shadowspinner's review
- 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: Violence, Chronic illness, and Blood
Moderate: Alcoholism and Animal death
wends_nblw's review
- 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
4.0
I only picked this up because I saw : two guys that I thought could be lovers, one of them nerdy, the other a poc. And my poc gay ass thought "perfect!!!" so I knew absolutely nothing else about this book. I didn't go in looking for good rep or anything so luckily, I wasn't disappointed like the reviewers I've seen.
I can't speak to the autoimmune rep, as I am not and I would recommend reading reviews from those who are.
Aside from that, I enjoyed the story. I liked the whole two troubled guys falling in love because they're both kind of idiots. I was very pleasantly surprised to see Eli was trans since I hadn't known that going in. [unlike some reviews, i found this to be quite endearing, as i enjoy when characters are just trans for the sake of being trans.]
I did not like Biff or Marcia; and I honestly just really, really hate how Biff was handled. The ending was rushed. It's discouraging that Eli really got the short end of the stick even at the ending.
Spoiler
[like tony gets a mini dad moment but eli can't have his mini mom moment??? why????]All in all, it was good. Just don't go looking for good rep.
Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Animal death, Chronic illness, Body horror, Medical content, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Gun violence and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Homophobia
meecespieces'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: Ableism and Bullying
Moderate: Alcoholism
o__o's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Medical content, Bullying, and Violence
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Blood, and Animal death
sydneyj's review against another edition
Graphic: Chronic illness, Ableism, and Bullying
Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Gore, Gun violence, Medical content, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Minor: Alcoholism and Alcohol
betweentheshelves'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
3.0
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Graphic: Alcoholism, Ableism, and Bullying
Moderate: Animal death, Chronic illness, and Gun violence
Minor: Animal cruelty, Body horror, and Homophobia
melaniereadsbooks's review
- 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
4.25
In the town of Blackwater, Tony is a popular track star with a crush on the quiet, nerdy Eli. But something is happening in the woods, and Eli might know what it is.
So, weirdly enough, the netgalley arc of this that I got only had half the book? Either that or it didn't download properly. So I read the e-arc and thought...what a terrible ending! It felt like it was the middle of the story. I was so disappointed because I felt like it had so much potential...Then, the publisher sent me a finished copy and I was like, "wow, this sure is bigger than it seemed." Cue me realizing I had only read half the book. So I read the second half, and my disappointment went away because this was fabulous!
Creepy and cute--I love the budding relationship between confident Tony and shy Eli. I love the chronic illness rep with Tony's asthma and Eli's autoimmune disease. I love the character development that happened in this book! The plot was interesting and I liked how it turned out. I wish the werewolf aspects had been developed a little more, but I did like that part overall!
The characters are really what made this book stand out to me!
Graphic: Alcoholism, Ableism, Animal death, and Bullying
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Chronic illness
Minor: Animal cruelty, Homophobia, and Body horror
readwithasherreid's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Alcoholism
Moderate: Gun violence and Bullying
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Homophobia, and Ableism