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I received a copy of this through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
CW: grief, suicide, self-harm, mental illness ( ocd, ptsd, anxiety, depression)
I started this back in September but I ended up setting it aside not because of the book I just mentally wasn't in the head space to read at all. I decided to pick it back up now since one of my 2020 goals is to get to my arcs and I did enjoy it when I originally started it. Guess what, I still enjoyed it. So much that I finished in about 2 days, would have been faster but life. We're just keeping this review short and sweet today. I really enjoyed this book and I will just ramble incoherently about how sweet it is. There is so much heartache but there is also so so much love.
This book guys. I was teared up the entire time. Naima and Dew are two of my favorite characters. They are both so strong and vulnerable. Six Goodbyes We Never Said focuses on not just healing for yourself but also how everything can affect your relationships with others and that sometimes healing has many many paths and can require a little bit of help from family and friends. They both have the best support systems I have ever read between parents, grandparents, friends, and siblings it's just bursting with love. Naima and Dew both go through huge loses but they also go through a journey of healing that just makes me so proud of them. I know it's a very real thing for many people. I'm proud of every one of them too.
Did I cry because I was sad and the pain was raw? Yes. Did I cry because there was so much growth happening and I was bursting with pride for these sweet babies? Also yes. Six Goodbyes We Never Said shows that there are people who will love you for who you are no matter what and will also be there for you even when you don't want them to be or even when they don't know how to be. It also shows what it can be like for children of military members, which does not get talked about ever. I think all of the topics of this book are extremely important and I think it's done really well here. There is enemies to friends, witty banter and just cute family moments that just made me all happy on the inside in-between the sad. I also just really love that his nickname is Dew and not Drew. It's just a little thing that makes him even more adorable.
4.5 That is how I wanted it to end. They were ALL supposed to live together happy.
WARNING: I mostly just talk about how much I like Grey so yeah. I really liked this book and I'm very much ready for book two. I can't place what it was that didn't make this a 5 star for me. I don't know why curses always are put on teenagers (I know it's YA everyone is a teenager) and while physically it would be better to be stuck as 17 instead of like 60 now that I'm 30 I think I'd rather be stuck in my 20s or 30s.
Things I liked:
•Harper! She's such a badass who doesn't let anything get in her way and when you doubt her that just gives her more fuel to prove you wrong.
•I love that Harper has a physical disability and that she doesn't let it control everything in her life. She has cerebral palsy and she owns it! It does not own her.
•Can Harper just become my best friend?
•Grey, Scary Grey. My heart. I loved him from the beginning. He is the one I fell for not Rhen. Rhen sucks. We'll get to that later. But Grey big SWOON. He treats Harper as a person not as some prize to be won or a means to an end.
•Totally team Grey & Harper. If that's end goal I'm on board. Seriously OTP.
•I really liked that Harper was not having any of this kidnapping nonsense. She is not impressed in the least that Rhen is a prince. She was taken against her will from her home and she comes into Emberfall swinging ready to fight to get back.
•Some of my favorite retellings are Beauty and the Beast related and this does not disappoint. It's easy to pick up on from the beginning too.
•I liked that Noah and Jake also had a part in Emberfall. I'm curious to see what happens to them in book two. I think adding more of our world into a fantasy realm is different and it changes things.
Things I didn't like:
•Rhen. Just not a fan. He's the typical arrogant prince loathing in self pity because he's been failing for so long at breaking the curse because he doesn't think of anyone but himself. Very Beast in Beauty and the Beast. Yes, they had some cute romantic moments where he wasn't horrible but I was more of a fan when those moments happened with Grey.
•The length and pace. It was a bit longer in my opinion then it needed to be and slow in parts.
The ending. UGH. I have so many questions. I just need to know more about Grey and what's going to happen when everything gets revealed because you know that's coming. I was more mad at the ending than sad. I just wanted Grey to be okay and with Harper and Rhen (kinda Three's Company like) but this is a YA fantasy and we can't have happy endings book one.
I've been trying to find the words for this book and I still don't know. It's been days. I liked No Exit but for me it was over hyped. I know so many people who love this book and have such great things to say about it. I however, just feel meh about it. It was predictable in parts and everything unravels very quickly. The first few chapters really started off good but about half way through I started to stop being curious about what was going to happen.
If you read it I hope you love it as much as everyone else does.
I don't care if ya'll think TW are spoilers but you're getting one for this book so TW: for child abuse, neglect, and miscarriages. I know that there are people who might not be able to read that and they deserve to know about it before they get involved.
Words I can use to describe this: DESTROYING. HEARTBREAKING. HEAVY. PAINFUL.
Emotionally this book put me THROUGH IT.
It's been a long time since I cried at the level this book made me cry. I'm talking full on ugly cry. The kind were you think you're gonna stop but then it just starts back up again. The girls at work didn't know what was happening when they realized I was crying and were concerned. They both immediately said they want to read this after finding out it was the book that caused me to cry.
I knew very early on where this book was headed but that did not change anything for me. I wanted to see if my suspicions were right. I needed to know. I don't think I've ever been so nervous to the point of becoming nauseous while reading before. From the beginning you just get this sense that something horrible is going to happen and I just spent the whole time trying to prepare myself for it too happen. And then when I found it happening I just was so devastated. As a human, mother, friend, and daughter I could NEVER imagine having to live any part of this story. No-one should ever have to go through this.
On a positive note. This book has amazing friends and family in it as well. I love Claudia, Monday and Michael. Claudia's parents are amazing and my heart aches for them as well. They are so supportive I want to hug them.
I will be reading everything that Tiffany writes. It may take me a few days to recover from this book. Thinking about the book makes me want to cry some more.