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ttorisaurus's review against another edition
4.75
Moderate: Body horror and Blood
dragonaion'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
5.0
As a lover of fae of all kinds, I was tickled and delighted by the smoothness and almost natural involvement of the fae in the story. None of it was out of place (which is saying something, given the nature of some of the scenes) and it all blended and came into place perfectly. With such expressions of high fantasy, it is hard to mistake some parts
Moderate: Self harm, Violence, Classism, Blood, Death, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal cruelty, Confinement, Body horror, Child abuse, Sexual content, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Alcohol, Animal death, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gore, and Murder
There are scenes that may constitute "child abuse", but the character is not technically a child but a magical creature in the shape of a child, and the "sexual content" includes barely a kiss.emilywemily6's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Moderate: Animal death, Animal cruelty, Gore, Body horror, Alcohol, Grief, Murder, Death, and Blood
Minor: Emotional abuse, Cursing, and Sexual content
armercer0's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Body horror
faduma's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.5
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Gore, Kidnapping, Torture, Violence, Child death, Confinement, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse
jessiereads98'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? It's complicated
4.0
Moderate: Animal death, Blood, Confinement, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
Minor: Medical content, Gore, Alcohol, Body horror, Murder, and Child abuse
cozyscones'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
4.5
Graphic: Blood, Confinement, Kidnapping, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Animal cruelty and Body horror
limina's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Blood and Body horror
beautifulpaxielreads's review against another edition
- 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? No
4.5
Set in the early years of the twentieth century, it follows the titular Emily, one of the foremost scholars in the study of faeries, rivalled only by her colleague, the infuriatingly handsome and charming Wendell Bambleby, who for all of his charisma Emily finds just the slightest bit uncanny.
Emily has just arrived in the tiny village of Hrafnsvik on the island of Ljosland (a fictional place which from the descriptions of the landscape and character names seems to be based on Iceland) from her native England, where she intends to research the lives of the island's faerie-folk for the world-first faerie encyclopedia, which is very near to completion.
She is also not a people person, preferring to spend her time either buried in paperwork or trampling through the countryside, making a study of the beings that look set to be her life's work. The village folk of Hrafnsvik do not know what to make of her and her - to them - odd behaviour.
Emily thinks her trip to Hrafnsvik will be like all the other field trips she has made - uneventful and productive. But she is soon to be proved wrong in the most spectacular, infuriating and heartwarming of ways.
Is it obvious how much I enjoyed this? Freya Marske, the author of A Marvellous Light, describes Emily thus:
...winter-sunshined, sharp-tongued and footnoted academia, full of field trips and grumpy romance.
I wholeheartedly agree with Marske that Emily is all of these things - and so much more. It's a grumpy romance between two opposite-minded but somehow compatible individuals (no, I won't tell you who, that would spoil), it's a well-thought-out fantasy of what faerie scholarship would look like if faeries actually existed and were studied, and most of all, it's the story of a young woman learning to accept love and friendship into her life. Although it's never stated explicitly in the book - it would be an anachronism given the time period in which the novel is set - I, like others, believe Emily's behaviour and characteristics to be neurodivergent, though specifics are unclear.
What is clear is that reading about Emily's adventures was a great deal of fun for me, and I can't wait to see what she and Bambleby get up to in the sequel.
Graphic: Death, Murder, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Ableism, Alcohol, Body horror, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, and Violence
Minor: War and Cursing
Some of the faerie folk act in ways that are cruel. Humans can be abducted/possessed/left as empty vessels, or a combination of the three.a_ab's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
The folklore was fascinating, the academic realities — true and amusing, the village social dynamics — interesting and fun to observe.
However, the romantic storyline soured some of the book for me. <spoiler >The character of Wendell did not feel real to me — he was too different from others of his kind (for no apparent good reason), so it seemed like the author tried to make him more likable. But that didn't work either, because even with those adjustments, he is appalling, especially as a potential romantic interest for anybody, and even worse as a potential romantic partner for the heroine. And her consideration of him as such seemed as either enchantment or desperation, because she is aware and critical of most of his shortcomings. If the potential romance was not part of their dynamic, I would've appreciated the whole book a lot more. <spoiler/>
Graphic: Violence, Animal death, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Body horror, Blood, and Kidnapping