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mirandyli's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Graphic: Ableism, Animal death, Cursing, Death, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Lesbophobia, Outing, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
bookmarksandbookends'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? N/A
4.75
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Outing, and Injury/Injury detail
tragicgloom's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Sexism, and Xenophobia
Minor: Infidelity, Vomit, Medical content, and Fire/Fire injury
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 ๐ ).
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
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
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
reellyfish'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
4.5
There was a typo saying โWhat I have I done?โ during quite an intense scene that kinda took me out scene but I was still able to understand what was trying to be said.
Graphic: Homophobia, Rape, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Self harm, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Violence, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Infidelity
hazybee's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Rape, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Murder
Moderate: Animal death, Sexism, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Vomit, and Alcohol
purplepenning's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Homophobia, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Vomit, Grief, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Though it's a well-handled journey of healing, a main point of view character experiences significant trauma early in and deals with trauma recovery for much of the book.s_l'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? No
3.5
But other than that it was good
Graphic: Ableism, Animal death, Confinement, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Transphobia, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Murder, Outing, and Injury/Injury detail