Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

A Strange and Stubborn Endurance by Foz Meadows

87 reviews

pitsikakku's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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paging_snidget's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

Very well-written.  A dense and detailed plot full of political intrigue.  The world building was vivid as were the characters.  The slow-build romance was filled with an ultimate kindness.  A very satisfying read.
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thebookbin's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional fast-paced
  • 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

5.0

 TW: this review and the book it's about will contain discussion of sexual assault. 

It took me 6 days to get past the first chapter. Before you even begin the book, the author lets you know what's coming in an author's note which I appreciate with my whole heart. Although you have a warning, the book does open with a sexual assault scene which was so hard to get through. But like the note mentions, the story is about healing and self worth and so I pushed through at my own pace.

The world Meadows builds is one that is fantastical and so rich. Velasin is a young gay noble from a homophonic nation. He ends up betrothed to a gay prince from a very enlightened nation with all sorts of queers. Their love is slow and sweet. Caethari first helps Velasin regain a sense of self worth and their love blooms from there.

What stands out to me is how Meadows treats their non-male characters. It’s my biggest gripe with mlm content, but Meadows enchanted me the whole way through. First off was Merkel, Velasin’s mute valet. His disability is not there for Diversity™ but it’s a huge plot point. Vel and Merkel speak in sign and they use it in multiple scenarios to their advantage. Also their friendship is beautiful. Even though Merkel is a man he is not a love interest (tragically heterosexual) but the deep development of non-romantic relationships was so good.

Then of course there’s the nonbinaries (thei/thir pronouns--I LOVE) there’s a bunch of doctors and Caethari’s own grandkuin is also trans. (Also!!! What a great word “grandkuin”) Caethari’s sisters play a prominent role in the story, and two of Caethari’s closest friends are women, one his commanding officer. SO MANY WOMEN. And they're different and varied and have important roles. 

There’s also a Murder mystery, magic, and a 3/5🌶️ rating. Like it’s not crazy but there is definitely some descriptive papapa.

Anyways, I just love that I’m alive right now in a world that has queer stories that get to be told and get to be published and I get to read them. I have already decided to pledge my sword to Foz Meadows. They have quickly become an Automatic Buy author for me. 
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30something_reads's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional tense medium-paced
  • 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

5.0

 OFC it's ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I loved everything. All of it. No notes. These boys are my favorites. Especially Markel ❤️.

I'll probably write a more thorough review later 😆

EDIT: 3/8 "a more thorough review"

This book truly put me through all the emotions. I cried, raged, laughed, swooned, kicked my feet and squealed in giddy delight. I left this story with so much love for these characters.

A Strange and Stubborn Endurance is a queer political and romantic fantasy with the central themes of healing and the role the family plays in that journey.

This book does not start off in a happy place. The author lists content warnings for on-page SA, suicidal ideations, and self-harm; all of which should be taken very seriously. The first portion of this book is very emotionally taxing but well worth it.

This is the story of Velasin and Caethari as they are brought together in a political marriage meant to strengthen the trade agreements between their respective countries. But mysterious forces are acting against their marriage- escalating attacks both political and personal. Together, they are forced to trust one another as they figure out who would benefit from this failed alliance. A tenuous friendship develops and slowly blossoms into something more.

I adored the world-building and the depictions of gender identity and sexuality. I love a world that embraces the spectrum so thoroughly and lovingly. In that way, it very much reminds me of Winter’s Orbit.

The characters were brilliant and the dual POV was wonderful (I especially enjoyed that it didn’t jump chapter to chapter but instead happened in sections.) I think that really allowed the author to develop Velasin and Caethari so fully. And I don’t think I’ve ever adored a side character the way I adored Markel. His friendship with Velasin was so touching and honestly brought happy tears to my eyes on multiple occasions.

The overall mystery was very compelling, and I never felt drawn away from that storyline with the blossoming romance between Vel and Cae. Everything fit so well together. I did guess the villains, but I think that was just due to well-placed clues and characterizations rather than any fault in the storytelling.

Honestly, I could rave about this story for ages. I am so beyond excited to know that this has a sequel coming out this year. I cannot wait!

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elisabethrose08's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful slow-paced

5.0

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jessiereads98's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious fast-paced
  • 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

2.75

This book has potential it just doesn’t live up to. I really enjoyed the romance between the two main characters as well as the characters themselves. Velasin’s journey of acceptance and healing is also well handled and realistic. However, I went into this book expecting politics to play a much bigger role than they did. This book is more of a mystery than a political fantasy. I was disappointed that magic didn’t play a bigger role throughout the book as well. There were also times where the prose and dialogue felt clunky, awkward, and out of place. The occasional lecture-like dialogue from Velasin just seemed out of place with the style of the rest of the dialogue and came across as the author spoon feeding us her point. I found myself getting bored in parts and think this could’ve been shorter. There was a lot of mentions of the moons and religion which didn’t really go anywhere, along with mentions of Velasin’s siblings which served little to no point. I wish we had heard more about Riya and Laecia or other present side characters which would’ve been more relevant to the story. I personally also found the ending disappointing. Unsure if I will pick up the sequel to continue with the characters and romance and see if the promise of politics develops more. 
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baby_dino's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious medium-paced
  • 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

5.0

Go read this book. Please. The way it handles sensitive and potentially triggering topics is phenomenal, the slow-burn, queer, friends-to-lovers romance is fantastically done, and the way the main character heals from their sexual trauma is… wow. It’s incredibly powerful. Also, because of this book, my best friend has now found the pronouns that fit thim best. All aboard the train to Qi-Katai!
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abarnakwn_ourcolourfulpages's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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laejone's review against another edition

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4.5

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angelbabe_cj's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful tense fast-paced
  • 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? No

5.0

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