They Both Die At The End Is Just As Fantastic As It Sounds | Book Review
Hey friends!
Today I’m going to be sharing with you a spoiler free review
for the gorgeous They Both Die At The End by Adam Silvera. I have been meaning
to write this book review for SUCH a long time because I read this book well
over two and a half months ago as an e-ARC but I was super lazy before it was
published to write a review and after the publication date, I got very busy!
But better late than never right?
Anyways, Adam Silvera is a New York Times bestselling author
of three books total, the others being More Happy Than Not and History Is All
You Left Me, both of which are great books!
About the book.
Book: They Both Die At The End
Author: Adam Silvera
Author: Adam Silvera
Publisher: Simon And Schuster
Pages: 368
Publication date: September 2017
Pages: 368
Publication date: September 2017
Synopsis: On September 5, a little after midnight, Death-Cast calls Mateo Torrez and Rufus Emeterio to give them some bad news: They're going to die today. Mateo and Rufus are total strangers, but, for different reasons, they're both looking to make a new friend on their End Day. The good news: There's an app for that. It's called the Last Friend, and through it, Rufus and Mateo are about to meet up for one last great adventure and to live a lifetime in a single day. (source)
Genre: Contemporary
Recommended for: Anyone 14+
I was provided a copy for review via NetGalley, however all thoughts and opinions are my own and this is an honest review.
My thoughts.
{ characters }
A little bit of background with Adam Silvera’s work and me! I
think Adam is a super cool person and a very talented writer but for some
reason, I wasn’t the biggest fan of his work. It isn’t necessarily that his
work is bad, but something about it doesn’t click for me and I find it hard to
connect with the characters and root for them, in all three of his books.
It’s not that his characters aren’t well developed or are
quite boring at all! I find them to be very interesting and unique and the best
thing is, his characters hold their own in each of the stories he writes,
rather than becoming one and the same across the board (eg the way that Celaena
and Feyre are quite similar and in similar situations).
But there is something about them that makes it hard for me
to connect with them and the same thing happened with the story of Mateo and
Rufus. They were well written and it was easy enough to read from their point
of view, but I didn’t feel an emotional attachment or pull towards them as I
would have liked.
I feel this could be a more personal aspect however, where I
haven’t been in the same situations as these characters so I find it hard to
relate to them, but they honestly seemed so loveable and I was quite disappointed
that I wasn’t able to love them more!
If you didn’t know, like all of Adam’s books, this features
a m/m #ownvoices romance, which although could seem a little instalovey, worked
for this book and Mateo and Rufus are absolutely adorable together!
{ idea + plot }
I always say this, and I’ll say it again, and it’s that Adam
Silvera always has the uniquest ideas! I don’t know how he does what he does,
but every time he comes out with a new book, it stands apart from the others,
even though they share similar characteristics.
This story is set in the space of a day and while I found
that made it feel a little rushed but at the same time drawn out, I can’t
condemn Silvera for doing this because the story wouldn’t work if it wasn’t set
in the space of a day. Some of the plot points got a smidge dry in the middle and
I found that it could have had some more action, but nothing too major to
complain about.
{ writing }
The world building in this I felt was quite well done. The speculative
elements of this are well explained rather than left to the readers own
imagination and the logistics and intricacies of Death Cast were quite well
done.
The switching point of views done by any other author would have
annoyed me but I really loved it for this, especially since this was set within
the day and having thoughts from all different characters gave the day much
more depth and meaning! Plus, it added some suspense to the book and you all
know how I love my suspense!
The sadly unfortunate thing about this book however, was
that it did not make me cry. Yes, I got quite emotional, but I find when books make
it clear that the book is going to be sad in some sort, then for some reason, I
just can’t cry (and this is coming from a very emotional person who cries at
the thought of sad puppies around the world) and that was disappointing.
{ finally… }
This was well written and smart, with cute characters and an
engaging plot. Fans of Nicola Yoon’s The
Sun Is Also A Star are absolutely going to love this book. I highly
recommend you check this out if you enjoy something a little on the sadder and
heartfelt side!
OVERALL RATING:
★★★★
Have you read They
Both Die At The End? What did you think? And have you read any of Adam’s other
works?
15 happy thoughts
Eeep I loved this one!! And I hear a lot of people comment that about not emotionally connecting, and I feel so weird because I really do. 😂😂 Haha. ANYWAY. It's a good thing. I think Mateo and Rufus were amazing (Mateo was so so adorable?!?!) and the whole book was kind of feels-smashing but then it's Silvera. And I think he drinks readers' tears for breakfast.😂
ReplyDeleteYES MATEO WAS THE CUTEST EVER! And omg Adam totally does! Thanks for reading and commenting Cait xx
DeleteThis has been on my TBR for soooo long *cries in a corner*
ReplyDeleteThere are just too many beautiful books out there and I guess I'LL JUST HAVE TO GIVE UP ADULTING ENTIRELY SO I CAN BECOME A HERMIT AND GOBBLE UP MY DAUNTING TBR.... Pray that I get to it soon!
-Shanu (http://anerdyaffair.wixsite.com/scribblesonascreen)
I HOPE YOU CAN READ IT SOON!
DeleteI've heard nothing but great things about this book, so I am so glad you enjoyed it so much as well! It sounds like such an amazing book. Thanks for sharing and, as always, fabulous review! <3
ReplyDelete~ Zoe @ Stories on Stage
Thank you for reading Zoe!
DeleteI'm so glad that you loved this book despite not liking his other books. This is the only book I've read from Adam Silvera, but I totally loved it. Great review! :)
ReplyDeleteKim @ Divergent Gryffindor
Thank you!
DeleteI'm so glad you liked this one, Anisha! I adored it, even though out of the two Silvera books I've read History remains my favourite. I really need to read MHTN because I have heard it's incredible.
ReplyDeleteI kind of get what you mean about the emotional connection to the characters. I adored them, and I cared about them, but there was something a little missing. Which I think is why I love History more. I connected so much with Griffin, and wanted everything to be okay for him.
Although I will say that I was more connected to them over time. By the end I was clutching my Kindle, wishing that the title was not going to come true *sobs*
Great review!
YES MORE HAPPY THAN NOT IS THE BEST AND IT'S MY FAV! Glad i'm not the only one who feels this way. And I know what you mean, I was so scared for them.
DeleteAhhhh I read this as well and I LOVED IT. Although I slightly expected more TEARS AND CRYING but I got no tears????? Maybe I'm just coldhearted.
ReplyDeleteBut anyways! I LOVED MATEO SO MUCH and honestly Rufus irritated me sometimes. But I also really really liked Mateo's other friend. I forgot her name, but SHE WAS COOL HAHA.
No don't worry, I didn't cry either! And MATEO IS THE CUTEST. And same, I forgot her name but she was the sweetest and her story was so sad.
DeleteGreat review! I'm super excited to read this one!
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed it!
DeleteI feel like I'm the only one in the universe that hasn't read this book. I just can't get my hands on a copy of this book. Digital or otherwise.
ReplyDeleteYour review makes me want to read this soo bad. Cute gay characters? Sign me up!
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