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riverofhorton's review against another edition
The final straw for me was getting jumpscared by an utterly needless homophobic slur (as it was until very recently) less than 100 pages in. Given the 'past' parts of the book are set in the 60s, 70s, and 80s, I could have deal with some casual prejudice, so as the world was at that time, especially if it were there to make a point and/or portray that character as being a negative person. But these prejudices are not only blatant, but could have been removed from the story without it losing anything.
And there is also the moral weirdness surrounding the relationship between itself. From Claire's perspective, she first met Henry at the age of ~5 years old, when he was in his 40s. He visited her regularly growing up, even waiting for her to turn 18 so he could have sex with her on her birthday. Sounds creepy, right? From his perspective though, he first her in his late 20s, her being early 20s, and the relationship proceeded somewhat normally to begin with, only a couple of mentions of how long she has known a future version of him. It's just kind of a mess, and considering he could time travel as a child as well, I don't quite understand why he couldn't have been a child of a similar age, or even have the whole thing contain within their respective adulthoods.
It's such a shame, the basic premise of two people falling in love out of sync because of time travel has the potential to be incredible, but this was just a disappointment. It's the first book I've ever DNFed, and it saddens me that it's a Sci-Fi book (one of my favourite genres) that can claim that title.
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Abortion, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
valeria_balzan's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I feel like the author had great opportunities to push the limits of time travelling and how it can impact a person's Henry's life but he is just boring and hates this ability.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Death, Infertility, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Blood and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Minor: Mental illness and Abandonment
passionatereader78's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This is Henry and Claire's beautifully complicated love story!
Graphic: Alcoholism, Infertility, Sexual content, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Abandonment
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Self harm, Toxic relationship, and Alcohol
val_theburrowofstories's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Cancer, Death, Gun violence, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Suicide, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
lizzye33's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Death, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Alcoholism, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Police brutality, Car accident, Murder, and Alcohol
potsnpots'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
3.5
Graphic: Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Alcoholism
Minor: Death, Drug use, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, and Death of parent
cloudbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The good:
The concept of time travel as a condition rather than a power was really, really interesting.
Getting to know the two main characters was such a big part of the experience!
I absolutely loved Alba. I think this story would have been better had it followed her.
The bad:
When you think about it, the characters grow more and more flat. They have characteristics and interests but not really personalities. Outside of Henry, we're never told what Clare is like. Her whole existence is to love him and to want him.
Henry is a bit more fledged out. He has interests beyond Clare and a work life as well. But if he didn't have time travel as a condition, he'd be a rather boring character.
Their relationships to other people are built around experiences we're not told about. Henry's best friend dislikes him the first time he meets him, then carries on being his best friend afterwards for no apparent reason. The same for Henry's father. We're never told how he makes it out of his grief, let alone how Henry manages to repair his relationship to him.
The book, in the end, seems to try to handle too many issues at once which prevents it from going into detail about anything. I'd have loved to hear more about Henry's genetic disease, about Clare's relationship to her mother, about Alba's childhood. Instead we get excessive descriptions of music, art and books that somehow define the characters but don't give much in terms of who they are and what their life is like.
I'm glad I listened to it. I probably won't read it again though.
Graphic: Death, Miscarriage, Sexual content, and Car accident
Moderate: Cursing, Terminal illness, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
taylormadespines's review against another edition
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body horror, Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting
flowers_and_cows's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child death, Miscarriage, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Drug abuse, Suicide, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent
fishgulper'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
3.0
Graphic: Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Alcohol