Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

Wenn aus Funken Flammen werden by Abby Jimenez

6 reviews

emilymartin210's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

2.0

This was my first experience with Abby Jimenez, and I'm going to need someone to convince me to try more of her books because this one was not it. It was well-written, but the plot and characters were truly not enjoyable at all. Had I not been listening to this on a road trip, I would have probably DNF'd.

First of all, the two main characters are truly insufferable. Kristen is not like other girls because she *checks notes* wears sweatpants, likes a taco truck in Skid Row, and speaks her mind in a way that is borderline insulting. Josh is not like other guys because he has six sisters and will go buy tampons at the store. 

Moving on. Their relationship starts with infidelity. The author and the characters seem to excuse that because they don't hook up until 30 seconds after Kristen ends her two-year relationship, but emotional cheating is cheating!!! When you're avoiding your military boyfriend's calls to spend the night with a guy you just met, I'm going to say that's infidelity. 

Beyond that, this book felt stuffed with plot details that never truly paid off. It felt disjointed and weirdly paced at times, which I think is due to the

shocking, out-of-the-blue, unnecessary death of Brandon

at the end. The miscommunication between Kristen and Josh should have been solved earlier, but it had to wait until the very end in order to squeeze in a few random, unearned plot twists.

Someone please convince me to give her another try. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Infertility

Minor: Gun violence and Infidelity

annarbpollock's review against another edition

I didn't appreciate the "pick-me" MC female, the mention about her weight, or the usage of guns to show protection by the MC male. I believe others would enjoy this, but to me it felt forced and quite judgemental.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Fatphobia and Gun violence

nicolewithbooks's review against another edition

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infertility

Moderate: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Blood, Car accident, and Alcohol

Minor: Gun violence, Miscarriage, Violence, Death of parent, and War

Ocd, breakup

annahamburger's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful sad medium-paced

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

5.0

This book deals with heavy topics and I highly recommend checking the content warnings. 

That being said I do feel the topics of infertility, mental illness, toxic parent child relationships, death, and grief were dealt with and presented gracefully, yet raw. 

Infertility is discussed frequently and in detail with a variety of emotions and projected outcomes in this story. 

I really enjoyed this book, and the writing was visceral and raw. Kristen was layered and real. 

I wish Josh had had more layers to him, as his POV helped flesh out Kristen more than himself. 

A thing I could have gone without was Josh's inner thoughts regarding Kristen as "not like other girls" and "cool and probably dated a college guy in high school".

I wish we could have spent more time in the "after" portion of the couples lives. I am hopeful to get glimpses of it in the sequels. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Infertility, Mental illness, Medical content, Grief, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Chronic illness, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Blood, Car accident, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Gun violence, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Medical content, and Alcohol

elisabethmnc's review against another edition

emotional sad

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

2.0

I haaaaaaaaaate stories where all the drama comes from bad communication. Also, I don’t know why this read like it was aimed at Republicans but there were a lot of cringey gender stereotypes and guns?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Chronic illness, Death, Infertility, Medical content, Medical trauma, Car accident, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Gun violence, Stalking, and War

Minor: Blood and Alcohol

angelareads's review against another edition

emotional 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

3.5

I have the same problem with this book as I did The Happy Ever After Playlist. The back half is just too long. The misery is too dragged out. I thoroughly enjoyed the first half, though. Sigh. I'm holding out hope the next book with have a little bit better pacing. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Infertility, Infidelity, Medical trauma, and Car accident

Moderate: Mental illness, Sexual content, Blood, and Stalking

Minor: Eating disorder, Gun violence, and Miscarriage

a character does in a motorcycle accident