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lyndsea22's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Murder
Moderate: Rape, Toxic relationship, and Blood
pixelateddragon's review against another edition
- 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
I loved the contrast of the queer-normative country with the more typically "medieval European"-esque one and how this was expressed and talked about in the text. (Loved the nonbinary representation btw!)
I knocked off a few points for how graphic the sexual assault was, I won't say it's existence wasn't important to further the conflict of the story but I felt it was in more detail than it needed to be to get the point across. Mind the trigger warnings!!!
And the plot was relatively interesting but a bit predictable, I guessed the twist pretty much as soon as the first attack happened & the MC was introduced to
I loved the relationships between characters especially the platonic & familial ones, they were dynamic and felt so real.
I ended up skipping the sex scenes so I can't really comment on them, because they always ended up playing when I was trying to eat in public (and I didn't bother to go back to them because I'm not terribly fond of having sex narrated to me in general 😅).
But overall the book was pretty enjoyable with a dynamic and rich world and characters with beautiful prose & audio narration but, it was a bit heavy handed and more explicit than needed with a few of the more 'traumatic' parts of the story (& the relationship was a bit rushed, but it's a romance book and that is typical of the genre so I can't complain too much on that), and the mystery was a bit predictable.
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Homophobia, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Cursing, Infidelity, Sexism, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Alcohol
Minor: Torture
robotnik's review against another edition
- 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
The one thing I really feel is this book was far too slow. You probably could have cut anywhere from 100 to 200 pages out of it, and the story could have worked out the same in both character development and plot. I do admit to skimming a bit here and there because there was just so much description dumping that felt unnecessary.
A lot of the tension in the relationship was missing because we got to see both of their POVs (where one was told in first person and the other was told in third person, which was a weird and jarring choice that took time getting used to, tbh). We got to see what both their opinions were on each other and thus there was no real conflict within the romance portion of the relationship.
That being said, the pair are both likeable and the plot was interesting, even if it was vastly on the slow side.
I think I'll give the second book a try sometime, just not any time soon. This book was a little fatiguing because of how long it was, and i need a break from this world.
Graphic: Homophobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Death, Violence, Blood, and Death of parent
readsforlove's review against another edition
4.5
Instead, I'm diving right into book 2, and I predict I will have the worst book hangover ever when I'm through.
Please do be sure to check content warnings before going into this novel though!! Very heavy topics are addressed and depicted on page, and while it's done with care, it's still important to go into the novel consciously.
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Homophobia, Misogyny, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Murder, Outing, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Infidelity and Vomit
dezzella's review against another edition
- 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
I really liked this book, it really hit me right. There are darker themes but I think the trauma and healing was handled very well. I really loved watching our main character start to move forward, while getting wrapped up in the drama of his husband's home kingdom.
There's an arranged marriage (semi marriage of convenience, if convenience for the good of the two kingdoms counts) and murder mystery. Plus lots of underlying plots playing out. I enjoyed the pacing and writing and I really into the story the whole way. I will certainly be continuing and reading the next in the series.
Graphic: Homophobia, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Death, Torture, Violence, and Gaslighting
anderska1011's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Suicide attempt, and Outing
Moderate: Ableism, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Stalking, and Fire/Fire injury
abbyleinbach's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Rape, Sexual assault, and Murder
seashel's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Outing, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Hate crime, Sexism, Medical content, Stalking, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Cursing, Domestic abuse, Torture, Transphobia, Abandonment, and Classism
gondorgirl's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Outing, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Body shaming, Cursing, Gore, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Stalking, Death of parent, and Alcohol
doylee's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.0
The reveal of who was behind everything seemed very out of nowhere/rushed. Idk,, they explained it so it made sense but also it was so close to the end & then everything devolved into warmongering violence?? I was clutching my pearls but also enjoying it.
There was way more murder/physical violence in this book than I thought & there is some sexual violence at the beginning & the aftermath is a theme throughout the book so once again I should’ve looked up the content warnings. Anyway! I liked it, the romance was sweet, and the story was intriguing to ME! I hope the second book is good.
Also, I picked up this book bc it was on display at the library & then I saw in my camera roll that I saved a picture of someone recommending this book based on other books I’ve read so I feel like I was meant to read & like this. Isn’t that fun? (It is.)
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Homophobia