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aseel_reads'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
4.5
Moderate: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
jesswho'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
4.5
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Eating disorder, Gun violence, Mental illness, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
_pauline's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
'Where are you going?'
'My therapist's being tried for murder, and I have to be fired by the Conclave!'
'What?'
'I have to be somewhere! I'll call you!'
time travel x murder mystery x mental health x wlw subplot
I‘m not entirely sure how I feel about this book but it’s an interesting concept, different than I expected (not in a bad way) & mysterious
Graphic: Death and Self harm
Moderate: Body horror, Eating disorder, Mental illness, and Grief
Minor: Cancer, Vomit, and Suicide attempt
forestfloor's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
The plot and world building are what really won me over: a time travel plot with multiple timelines and character perspectives is had to keep all together and yet this book had a strong plot concept which it executed really well. It's a really original take on time travel as well. It focuses less on the impacts of the alternative technology, culture and aesthetic etc. of different time periods on the characters, and does away with common tropes around paradoxes. Instead, you're left with a fascinating look into the culture and mental state time travellers acquire simply by being time travellers.
Where the book lost me a little bit is in characterisation - the characters were really well developed as far as their motivations and personality were relevant to the plot, but not outside of this. That missing layer of enriching but not necessarily relevant description would have let them feel more like fully developed people.
First, I think that wrapping up the story with Ginger and her husband was missing, because we left them on a very tense note.
Second, while Ruby is by no means painted as an aggressor, she is considered to be Margret's murderer. I feel that actually, Angharad holds that position, and I think that the discovery of this was missing, or not quite concrete enough, in the book.
Graphic: Mental illness and Murder
Minor: Racism
bookwyrm242's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Chronic illness, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Racism, Self harm, Suicide, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Suicide attempt, and Colonisation
Minor: Bullying and Cursing
sulaasg's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
The female centric narrative was delightful, and the idea that an innovation by four women would create a female centric work force.
My only issue, and this might be because I read the book in two days on my holiday while occasionally hungover, but I ended up fucking back and forth to confirm if a character was someone we'd already met or not.
I've started wondering if the story would feel changed if read in chronological order, and I'm tempted to come back to the book in a few months and give it a try.
Graphic: Blood and Grief
Moderate: Ableism, Gun violence, and Mental illness
Minor: Sexual harassment
britharrington's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Mental illness and Violence
kitrook's review against another edition
4.5
1. The main romance felt SO out of the blue. I don't care that it didn't feel terribly romantic as yes- it is an atypical relationship, but there was no significant build up for anything that happened which lead to me feeling no emotional connection to that plot
2. I feel as if the story could have been wrapped up a bit better. I fear Ginger didn't get a proper ending, and the end felt imperfect.
With that out of the way, here are the things I loved
- The idea of this book. The title speaks to what it is: the trials and tribulations of time travel on mental health. Such an interesting concept I haven't seen done before and I really enjoyed how it was interwoven with mystery.
- The interweaving of all the stories is so so so! interesting! Many unpredictable moments of revelation that make you want to keep going deeper into the book
- There are quite a few characters in this book, but I never once felt confused about who was who, as I often do in books with many characters. It's not confusing, which is something a lot of authors fail hard at doing.
- No one ever questions the women in this book for doing what they do based on their gender, their roles in science, or their roles in power. It's just not there in the book. It's refreshing.
- Lesbian calls herself a lesbian. Nice!
- The way time travel works here is fabulous. Theres no hang ups on paradoxes, such as the baby hitler paradox/grandfather paradox which was definitely the right choice as any hang ups on that would have taken away from the novel, in my opinion. I liked that it was just a norm to time travel, and the fact that you could not change the future or past no matter how hard you tried, as it was all pre-determined. The way people would walk around at certain ages certainly bends your brain when you think about it at first, but in the end its a relatively easy concept for the reader to grasp. 10/10 time travel universe rules
Graphic: Gun violence, Mental illness, and Murder
Moderate: Infidelity and Death of parent
Minor: Eating disorder and Self harm
daniellekat's review against another edition
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, and Blood
Minor: Racism
saliwali's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail