Reviews tagging 'Medical trauma'

The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston

10 reviews

supermormongirl's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense medium-paced

• 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

One of the best books I’ve ever read- excellent plot twists, charming setting, strong characters, incredible main characters with amazing witty banter, LGBT+ representation (supporting characters), iconic Bestiehood, insightful, inspiring, heartbreaking, and hopeful all at once! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Mental illness, and Grief

Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Medical content, Sexual content, Violence, Grief, Cursing, Misogyny, and Murder

mi_chlo's review

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Car accident, Death, Grief, and Death of parent

Minor: Alcohol, Bullying, Cursing, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

h4ppycupcake's review

dark funny hopeful mysterious sad 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

4.0

A sweet book that looks a little closer at death and how it fits into our lives. The romance was quirky in a charming way, once it got off the ground. Initially the interaction between the two main characters didn’t make a ton of sense to me (kissing for no reason in an alley???) but once the FMC went to her hometown the relationship made much more sense. Overall I liked it a lot. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Medical trauma, Death, and Grief

Moderate: Alcohol, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Bullying, Car accident, Emotional abuse, and Sexual content

akswhy's review against another edition

emotional funny mysterious 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? Yes

3.0

I may have done a disservice to this book by reading so soon after Book Lovers, because the grumpy-city-girl-who-works-in-publishing-goes-to-small-town thing rings a little old. I like the supernatural element, so I wish that was explained a little earlier. Also it’s so obviously a re-tooled Reylo fanfiction that I am shocked it was published as-is.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Death of parent, Medical trauma, Medical content, and Car accident

pinkfloydian's review

emotional lighthearted slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Death, and Grief

Moderate: Chronic illness, Toxic relationship, and Gaslighting

Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, and Bullying

thatswhatshanread's review

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad medium-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? It's complicated

4.25

A very sweet and—despite being about ghosts—realistic look at loss, love, and life events. This isn’t strictly a romance, but the romance found within the pages is tender and charming and at times, a little sad and a little bleak. But that’s what makes it feel so real. The writing reminded me of Beth O’Leary meets Sally Thorne. 

In a word, this story was unexpected. I was expecting more of a cute paranormal romance, but that’s not really what it was. I was expecting it to go in many different directions than it did. In the end, I really loved where it went. 

I would also say this book is like (the family drama of) The Haunting of Hill House mixed with a touch of Sixth Sense meets Ghosts (UK version all the way) with a little Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist and Just Like Heaven and Six Feet Under. If that gives you any idea at all of the genres this novel encompasses. In other words, a great book for the season that isn’t scary!

AND great LGBTQ+ rep in this one!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Car accident, Chronic illness, Gaslighting, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Abandonment, Blood, Cancer, Alcohol, Drug use, Gore, Bullying, and Domestic abuse

threeundertwopnw's review

emotional funny reflective fast-paced

• 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

I wept, I screamed. An impossible romance that is unexpectedly profound. A beautiful story that helped me with issues around death and grief. Highly recommended. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Bullying, Car accident, Child death, Grief, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Emotional abuse

imstephtacular's review

adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol and Grief

Moderate: Death of parent, Bullying, Mental illness, Death, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Pregnancy, Car accident, Medical content, Murder, Toxic relationship, Child death, Cursing, Medical trauma, Vomit, Eating disorder, and Violence

kfmcf's review

emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

• 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

4.0

This book was a solid read overall. It was quick and enjoyable. I liked the premise, I liked the characters, it was a good time. 

I really liked the town of this story. I understood the people, it felt like a real town but with a little extra magic. Florence's family was also fun and the dynamics were enjoyable

her never seeing her dad as a ghost was the correct choice. It would have been really hard to pull off well so I think her seeing the ghost of him in what he left behind was far more effective </spoiler >

I was frustrated by a few things:
1) the twist.

this twist was not hard to see and that's fine, it doesn't need to be mind blowing. But obviously Ben was in a coma. I wish Florence had known and was working with him to wake up instead. It could have still worked without Ben knowing he wasn't dead. The twist about her being a literal ghostwriter tho was fun.

2) Ben was unbelievable as a real guy. He felt very much like a geeky girl's dream. I wanted a bit more depth from him. I like The Princess Bride as much as the next but oy the quote.

I also found it hard to believe that her book, that sold extremely poorly, changed his whole outlook on novels (romance in particular). Especially if his grandmother was so prolific.

3) the NAME dropping my gosh. We get it you read. This book made so many references to other authors and books and every time it just completely yoinked me out of the story.

I also want to say, that when the MC is supposed to decompress by writing smut - you expect the spice to be great. And it really wasn't. It was very late and felt super tacked on. I think the chemistry between the two leads not being the best might have contributed.

These complaints are more nitpicky than they seem - I did still really enjoy the book and will pick up what the author writes next.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Sexual content, and Car accident

Minor: Alcohol, Medical content, Blood, and Medical trauma

madelynkinny's review

emotional funny sad medium-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? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Minor: Death, Grief, Medical trauma, and Death of parent