kaziaroo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
But then Henry appeared. I honestly think I would have enjoyed the book more if I'd just skipped Henry's chapters. The story would have mostly made sense without them and I would have those hours of my life back. Although I related to some of his struggles with choosing his career path and specialism, and his situation is also sad, Henry's chapters were just boring. He mopes around all day and whenever he feels a little worse he just downs a mixture of drugs with gay abandon and no consequences the next day. His and Addie's "love" was totally unconvincing; compared to the other lovers we see her meet, Henry is by far the most dull and she only likes him so much because he remembers her. She becomes the only interesting thing about him.
I wish the book had either explored the world and history a bit more or been a couple of hundred pages shorter. I had no interest in watching Addie and Henry having nice days out and going to endless bars and clubs, or sleeping with everyone they meet. The flowery writing desperately tried to make me fall in love with the characters and settings, but it was all style over substance. My overall feeling about this book is disappointment after the hype.
I would recommend this to fans of Matt Haig's "How to Stop Time" and who want nice, deep-sounding quotes to put in their Instagram captions.
TL;DR: it was well executed for what it was but the writing was flowery, the male lead boring, the female lead unadventurous, and there was too much sex, drugs and rock & roll for my tastes.
Graphic: Mental illness, Death of parent, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Drug use, Alcohol, Death, and Sexual content
Moderate: Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, and Stalking
Minor: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Torture, Violence, Infidelity, War, and Vomit
drtx_bwt's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail and Death
Moderate: Terminal illness and War
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Biphobia, and Infidelity
sefab764's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Moderate: Addiction and Alcoholism
Minor: Blood, Chronic illness, Classism, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, Death, Suicidal thoughts, War, Death of parent, Drug use, Drug abuse, and Grief
atalea's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Minor: Suicide attempt, Infidelity, Drug use, Alcoholism, and Addiction