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jessie_lilienthal's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Moderate: Death, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, and Medical content
escapinginpaper'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
4.0
Main character Wren is a magic-user whose specialty is healing. She is kicked out of the Queen's Guard after one-too-many mess-ups, which devastates her because she has to leave behind the woman she loves, her chance at proving herself to her aunt, the Queen, and her chance to help solve the mystery of her comrades disappearing. When she's invited to heal the servant of a mysterious lord from a neighboring neutral country, she jumps at the chance to prove herself. However when there she discovers the "servant" is actually her mortal enemy & perceived war criminal, Hal.
This was a super slow-burn romance, high fantasy, and gothic murder mystery all-in-one. I really liked the vibe of the whole story, the setting, and the magic system. This has a lot of tropes, but they were done really well and I loved reading them – enemies-to-lovers; "there's only one bed"; mysterious, brooding hot dude with black hair.
My biggest complaint about this one is that it reads like it was rushed – especially towards the end. I think this would have been well-suited as a duology. The romance is really good... but ultimately the characters know each other for about two weeks and they decide they're in love. This bothered me... There are also other redemptions & character developments at the end that felt like they needed more time to... well... develop.
I did really like the ending, but it also really really made me wish there was a sequel! There is so much that the two main characters could do that I would really love to read. Overall, what a great debut novel – I can't wait to see what else Saft will write.
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Blood, Medical content, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Sexual content, Torture, Xenophobia, and Murder
erinsbookshelves's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Medical content, and Murder
Moderate: Torture
Minor: Gun violence and Sexual content
annettewolf's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Is this a gothic mystery full of adventure and romance? Yeah. Do the settings breathe and come to life so much that I swear you can smell them off the page? Yep. Does the plot start a little slow, then build up with careful intimacy, so that one look lasts years but three days pass by in a blink? Absolutely. Everything about this writing is just so damn good. We linger in all the right moments. We speed up for all the action, so that my eyes wanted to be even faster to find out what happens next. The descriptions of the smells are unparalleled. The character interactions are vibrant, heart-wrenchingly real, in all their tenderness and cruelty.
By the time I got to the haunted mansion setting, I didn't want to put the book down. And I honestly could have read 300 more pages of just the yearning. It was so good. And the realistic way relationships evolve and change over time and distance. And the way the climax was built on empathy as the ultimate strength. I loved so, so much about this book.
Graphic: Blood and Medical content
Moderate: Body horror, Death, and Murder
Minor: Gun violence, Sexual content, and Violence
onemamareads'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
4.0
Graphic: Death and Violence
caidyn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
When I started hearing about this book, I was so interested in it and everything about it. Now that I've read it, I'm glad to say that it was a great read! Wren was such a good character and I also loved the idea of the redemption arch within the story. The plot itself was also great and intriguing. It kept me guessing the whole time and I really wanted to know what happened. The reveal was also great, plus the ending. An overall great book that I so enjoyed.
Graphic: Death, Blood, and Medical content
lizreadssurprisinglyoften's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Death, Blood, Medical content, and Medical trauma