First of all,
this book is kind of a mess. So if you don’t like thinking too much when reading —just want something entertaining to distract you— I would not advise you to grab this one. But if you do like thinking or you don’t really mind, please read it. It is a mess, but it’s a beautiful mess.
It starts with what for me was a surprise and sorry but I must talk about it: a quote from Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer. BÉCQUER. I am a fan of his writing and Spanish so yeah, I fangirled a little bit about this. The poem, though, made me think all sorts of dark things about this story. But luckily the author didn’t let me down despite that weird choice of poem.
It is a love story between two boys (men?) set in what appears to be Ancient Rome times (I didn’t get much of that) and the place where Aqib lives still remains a mystery to me. I swear half the time I was confused to the point where I considered stopping. The story goes back and forth in time and it can get you lost because you’re not sure what’s the past, the present or the future.
I really liked many of the things about Aqib’s society and customs, weird but really female empowering. I wish I could have known more about that, it seemed really interesting.
But in the end, it’s all about Aquib and Lucrio and how marvellously in love they are. I loved the way Lucrio approached Aquib and the moments of warm love —and hot passion— we witness through the story. It’s also filled with beautiful metaphors and images, which is something that I personally love.
"Like the lyrics, his head was “a night without stars”, which was to say, without a single pale strand compromising the darkness of his hair."I really liked Aquib and felt identified with some aspects of his personality—
"Aquib felt now as he had all throughout childhood: that everyone was moving deftly within norms long established, confidently speaking in terms already defined, but that no one had remembered to clue in poor little Aquib."— but I
loved Lucrio for he is manly and sweet at the same time, but not within any stereotype, really. He is who he is and goes through life as honest and direct as he can.
Without spoiling anything, I must say that the end didn’t disappoint me at all and proved me wrong in thinking this was going to be the ‘usual’ ending. I found that as a relief and a pleasant surprise.
As a fan of the weird I’ll be checking more books from this author and I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a healthy and well-written mlm story.
I nearly dropped it in the beginning because I was honestly bored and some things happening in the story were a little triggering for me atm BUT I managed to get past all that and in the end I really enjoyed it! Every character had their complexities and even when I disagreed with them I could understand their motives (which for me it's an achievement by the author).
Mira... Lo he ido leyendo poco a poco con la esperanza de que mejorara y MUY AL FINAL parecía que sí pero luego... No. El worldbuilding son retazos que prácticamente no te dicen nada y eso que es una sociedad diferente de la real. Bueno, es que nada sale bien en este libro, de verdad. Un desastre.
Where did I get this book?
Where did I get this book?
Where did I get this book?
I received an electronic ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
• I was provided with an eARC by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review •
Passing by to drop the review I made last year of this daring-for-its-age book:
Simple, entertaining, to the point. Great light reading for when you don't want anything too long but also exciting enough.
Una vez más, Sierra i Fabra me deja con una sonrisa en la cara. El libro trata de temas tan graves y serios y por desgracia demasiado comunes en la adolescencia como son el consumo de drogas e incluso secundariamente trastornos alimentarios, y lo hace con bastante sensibilidad y comprensión. De hecho, me sigue sorprendiendo lo conectado que siempre está Sierra i Fabra con la juventud y ese cambio a la adultez, a pesar de que creo que cuando escribió este libro ya era un seño crecidito.
So boring. Sooooo boring. I guess I enjoyed so much Tim Burton's deeply free-adapted film that this was truly a disappointment. Irving gets so lost into his descriptions that you end up forgetting there was a story at all, and every character is plain and so stereotypical that it made me cringe. I know the time when this book was written, I knew I could expect old ways in terms of men and women (Katrina barely exists but as prize to win, of course *rolls eyes*). I was willing to let all that go if the story was good, interesting, well-written. But... There is no story at all? You expect a spooky tale and it is a boring story about a boring character! 
This book was weird and gave me the hardest time to really focus on it. It starts a little boring because Sinclair really is boring af, but things seemed to appear interesting when the boy who gives name to the book, Demian, shows up. He guides him to the funny path away from all that boring life he has. He is devilishly exciting and I was thrilled. Then he disappears and Sinclair... I mean I get it, I really do, this coming-of-age thing. I felt identified with some sensations of feelings that Sinclair describes. But it goes NUTS at the end. And not the good nutty stuff I love, just ugh. I don't even know and I'm not really in the mood to explain why men being men does bore me to death nowadays. I just thought Sinclair and Demian's relationship was going to be a lot more... interesting. But nope. So I just finished the book to end my agony.
It's true that I didn't remember the book this way. Maybe I was too young the first time I read it, but certainly there were things I needed to live to fully understand it.
