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curlqueenreads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This is my second book by this author and I loved it! The topics Ashley chooses to write about are always so relevant. She makes me feel like I’m in high school again. You don’t always get the happy ending you want but you always manage to find closure. It reminds you that life doesn’t always go the way you planned.
The story is told through a series of journal entries from one of the girls point of view. You can tell from the beginning that their love story will not receive a happy ending. It doesn’t matter how much they love each other or how great they could be together. They were both too broken at the time. They spent so much time trying to fix each other that they neglected themselves. Even though they loved each other they brought out the worst in each other. It wasn’t surprising that they had an obsession with fire. Their relationship was very similar to fire in how bright and dangerous it is.
“I was growing tired of having the same fights. I was growing tired of you running away. I was growing tired of feeling like I wasn’t enough. I was growing tired. And you were too.”
I thought this was a beautiful story about how beautiful and toxic love can be sometimes. “Just because you love someone doesn’t mean you get to have them.” This realization can be devastating but sometimes you’re just not meant to be. Life eventually goes on and time heals all wounds. But at the time it can feel like the end of the world.
I can’t wait to read another book from this author ❤️
ardentbookcooks's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I have fallen in love with books told in verse, and this story in particular wrapped its way around my lungs until it's all I knew how to breathe.
court_of_stories's review against another edition
4.0
<b>NOTHING BURNS AS BRIGHT AS YOU</b>
review
"Nothing Burns as Bright as You" is written in a very unique and memorable kind of way - like a letter to the love interest. I actually had no expectations going into this, well except it being a sapphic story that is, and I think that is the best way to approach it and to be open to its message. That said, this story has given me so much, and I wasn't even aware I needed to hear these things.
<i>Tropes & themes:
- YA
- sapphic
- novel in verse
- first love
- self-acceptance
- heartbreak
- human complexity</i>
seekerxr's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
I always enjoy reading books in verse because it's such a treat to absolutely blaze through the whole thing in one sitting. The writing in this book was very raw and beautiful and I definitely collected a couple of quotes to look back on. I also think it represents that specific "codependent homoerotic friendship/relationship" experience that a lot of queer youth went through while growing up, which is basically a right of passage from what I've seen over the years while reading others experiences.
Overall though, this was a YA book written specifically for teenagers or people who just stopped being teenagers. Reading this as a 24 year old with some distance from my teenage years and the specific mindset and emotions tied up in that time period made it more difficult to relate to. This book would definitely hit harder for readers closer to that age range, but it was still a good read!
Overall though, this was a YA book written specifically for teenagers or people who just stopped being teenagers. Reading this as a 24 year old with some distance from my teenage years and the specific mindset and emotions tied up in that time period made it more difficult to relate to. This book would definitely hit harder for readers closer to that age range, but it was still a good read!
eilemeemelie's review
dark
emotional
inspiring
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
l888nightreader's review against another edition
4.0
this book…i mean i didn’t have many words other than “wow” and “oh my god” when i finished.
technically, this book is wonderfully written.
the author is greatly skilled at metaphors and adjectives for things we probably would never romanticize. she writes with such a way that it just pushes you back, you re-read the lines again and again because how could someone re-write metaphors we’ve all heard time and time again into something so fresh and new? she writes with such an appreciation for women and the female body that you just know she’s been here before, that we’re peeking into a part of her mind, maybe one she repressed. it’s that secret you held onto forever, but once aired, it feels vivid and lived-in. as a queer woman myself, i found myself in such awe, such amazement that someone could find the words to describe these characters, their interactions—sexual or not. it was so beautifully written and sexy and sweet and sad and heartbreaking and exciting and angering and everything all at once. what a talent it is to write like that. tens across the board for her writing, i cannot wait to read more of her work. she’s made a life long fan of me.
while i was reading, i found myself really not liking the main characters friend. i thought she was so pushy and off-putting and even mean at times. but after finishing the book, i realized she really wasn’t any of those things. she was probably just scared? she had someone willing to give her everything; purpose, endless love, protection, etc at such a young age (i’m assuming). that can be a lot for a young adult. it can feel suffocating (which she said) and it can push people apart. she wanted those things but not all at once, and maybe not all from one person. she’s very independent, but calls to her friend when she needs her emotionally or sexually. she knows the difference between those two things, whereas the main character did not.
the main character seemed to be the girl that wants it all, the one that grows up too fast on her own. she falls so fast, she puts everything into one thing, leaving her with nothing, which proved to be true in the end in how she reacted to their consequential break up. she has so much more to do, she has so much more life to live. i say this as a young 20 something, but looking back on my own hopeless romantics, i see myself in her a bit. i feel bad for her as i did myself when similar situations happened to me. you want to crawl into the book and hug her, tell her there’s so much to learn from this and there’s so much time left in the world. the world isn’t ending although it feels like it, right?
this book really felt like a back and forth between right person, wrong time or wrong person right time. were the two really meant for each other, just not right now, or was the timing perfect but the people mismatched?
technically, this book is wonderfully written.
the author is greatly skilled at metaphors and adjectives for things we probably would never romanticize. she writes with such a way that it just pushes you back, you re-read the lines again and again because how could someone re-write metaphors we’ve all heard time and time again into something so fresh and new? she writes with such an appreciation for women and the female body that you just know she’s been here before, that we’re peeking into a part of her mind, maybe one she repressed. it’s that secret you held onto forever, but once aired, it feels vivid and lived-in. as a queer woman myself, i found myself in such awe, such amazement that someone could find the words to describe these characters, their interactions—sexual or not. it was so beautifully written and sexy and sweet and sad and heartbreaking and exciting and angering and everything all at once. what a talent it is to write like that. tens across the board for her writing, i cannot wait to read more of her work. she’s made a life long fan of me.
while i was reading, i found myself really not liking the main characters friend. i thought she was so pushy and off-putting and even mean at times. but after finishing the book, i realized she really wasn’t any of those things. she was probably just scared? she had someone willing to give her everything; purpose, endless love, protection, etc at such a young age (i’m assuming). that can be a lot for a young adult. it can feel suffocating (which she said) and it can push people apart. she wanted those things but not all at once, and maybe not all from one person. she’s very independent, but calls to her friend when she needs her emotionally or sexually. she knows the difference between those two things, whereas the main character did not.
the main character seemed to be the girl that wants it all, the one that grows up too fast on her own. she falls so fast, she puts everything into one thing, leaving her with nothing, which proved to be true in the end in how she reacted to their consequential break up. she has so much more to do, she has so much more life to live. i say this as a young 20 something, but looking back on my own hopeless romantics, i see myself in her a bit. i feel bad for her as i did myself when similar situations happened to me. you want to crawl into the book and hug her, tell her there’s so much to learn from this and there’s so much time left in the world. the world isn’t ending although it feels like it, right?
this book really felt like a back and forth between right person, wrong time or wrong person right time. were the two really meant for each other, just not right now, or was the timing perfect but the people mismatched?
moniquewrites's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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
This book was both devastating and beautiful, watching the life of a friendship change in the course of a day. Seeing how friendship and love is messy and complicated, bliss and pain. It was lyrical and had beautifully illustrated metaphors, deep compassion for both characters (even though the story is mainly told through one POV), and a genuine understanding of how people can both be perfect together and also be the right kind of wrong for a particular place and time in life.
laiareadsashitton's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-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
4.0