Reviews with content warning for Grief - One for My Enemy

Reviews tagging 'Grief'

One for My Enemy by Olivie Blake

36 reviews

heidi_grey's review against another edition

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dark emotional medium-paced

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

5.0

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aseel_reads's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

Definitely a character driven novel and only enjoyable if you are in the right mood for it, however, I was, and I loved it!! So many laughs, gasps, sad faces, just so good.

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bookboxbabe's review

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dark emotional mysterious sad fast-paced

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

5.0

i knew it was a romeo and juliet retelling and yet i didn’t think they would actually die

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molzeus's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Content Warnings

ramunepocky's review

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emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

“You are not incomplete because a piece of your heart is gone. You are you, an entire whole, all on your own. If you have loved and been loved, then you can only be richer for it- you don’t become a smaller version of yourself simply because what you once had is gone.”

this review is not spoiler free

This was my first Olivie Blake book even though I own most of her books and it was a very strong place to start. Her writing style is absolutely gorgeous and she has a real way of pacing and describing drama that makes it so enthralling. I loved this book so much!

I would have liked to have see a bit more character development and development of the character dynamic before we really got thrown into the thick of the drama, I especially would have liked to have seen Lev and Sasha’s relationship develop a bit more because whilst I was rooting for them and it was devastating for Sasha to have to experience Lev die like that, I would have liked to have seen a stronger bond develop first. I guess it’s just me being cynical about how quickly people can fall in love that makes me want that. The drama did also help with the character developments tbf, especially where Dima, Masha, Sasha and Roma were concerned, I feel like all the events that unfolded gave us a real glimpse into their characters and we got to see them change and suffer and grow from what happened. I also think that that helped me grow more attached and sympathetic to characters that I had not been as impartial to before.

The feuds between the families and the reasons behind the hatred was very interesting to learn about it and it was so unsurprising to find that it all boiled down to points of pride more than anything else. Pride is many people’s downfalls.

My favourite character was absolutely Lev. Was it because I kept picturing him as Lev from Haikyuu?? Perhaps. But also, he had such complete and utter golden retriever energy. He made me laugh. He was loyal. He was loving. He was just the absolute sweetest character, and I really felt for him being torn between his loyalty to his family and his brothers, and his feelings for Sasha as the enemy. I was absolutely distraught when Stas killed him because wtf. No. You can’t do that to my boy. But thank every god that his “enemies” brought him back. It was really sad though that he thought that Sasha was still dead when she was the other half of Masha’s plan and I was so happy when they finally got to reunite again. I also loved the fact that Lev had faith and belief in Masha simply because she reminded him of Dima and the way that he thought and planned, and because he worked out that the two of them had been in love with one another.

I also loved Dima a lot. I wasn’t sure about him at first because ofc we don’t really see much of him before BAM he’s put in a magical coma. But reading about his history with Masha and the two of them being (briefly) united before Roma stabbed Masha made me really warm up to him. It was extremely clear just how much he loved her. How much he would have sacrificed for her. And I mean, tbh, bit far to cut out her heart when she was dead to keep it safe, bit of a literal interpretation of what she said to him all those years ago, and I cannot imagine how vile it must have been to have been going to bury her heart and seeing it beating right there out of her chest, but I’m glad it made it clear to him that she was alive and that he could stop hurting. Dima’s story is as tragic as Masha’s tbh, and the fact he would have chosen her above his family if she’d given him the choice all those years ago shows how much he loves to, and to be able to do what he did in the end, to stab both her heart and himself, to follow her into the afterlife, was devastating, but it was clear he could not live without her and he would have blindly followed her anywhere.

Masha was a very complicated character for me. I didn’t love or hate her. She was a very complex character to understand and very interesting as she always had motives on top of motives and kept her true intentions hidden at every turn. She was extremely smart and calculated in the risks she took and worked everything out to a tee. She was also very ruthless, even before Dima carried her heart and it wasn’t in her chest, she was always trying to swallow her emotions and refused to show a single one of them on her face despite being in constant pain. I do truly believe that she always acted with her sisters in mind though and her hope to find Dima again. It was literally heartbreaking when the two of them died together at the end, but getting to see them reunited and together on the other side made me sob so hard. The two of them had been in so much pain their entire lives due to their parents and I’m glad that they finally got their peace and to be together. It’s what they deserved.

I also had very mixed feelings on Roma, I wasn’t his biggest fan to begin with, but I started to feel bad for him as I imagine it would be hard to grow up in a household where eit is clear that you are not the favourite or cared for as much as your siblings and to always live in their shadows. I absolutely called him being the one behind what had been happening to aggravate the feud, especially as he was so pushy about Lev getting involved and it was pretty much confirmed for me the second that Dima refused to tell Masha who was actually behind it because “she would kill them” even though we didn’t get actual confirmation that it was Roma until a bit later. I also thought it was hilarious when Sasha was “haunting” him and gaslighting him into believing his father was responsible, it was pretty funny tbh and he did deserve it given that he killed Masha, killed Stas and was, by extension, responsible for Lev and Masha’s deaths too. I did end up feeling bad for him though as it was evident that his guilt about what happened was really weighing on him and driving him to insanity. It was nice in the epilogue too to learn that he’d worked with the faery whose name I can’t remember in his law firm, twas nice to know that he was beginning to turn things back around for himself.

I have more to say but my brain has officially left the building so yes.

Overall, I enjoyed this book; it had witches, it had interesting family and character dynamics, it had drama and suspense, and I could certainly see the Romeo and Juliet element. Was it my favourite retelling? No. Would I read it again?? Absolutely. And you can guarantee that if Fairyloot ever bring back their special edition of it, I’ll be buying it in a heartbeat bc the colour scheme has a chokehold on me.

Content Warnings

tenderbench's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

3.75

Content Warnings

amelianotthepilot's review

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

A spectacular r+j retelling. I don’t usually like r+j retellings as the plot is too obvious but this was a really interesting take on it. It follows two magical mob families, The Federovs-a patriarch and his three sons, and The Antanovas-a matriarch and her 7 daughters. We slowly find out the reason why they are rivals as it destroys all of their lives. A story of political intrigue, mafia deals and murders, and forbidden loves.

I loved the characters and the plot kept me guessing. The constant perspective switching was also fun. The shakespeare/r+j references were also great.

My only complaint is that Olivia Blake’s writing can sometimes be too long and flowery. It’s lovely to read but sometimes I just want to read faster.

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bookishmillennial's review

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dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated

disclaimer if you’ve read other reviews by me and are noticing a pattern: You’re correct that I don’t really give starred reviews because I don’t like leaving them. Most often, I will only leave them if I vehemently despised a book.

I enjoy most books for what they are, & I extract lessons from them all. Everyone’s reading experiences are subjective, so I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not, regardless if I add stars or not. Find me on Instagram: @bookish.millennial or tiktok: @bookishmillennial

premise:

urban fantasy set in New York City, NY & loose modern retelling of Romeo & Juliet with Russian/Slavic folklore weaved in
third-person POV, which mostly follows ~4 main characters?
two rival families begin a war with the other for you know, the usual: vengeance, pride, scorned egos, power, control, etc.
Baba Yaga and her seven Antonova daughters (most notable are eldest Marya/Masha & youngest Sasha) run an apothecary which sells intoxicants/elixirs
crime boss Koschei the Deathless and his three Federov sons -Dimitri, Roman, & Lev- makes a living out of extortion, what a guy!
Marya finds out that someone has been reselling their products at a higher price, and she comes to exact revenge on Dimitri, her ex-love and who she accuses of the crime
Lev and Sasha unknowingly bump into each other and begin a forbidden romance
there is a faerie named Bryn/The Bridge who makes deals, lots of miscommunication happens, and chaos ensues
this is closed-door / fade-to-black
cw: violence, murder, gaslighting, toxic relationship, toxic parent/child dynamic

thoughts:
I *think* this is my favorite book by Olivie Blake (not including her non-magical teen romance/coming of age book My Mechanical Romance!!!) I thoroughly enjoyed the angst, longing, and devastation of it all! Olivie is a beautiful writer, and I did highlight SO much of this book.

I know they weren't the primary players, and that Marya was very much an antagonist, but I have said it before, and I will say it again: I support women's wrongs !!! I loved how angry, unpredictable, and exacting she was. Maybe I'm projecting my mommy issues onto her, but I love the trope of realizing your parents ain't shit! Is that the official name? Idk, but I co-sign any book with this trope hehehe. Marya and Dimitri were hell bent on breaking generational trauma, and who can deny them that?!

In the beginning, I was a bit of a simp for Lev, because he was just so quick-witted and confident (in a sexy way, not in a "let me interrupt your expertise with my confidence cishet gross way"). I thought Sasha was also hilarious; her energy was giving "that don't impress me much" but much more calm, cool, and collected. I loved that the two youngest siblings were given a chance to reflect on their family legacies at a much younger age than their elder siblings, and that they recognized the privilege in that. in realizing they could take a different path.

While there were so many hits in this one for me, there were also a *few* misses so please forgive me but the insufferable Virgo in me must point them out! I still don't fully understand the magic system, and I wish it had been introduced earlier in the book, because the first half of the book could probably pass as contemporary new adult fiction (almost zero magic detected!).

I needed a bit more explanation on how people were brought back to life, or simply shown the scenes of it happening. You know in The Vampire Diaries, when someone died, their friends could travel to the underworld, and bring them back? Sure, that's *wild* and I still had some questions, but it made sense and was explained. I feel like I somehow was missing out on context that I was supposed to know about the world, witches, or afterlife that I simply never was looped in on? What kind of magic, spell, or world-building rule was present so that they could bring the person back to life?! It was confusing, and I wish it had been fleshed out more. It could have replaced maybe 15% of the flowery, verbose prose? (I love her writing, but I'm just saying we could've switched them out!)

quotations that stood out to me:
It was their usual détente: Someday. Not today, but someday.

My daughters are diamonds, Yaga so often said. Nothing is more beautiful. Nothing shines brighter. And most importantly, nothing will break them.

This is the important thing, after all: nobody fears a beautiful woman. They revere her, worship her, sing praises to her—but nobody fears her, even when they should.

Not just anyone could touch Masha. She was full of sharp edges; always a pointy little thing, a rose lined with thorns. Nobody got close to Masha unless she had already let them.

She could no longer live a quiet life, nor have any quiet success; she would need to be powerful, so powerful she could not be ignored, and so, with Masha at her side, she remade her reputation from that of Marya Antonova, the quiet, dutiful wife of the Borough witch Antonov, to simply that of Baba Yaga, shrugging on a new and undeniable skin. Everyone knew Yaga’s intoxicants were the best, slicing out a piece of Koschei’s profits when they turned to her instead, but what could he do? At best, he was only a very apt middleman. Koschei procured products; he didn’t make them. He and his sons ...more

There would never be another love for Masha like the one she’d had for Dima, and rightly so. That love had made her soft, and like her mother, Masha endured no softness.

SASHA: do people ever tell you you’re impossible? LEV: from time to time LEV: I take it as a compliment LEV: don’t you? it’s so easy to be possible LEV: seems silly to limit myself to that SASHA: you’re impossible LEV: stop LEV: I’m blushing

SASHA: I honestly don’t know what to say to any of this LEV: good LEV: personally I like the idea of rendering you speechless

SASHA: hate to break it to you but you left “too eager” about two hours ago and now you’re somewhere in the realm of “zealously available”

“I’m not here for a one-night stand, Sasha,” he told her. “The story we’re writing? It has chapters. Installments. I don’t want once.”

“You’re nothing until somebody wants you dead, Bridge, remember that,” she informed him, pulling her coat over her shoulders. “Until then, you’ve done absolutely nothing worth a damn.”

For better or worse, she had always shared everything with Dimitri—until the day she’d shared nothing at all.

“I remember how joy looked on you, Masha. I remember life, and I don’t see it now. I certainly didn’t see it when I saw you last, carrying out your mother’s wrath—so tell me, are you happy? Being the great Marya Antonova,”

“We are only witches, Dima. Not gods.”

To believe in destiny, one must also believe in succession. If the world is ruled by predetermination, then it must also be ordered, measured, paced out from first to last: If this, then this.

How was it possible to feel such greatness in one’s bones and yet be kept from it by some inconsequentiality of birth?

But Dimitri Fedorov, like all heroes, had one near-fatal flaw.

“I am only for you,”

At best, Dimitri Fedorov was Marya Antonova’s greatest weakness. At worst, she was his.

It was a promise and a threat, a declaration of hierarchy, and it tore at the ties between brothers.

Could he really taste so sweet, being her enemy? There was no doubt that he was, now and always, and maybe the scathing cosmic joke of it all was that instinctively, like muscle memory, she’d known it all along.

“Write me a tragedy, Lev Fedorov,” she whispered to him. “Write me a litany of sins. Write me a plague of devastation. Write me lonely, write me wanting, write me shattered and fearful and lost. Then write me finding myself in your arms, if only for a night, and then write it again. Write it over and over, Lev, until we both know the pages by heart. Isn’t that a story, too?” she asked him softly. He hesitated. “This isn’t the story I wanted for us.” “It never is,” replied Sasha, who knew better.

but if I can only have you as a fire, Sasha, as a flame of what you are, then I want you to burn for me.

“I’m your enemy in the morning,” he whispered. Fair warning. His hand traced the shape of her scapula, fingers brushing the length of her spine and then curling upward, possessive. “I’m your enemy tonight,” she said, and kissed him again.

“What does it mean to be a Fedorov son if we destroy ourselves in the process?” Dimitri asked, and his expression was nothing Lev had ever seen on his face before. “What does it mean to be this family or that, if loss is the only thing that comes from it?”

“Do you really believe people are so isolated that when they’re gone, nothing grows in their place? To really kill something, you have to kill everything. You have to raze it to the ground.”

Blood for blood. The most elementary of principles. The most ancient of reparations.

“Roman Fedorov is only Koschei’s blade. A knife doesn’t wield itself.”

“No ifs,” Koschei said, cutting him off. “The devil lounges in the word if, Roma. The circumstances of our conditions are not for us to ponder without slowly losing our minds.”

“Strength comes from struggle,” Marya said. “Each time we bid farewell to a piece of ourselves we become different than we were. But each time we rise again in the morning, it’s a victory,”

She was fantasy incarnate, and she had chosen him.

People believe shadows represent darkness, but that isn’t technically true. For one thing, a shadow can’t exist without light. A shadow, which is itself a slice of darkness, can only be seen when light persists, which is to say it can only be seen in the context of something brighter.

The trouble was always in the consequences, not the doing.

She was soft and unbending, delicate and impossible in his hands. She was power, and powerful, and full of little intricacies that he felt with a sudden thrill of fear he’d never fully know because it would be like counting the stars, like naming grains of sand, and there could never possibly be enough time for any of it.

“I’m glad your wisdom gives you peace, Mama. Even if it came at the price of my pain.”

“You do forget. You forget that while I have always been on your side, you have never truly been on mine.”

If it was a dream, he seemed to say, then let it end in the morning. Let the sun do its worst.

Had anyone ever given Marya Antonova as much as she had given them? He suspected the answer was no.

Still, there was a moment, Lev knew, as he stepped out onto the sidewalk, when he could see the blend of night and day—the sun, the moon, and the stars. There was a moment when all of it aligned, and he didn’t want to miss it.

Content Warnings

lilly_reads98's review

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dark emotional fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

“We can’t curse all the men in the world, can we?” “Not in a single day, at least.” I felt like this book would be epic and it was. It made me read the words as fast as my eyes could consume them, I didn’t want to do anything else but devour the story. I actually think I ended up reading it too fast because now I wish I was still reading it but I just couldn’t put it down! This book is so good, I haven’t read anything really like this. It definitely stands out a lot from anything I’ve read recently, I enjoyed it so much and want to re read it. I really enjoyed seeing the deep love between the love interests and the way it’s written when they’re talking about their love for each other is just so deep mad heart wrenching. It’s so nice to read characters that are just so in love 😭 I don’t think a lot of books actually show that or have dialogue like this book, the dialogue in here is so powerful. It was cringey at times, specifically I think with Sasha. But one of my favorite quotes is, “When you spend enough time with someone, as I have, you begin to learn them like a muscle. You learn their little ticks, their eccentricities, their thoughts. You learn the signs and read them like stars, like lines in a book.” (P. 255) all of the quotes with Masha and Dima are just so good 😭 I wish we could have read more of their backstory. I like Sasha and Lev, I like their dynamic. I think the story was going good but the author ruined it for me by making Sasha and Levi’s relationship purely about lust and not love. They aren’t in love, (until around the middle of the book) but if they were falling in love sooner everything would be way more impactful. Like I expected them to fall in love not just try and have sex every time they see each other. Epic love stories are about love not just that? That’s literally shown in Masha and Dima, they were in love and I was way more invested in their storyline and so confused why the author would not write Lev and Sasha to be falling in love. I think the plot of this is so good but there’s other things that also just kind of ruin it for me, like the cursing and the repetitive dialogue of constantly saying peoples names like 7 times on one page. These things just take me out of the story.. if they weren’t in it I feel like this would be a 5 star amazing epic read. Spoilers ahead:

It does get better once Lev and Sasha do say they love each other, but I wish we got to see them falling in love, we didn’t really get to see that so it just takes so much of the heart wrenching away. I hate Roman oh my god. I don’t like how much we have to read about Roman even after he ruins everything he won’t go away. I am annoyed by now the author uses the same plot point of when Marya comes back to life I expect her to immediately go to Dima but she doesn’t, which is so confusing to me. And the same thing when Lev and Sasha come alive again they don’t immediately go to each other? (When I found out Lev just doesn’t know, but still that brings my issue of why does he show no grief, none of the characters show grief when the other dies and then the next day they’re just talking casually about things as if the love of their life didn’t just get ripped away from them?) it makes no sense why a book like this wouldn’t allow their characters to show more sadness.

I realize I talked about my negative points a lot but I really was so immersed in the story and I loved it so much. It’s just that those things did bother me a lot and did bring down my enjoyment. I loved this part/ “When had Dimitri Fedorov known he loved Marya Antonova? He had known it like the voice of his soul, the sanctity of every prayer. With certainty equal to the changing of the seasons, borne on devotion as relentless as the tide. He had known he loved her like he knew he would rise each day, like knowing his lungs would fill with each breath, like knowing he could bleed with every puncture. With motions as practiced as each step he took. He had loved her with the whole of his being, as if he'd been made to do it; as if he'd been crafted that way by some divine hand. She was in his blood, beating in his chest, racing against it. He felt the ache of her now, pressed flat against the bone of his sternum. With each moment since he'd begun racing to reach her, a fraction of her heart had shattered more, each sliver of shrapnel as much his doing as hers. As much his pain as it was hers.” (P. 384) 😭

“I choose you. I will always choose you.” Dima is literally the most romantic and the best character. He shows his love and speaks it unlike Masha, why did she confess she still loves him but then after she dies and comes back she won’t be loving towards him?? This book is so confusing!!! She finally does and her quotes get to me so much on page 330, but like why when she first came back to life did that not happen??it’s not even explained why she acts like that and only way later do they resume how they were right before she died. Tell me why Bryn makes me think of the guy in that 70’s show that sells jewelry 😂 oh my goodness when lev and Sasha finally know about each other 😭😭😭 it’s so good. It’s so sos o good. But why is it only a few pages and then they start talking about reality again. Why do authors have to torture me 😭😭😭😭 I want to read about them being in love, being happy. But the author keeps switching to so many other characters it’s getting annoying like seriously it was getting so good that I have the 5 star feeling but then it gets ruined again😭 tell me why like seriously we do not want to read about Stas in the middle of Lev and Sasha finally seeing each other after waiting for that for so many pages. “LEV: this is my favorite book” 😭😭😭 I’m happy they got a happy ending but it would be so much better and more impactful if we actually got to see it for more than just a few pages. I hate how so many books just barely show you the happy ending like I read this whole thing and then the ending is just so short. I really enjoyed this book so much, I don’t know why I wrote most of my thoughts as my negative thoughts I’m so sorry 😭 I will leave this off with more quotes that I absolutely loved: “The ground was mossy, covered in leaves and vines. It looked like a fold between universes; like a page in a book of worlds. It couldn't belong in this one, not here, but couldn't belong to another, either. It was foreign and still, a place that had never felt an echo.” (P. 255)

"The past is nothing. We are everything… Give me all of you, take everything of me, and let's see who stands against us then." (P. 330)

Content Warnings

carla20's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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