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natashareadsbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Minor: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
spatterson7's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Moderate: Confinement, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Medical content, and Murder
madi_reads13's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Dysphoria, War, Injury/Injury detail, Deportation, and Pandemic/Epidemic
kate_14739's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Gun violence and Violence
Moderate: Death
Minor: Child abuse and Suicidal thoughts
evarinya's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
It was a quick read - I managed to get through the book with surprising speed, it never felt like it dragged too much or got boring, which was very refreshing after just having read a bunch of books that just felt "too long".
Also the plot itself was... fine? Not too much yet, clearly setting up something bigger, but... it does make me want to read more!
And (spoilers for the last few chapters)
The Bad:
Some actions felt a bit contrived, like how there always seemed to miraculously be something around Juliette that would help her solve her current issue.
Also - but that's a very personal thing for me - I just don't like dystopian settings too much. Especially those that (spoiler for the last few chapters)
The Ugly:
I, for the love of anything, cannot understand how people hype up Warner that much. I know that there probably will be something up with him in later books, but in this book? He's just a horrible human being. With some depth, sure, and probably his own family trauma, but... That doesn't mean he should get a free pass as to how he constantly manipulated Juliette to turn into what he believes/wants her to be!
And that she partly even accepts this already just because he's good-looking and she sometimes feels sorry for him - just to then in the next paragraph be absolutely disgusted by him again... I don't know. Doesn't really make me want to root for them at all, so far.
I worry how this will turn out in the later books, as a proper redemption arc is really difficult to pull off, but I'm willing to at least check out the next book to see how things will develop.
And again, I didn't hate this book, not by a long shot - I just, perhaps, expected something a little different based on what I have seen fans of this series discuss online... But oh well. I'll see how it goes.
Graphic: Confinement, Gun violence, and Murder
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Forced institutionalization, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child abuse, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexual harassment
thelaurajay's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, and Kidnapping
praise_yhwh's review against another edition
4.75
Romance was a little too fast paced for my liking, but it worked well in allowing a softer side of the characters to shine in this dark and dingy world.
FMC got borderline sexually assaulted tho. Js a warning for people like me who are sensitive to those things. (I skipped that section and there’s nothing wrong with you skipping that part too!)
Moderate: Mental illness, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Stalking
mckinzie6242010's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Police brutality, Suicide attempt, War, and Injury/Injury detail
spicycronereads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
The writing takes some getting used to as there is an interesting narrative convention where a lot of text is crossed out. It kind of seems like you’re reading her notebook, but not all the time. Sometimes it just seems like her thought process is impacted by all of the trauma she’s been through. The characters are sweet together, even if the Insta love is not my favorite thing. This is a YA book so, as to be expected, it’s not really spicy. There’s a little bit of kissing and lots of swooniness. 💖💖💖
Going in, I knew it was the first in a rather long series. So I wasn’t really surprised when it ended at a point where things were just getting started. In fact, the digital copy of the book includes a novella about one of the other characters and the actual book itself is only 75% of the kindle file.
Interestingly, you get really far into the book before Juliette is ever described. There’s a compelling narrative reason for this, but the descriptions of other characters are also pretty thin. So from a diversity perspective, there’s lots of wiggle room for you to impose your own vision. But for readers who default to imagining white characters it means this will end up not seeming very diverse. There’s one person who has a clearly Japanese name and another person with dreadlocks, but whose skin tone is never described.
Overall, the book kept me entertained. I will likely read the next one in the series but I don’t feel compelled to rush out and download it right away. ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 / 💖💖💖
Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, Gaslighting, and War
Moderate: Confinement, Forced institutionalization, and Abandonment
Minor: Child death, Suicidal thoughts, and Torture
kalyn_c'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? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Confinement, Gun violence, and Violence
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, and Blood
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Torture