re trapped. It’s a deeply unsettling story of two girls who form a toxic friendship, twisted in on itself by fame, ambition, and desire. Even though I feel like I saw some things coming, it still made my heart pound. Chilling in a good way. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Abortion, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Moderate: Sexual content, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Cursing and Injury/Injury detail

drowning

kgeogheghan's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

A dark, character-driven tale of friendship and fame, of pushing to get what you want, even when it means hurting people in the process of achieving your goals. 

I found this story a little repetitive. I realise it was trying to build the strong feelings and relationships throughout, and teach the author of the motivations behind the actions, but I just felt it was really hammered home in places. I enjoyed the second half much more than the first.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, and Toxic friendship