Reviews with content warning for Transphobia - A Strange and Stubborn Endurance

Wow, I decided to go in blind for this book (minus the trigger warnings) honestly I'm so glad I did. I loved the dual narration done for this audiobook. I feel like both narrators gave differences to the characters that I as a reader could feel. As for the author themselves this is the first book I've read written by them. Though this book deals with VERY dark and deep subject matter I feel the author has written the act of healing and (for the lack of a better term) PTSD very respectfully. In more ways than one these characters grow together and it's done beautifully.

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astroeulogy's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.0

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tythebooknerd's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional funny fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

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snazzysky's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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breebirb's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful 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? No

4.0

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astrozombies's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious tense 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

4.25

overall i supremely enjoyed this book for so many reasons. it brought me a lot of joy as a bi + nonbinary person. i think there’s a lot of merit in the author’s portrayal of certain themes (such as trauma, growth, and self-love) as well as her specific writing talents which i felt lied strongly in worldbuilding and depictions of platonic + romantic relationships. my main issues with the book come from the ending, and the feeling that there was a lot more potential to make more interesting decisions plot-wise, at the risk of turning this book into another tome of high fantasy. that said, i REALLY found myself enjoying the surprises that we got, and i was overjoyed for my expectations of this new release to be fulfilled. though this book is presumably a standalone, i think i’d like to see more from this universe, if not featuring the same cast.

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breq's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

This book has EVERYTHING. I loved the central romance, although it did feel a little fast. I had my suspicions about who was behind all the plotting, and I turned out to be correct, but I never felt certain until the page before it was revealed. I really enjoyed the worldbuilding, especially the contrast between the two main countries we see, and especially as it related to queerness. Vel was such a great character and I loved seeing him blossom as the book went on. I don't know if a sequel is planned but it felt like there was a possible setup for one, and I hope it's coming! Also, the food descriptions made me hungry.
I adore arranged marriage plotlines, and I loved how this one was handled. There was some miscommunication between the characters, but there were very good reasons relating to cultural differences. I appreciated that they did actually talk to each other a lot of the time, and they worked their problems out.
The way the villain's motivation was set up was really great, and it make me feel a lot of the emotions the characters felt when they found out, because I was also upset and wished things could have gone differently.
This isn't really a spoiler because it happens so early, but

it can be very hard to write a fairly graphic, on-page rape scene in first-person and I thought it was well handled without being just overwhelmingly awful.

I did at times feel like elements of the plot went too fast--the main relationship and recovery from a traumatic event getting to the place that it ended up--but hey, everyone's different.

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purrson's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

I enjoyed this book so much, the worldbuilding was so interesting and the characters were ridiculously lovable. I absolutely need a sequel. The central mystery was handled well but some things I wanted covered, like what happened with

Velasin’s rosewood chest?? Did it arrive, with its contents? Did the second party go well? I want more HEA time with these adorable characters!

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