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uranaishi's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Graphic: Terminal illness
Moderate: Bullying, Death, Sexual content, Suicide, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, and Alcohol
Minor: Addiction, Child death, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Racism, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Police brutality, Stalking, Abandonment, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic
jillaay_h's review
- 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? No
3.0
Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Cancer, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Racism, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism
bcope84'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? No
4.5
Graphic: Cancer, Death, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racism, Sexual content, Suicide, Terminal illness, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Classism
mcstressy's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
2.75
However, this book was not for me. I love magical realism, I do, but this one kept trying to toe the line of both being and not being magical realism throughout the entire book. I was far more interested in the Harlem Renaissance chapters than I was anything with Ricki (sorry). Or even Della! I would have loved this to be a look through Della's life. I just really struggled with Ricki and Ricki's schticky family.
Also, this book doesn't get into the real meat of the magical realism until around 60% of the way through. It leaves you wondering what is going on as if there is going to be a big payoff - and there really never is. The exposition of what's going on feels a bit underdeveloped and underwhelming. And why were they so drawn to each other? Maybe I just too much of a skeptic to really 'get' the Fated Mates trope, but I could not suspend my disbelief that they were a perfect match. What did they even have in common?
This book left me pretty frustrated throughout the majority of it and that's disappointing, to say the least.
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Cursing, Death, and Suicide
Minor: Emotional abuse
libellumartinae's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
All in all, it isn't a bad book and I do love the fact that it focused on both love as romantic and as platonic and familial (albeit I couldn't help but feel a bit meh about it, especially as it was a bit confusing considering this had been sold to me as a romance book, but instead if felt more like fiction), I just think that it isn't the best of the author, although it was an enjoyable read!
Thank you for it!
Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicide, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Minor: Child death, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Medical trauma, and Classism
alexisgarcia'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
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Racism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
enneirda07'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? No
4.0
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Racism, and Terminal illness
Minor: Addiction
peachmoni's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Cancer, Hate crime, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Racism, Sexual content, Suicide, Terminal illness, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Classism
Minor: Addiction, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Abandonment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
marena02'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
Graphic: Addiction, Cancer, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Self harm, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
massivepizzacrust's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
I did find the characters a little less fleshed out than they were in Seven Days in June. Both books deal with extremely harrowing racism, but I felt like we got more insight into the inner lives of Eva and Shane. Maybe just because we didn't actually spend that much time with young Ezra - I would have loved to spend more time there and I did not see the twist coming.
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Hate crime, and Racism
Moderate: Death, Drug abuse, and Suicide