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voldycat's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Violence, Medical content, and Death of parent
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Terminal illness
Minor: Sexual content
arlorees's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
I've not found two characters this annoying in a long time. I'm not sure if it was the writing, the voice over, or a mix of both but somehow the tone of the whole book just felt insufferable. Nobody can be that earnest and wistful for 24 hours straight. The voices of the two main characters were just too sincere all the way through for me to enjoy this.
Also, the author seems to have forgotten what "show don't tell" means. Never heard more monologues in my life - "I am feeling this way because my parents died and I don't want more people to die and I am sad now and I want to do this." It's a boring way to write and I ended up rolling my eyes often when listening to the characters drone on.
I would not recommend this book. The original was much better, and I didn't even love that one. There's not much that is too different about this story to the original (still two boys who find each other and at least one is a decker and surprise surprise they fall in love by the end ).
Save your time, find another book.
Also, the author seems to have forgotten what "show don't tell" means. Never heard more monologues in my life - "I am feeling this way because my parents died and I don't want more people to die and I am sad now and I want to do this." It's a boring way to write and I ended up rolling my eyes often when listening to the characters drone on.
I would not recommend this book. The original was much better, and I didn't even love that one. There's not much that is too different about this story to the original (still two boys who find each other and at least one is a decker and surprise surprise
Save your time, find another book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Homophobia, Terminal illness, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, and Abandonment
azileotulp's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
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? No
4.25
Of course I choose to finish this book on the first day of Pride Month. What a way to celebrate.
Anyway... wow. This book wrecked me. I knew it would, just like the first one did, but my goodness. I'll just start off with the things I liked... which was basically everything? I think the biggest criticisms I've seen for this book and the first one are that there's no plot to them, which has never bothered me. I love a character-driven book, especially when the characters are as great as these. Valentino and Orion are adorable and work great together. I loved their dynamic.
I loved all the connections to the previous book too. I tried to find a list of all of them, but sadly haven't been able to. I did keep the first book near me at all times while reading this one just so I could try to find them.The Rufus and Mateo bits DESTROYED me. I had to set the book down every time I saw one of their names show up. When Mateo almost talked to Rufus at the park but then didn't get to? Yeah, that killed me.
I liked a lot of the side stories too.I didn't initially like how much time was spent on the Frankie, Gloria, and Rolando storyline at first, but after seeing that it's actually what led to Valentino's death, it all makes sense. I can't wait for Frankie to rot <3. I also enjoyed Joaquin's story for the most part, but I'm so frustrated that we didn't really figure out any secrets about how Death Cast works??? I didn't mind it at all in the first book because I didn't think it would make sense for us to know with the point of views we were given. In this book, however, it kept feeling like Joaquin, as the literal creator of Death Cast, was about to talk about some of the secrets, but then just doesn't. I hope that if we get his perspective in the next book, that's where we'll finally discover some things.
Even though that was an issue for me, it didn't really take away from my enjoyment too much. There were, however, two things that prevented this book from being perfect. One, the slang. Oh my goodness, I had the same problem in the first book too. I don't know if it's just really bad at first and gradually gets better throughout the book, or if I just got so used to it from how often it was used in the beginning. Don't get me wrong, I don't hate slang in books, but I do hate it in this book. At times, it feels like it was written by a 60-year-old trying to be hip and trendy, even though the actual author is pretty young. Really, that's my biggest problem with the book. I cringed far too often reading some of this. The only other thing I didn't enjoy was the slow start. When I read the first book, I was instantly attached to Mateo, seeing a lot of myself in him, and Rufus grew on me fairly quickly. While reading this book, I don't think I truly cared for Valentino or Orion that much until I was almost halfway through the book. I can't really explain why didn't work for me at first, but they just didn't.
Even though I have my issues, I still can't say how much I enjoyed this book. I don't think I'll ever be okay again, but I said the same thing after I read the first book. (Yes, I keep bringing up the first book, but cut me some slack. I'm still mourning.) If you're looking for a book with a grand plot and adventure, this isn't for you. But if you want to see some gays fall in love before tragedy strikes (not a spoiler, you read the title), then you've come to the right place.
Anyway... wow. This book wrecked me. I knew it would, just like the first one did, but my goodness. I'll just start off with the things I liked... which was basically everything? I think the biggest criticisms I've seen for this book and the first one are that there's no plot to them, which has never bothered me. I love a character-driven book, especially when the characters are as great as these. Valentino and Orion are adorable and work great together. I loved their dynamic.
I loved all the connections to the previous book too. I tried to find a list of all of them, but sadly haven't been able to. I did keep the first book near me at all times while reading this one just so I could try to find them.
I liked a lot of the side stories too.
Even though that was an issue for me, it didn't really take away from my enjoyment too much. There were, however, two things that prevented this book from being perfect. One, the slang. Oh my goodness, I had the same problem in the first book too. I don't know if it's just really bad at first and gradually gets better throughout the book, or if I just got so used to it from how often it was used in the beginning. Don't get me wrong, I don't hate slang in books, but I do hate it in this book. At times, it feels like it was written by a 60-year-old trying to be hip and trendy, even though the actual author is pretty young. Really, that's my biggest problem with the book. I cringed far too often reading some of this. The only other thing I didn't enjoy was the slow start. When I read the first book, I was instantly attached to Mateo, seeing a lot of myself in him, and Rufus grew on me fairly quickly. While reading this book, I don't think I truly cared for Valentino or Orion that much until I was almost halfway through the book. I can't really explain why didn't work for me at first, but they just didn't.
Even though I have my issues, I still can't say how much I enjoyed this book. I don't think I'll ever be okay again, but I said the same thing after I read the first book. (Yes, I keep bringing up the first book, but cut me some slack. I'm still mourning.) If you're looking for a book with a grand plot and adventure, this isn't for you. But if you want to see some gays fall in love before tragedy strikes (not a spoiler, you read the title), then you've come to the right place.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Mass/school shootings, Car accident, and Death of parent
Minor: Child abuse, Infidelity, Sexual content, Suicide, and Alcohol
- Both of Orion's parents died in the 9/11 attacks. This is mentioned frequently.starstrays's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Terminal illness and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Gun violence, Homophobia, and Violence
asipior's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Grief, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
fpcat99's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-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? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
clovetra's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
let's not talk about how long it took me to finish this ok
now i will start this off by saying out of the two currently published books in the death-cast series, this one is the best. ill be real tho and say its not by much.
ill say that i find silvera's writing style a bit... repetitive? not saying its shit because it very much is not shit!! its just not something i prefer
like every so often an inspirational phrase like "im going to live my life, even if i die" or some shit is said and i want to put the book down from annoyance.
help this sounds so mean I DONT MEAN IT TO ðŸ˜
i will say orion & valentino are cute, and the added suspense surrounding the validity of death-cast is a nice added feature! i found with the other book in this series, i did not find myself experiencing any tension because you knew the main characters were going to die. i liked the added concern regarding if death-cast is legit or not! i mean it kind of was in vain and i knew that deep down but its fine i was delulu.
what else? most characters felt shallow to me, but i will say i did love love love gloria's story. valentino & orion i was a bit meh on.... but i liked seeing joaquin as well.
i don't know i think im not the target audience for this book. and that's ok! not every book is made for every reader! i held out hope that me not liking [book:They Both Die at the End|33385229] was isolated to that story and my feelings didn't extend to silvera's other stories, but sadly it did :(
i could see myself reading the third instalment of this series, but other than that sadly i don't think i'd enjoy his other works. to me, they read quite surface level, are repetitive & i find the tone and pacing quite uncomfortable. for me.
i hate writing negative reviews
now i will start this off by saying out of the two currently published books in the death-cast series, this one is the best. ill be real tho and say its not by much.
ill say that i find silvera's writing style a bit... repetitive? not saying its shit because it very much is not shit!! its just not something i prefer
like every so often an inspirational phrase like "im going to live my life, even if i die" or some shit is said and i want to put the book down from annoyance.
help this sounds so mean I DONT MEAN IT TO ðŸ˜
i will say orion & valentino are cute, and the added suspense surrounding the validity of death-cast is a nice added feature! i found with the other book in this series, i did not find myself experiencing any tension because you knew the main characters were going to die. i liked the added concern regarding if death-cast is legit or not! i mean it kind of was in vain and i knew that deep down but its fine i was delulu.
what else? most characters felt shallow to me, but i will say i did love love love gloria's story. valentino & orion i was a bit meh on.... but i liked seeing joaquin as well.
i don't know i think im not the target audience for this book. and that's ok! not every book is made for every reader! i held out hope that me not liking [book:They Both Die at the End|33385229] was isolated to that story and my feelings didn't extend to silvera's other stories, but sadly it did :(
i could see myself reading the third instalment of this series, but other than that sadly i don't think i'd enjoy his other works. to me, they read quite surface level, are repetitive & i find the tone and pacing quite uncomfortable. for me.
i hate writing negative reviews
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Terminal illness, Violence, Medical content, and Murder
Moderate: Homophobia, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Blood
bbelitz's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Homophobia, Terminal illness, Grief, and Death of parent
armstmad's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gun violence, Terminal illness, and Death of parent
harrietta_xx's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, and Death of parent
Moderate: Homophobia and Terminal illness