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cardaisy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
My thoughts on this book are that I remain intrigued but wary. I'm trying not to be *too* nit-picky because this is a dark romance, but there are some things that just kinda rubbed me the wrong way
Nice to see some disabled representation, and that it's ownvoices as the author has talked about having chronic pain and fatigue, but the FMC definitely has some internalized ableism that's not really addressed
I think that the other representation also leaves a bit to be desired. Trent is basically just the stereotypical gay bff, with little else to his personality than being promiscuous and self-centred, and we get very little to make us believe that the FMC and him are actually best friends. There's another male character that's mentioned as being queer in passing and he's also described at one point as being very promiscuous, and also his former partner (a man) is notably dead. We also get 2 descriptions of non-white people (there could be more that haven't been described yet) and one of them is that notably dead man, while the other is being set up as an antagonist in the series. So, like I said, intrigued, but wary
I also think that the plot felt a little bit too dragged out, as this was mostly just set up for the next book and feels like it should've instead been the first act of a longer book. Also the FMC was just a bit too dense at times. But anyway I read this in one sitting, so it was an easy and enjoyable enough read
Graphic: Chronic illness, Gore, Self harm, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Confinement, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Minor: Alcoholism, Gun violence, Homophobia, Torture, and Death of parent
Self harm: there's a scene where the MMC has purposefully stabbed into his leg // Gun violence: there's a scene where the FMC pulls a gun on the MMC, but it never actually gets used // Ableism: the FMC has some internalized ableism and there's one point in particular where she states that her life is essentially worth less than her friend'schaptermaggot'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? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Chronic illness, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, and Abandonment
Minor: Cancer, Confinement, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Blood, Trafficking, and Alcohol
juf's review against another edition
But it is probably a very good book for someone else.
Graphic: Chronic illness
viktoriann'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? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Body horror, Chronic illness, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Blood, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Cursing, and Gore
pinkfloydian's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Chronic illness
grilledcheesd's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Confinement, Toxic relationship, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Chronic illness
bookish_dinkleberg's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.75
I also would have wished that the main character would have been a little more active, because she remains kind of passive throughout most of the book. Even at the climax, all these things happen TO her, but she doesn’t actually make an informed choice about anything. I found that a little frustrating.
The romance is kinda toxic but definitely interesting. The only thing I wanna say about that is that I hated the use of the madness trope to explain Simon’s behavior.
Despite some of the flaws, the concept is interesting enough to keep me invested and I’ll check out the next book in the series, too.
Graphic: Chronic illness and Toxic relationship
jjenkins's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
bi_n_large's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Chronic illness, Toxic relationship, and Blood
Moderate: Death, Fatphobia, and Murder
Minor: Sexual content
llsugarspicell's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Body horror, Chronic illness, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail