Me when he dies at the end in the book The First to Die at the End.

Also, I was wrong about my prediction, but it's okay; I'm not mad at it, I'm happier at who actually died, like bitch deserved it

I hope Gloria lives a long, happy life, marries Rolando, and lives peacefully. 

Of course I choose to finish this book on the first day of Pride Month. What a way to celebrate.

Anyway... wow. This book wrecked me. I knew it would, just like the first one did, but my goodness. I'll just start off with the things I liked... which was basically everything? I think the biggest criticisms I've seen for this book and the first one are that there's no plot to them, which has never bothered me. I love a character-driven book, especially when the characters are as great as these. Valentino and Orion are adorable and work great together. I loved their dynamic.

I loved all the connections to the previous book too. I tried to find a list of all of them, but sadly haven't been able to. I did keep the first book near me at all times while reading this one just so I could try to find them.

The Rufus and Mateo bits DESTROYED me. I had to set the book down every time I saw one of their names show up. When Mateo almost talked to Rufus at the park but then didn't get to? Yeah, that killed me.

 

I liked a lot of the side stories too.

I didn't initially like how much time was spent on the Frankie, Gloria, and Rolando storyline at first, but after seeing that it's actually what led to Valentino's death, it all makes sense. I can't wait for Frankie to rot <3.

I also enjoyed Joaquin's story for the most part,

but I'm so frustrated that we didn't really figure out any secrets about how Death Cast works??? I didn't mind it at all in the first book because I didn't think it would make sense for us to know with the point of views we were given. In this book, however, it kept feeling like Joaquin, as the literal creator of Death Cast, was about to talk about some of the secrets, but then just doesn't. I hope that if we get his perspective in the next book, that's where we'll finally discover some things.

Even though that was an issue for me, it didn't really take away from my enjoyment too much. There were, however, two things that prevented this book from being perfect. One, the slang. Oh my goodness, I had the same problem in the first book too. I don't know if it's just really bad at first and gradually gets better throughout the book, or if I just got so used to it from how often it was used in the beginning. Don't get me wrong, I don't hate slang in books, but I do hate it in this book. At times, it feels like it was written by a 60-year-old trying to be hip and trendy, even though the actual author is pretty young. Really, that's my biggest problem with the book. I cringed far too often reading some of this. The only other thing I didn't enjoy was the slow start. When I read the first book, I was instantly attached to Mateo, seeing a lot of myself in him, and Rufus grew on me fairly quickly. While reading this book, I don't think I truly cared for Valentino or Orion that much until I was almost halfway through the book. I can't really explain why didn't work for me at first, but they just didn't.

Even though I have my issues, I still can't say how much I enjoyed this book. I don't think I'll ever be okay again, but I said the same thing after I read the first book. (Yes, I keep bringing up the first book, but cut me some slack. I'm still mourning.) If you're looking for a book with a grand plot and adventure, this isn't for you. But if you want to see some gays fall in love before tragedy strikes (not a spoiler, you read the title), then you've come to the right place.

This book is one of the saddest and at the same time most hopeful books I have ever read. It tackles the issue of dealing with knowing the death of a close person or even yourself will occur and how to live your life to the fullest, not only when you know it's about the end. It shows in a heartbreaking and beautiful way how important it is to take control of your own life, be the captain of your own ship if you will. For that it not only uses the two main characters but also the people surrounding them and learning the same lesson. They are included in the story with an amazing  thoughtfulness and their lifes are tied into each other which shows how close and similar we can be to someone without realizing. This book will forever remain in my heart and I am so thankful the author wrote this prequel. 

Literally bawled my eyes out like a freaking baby! First time crying in my dorm while my roommate was there. This book with claw out your heart and replace it with its own. 

I only wish we were able to learn how deathcast works. I feel like the way this was written where it tried to involve you in the creation of deathcast but still keep you separate didn’t work. It made me think that Adam Silvera doesn’t actually know how deathcast is supposed to work. 

I loved this just as much as the first!

I loved this book. Just as heart wrenching as “They both die at the end”. You find yourself wishing that the title is wrong and that the death call is also wrong. But it isn’t it’s very right. And my heart is in pieces. 

Amazingly written. Really makes you think about heaps of things and reflect about life in general.