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4.23 AVERAGE
4.23 AVERAGE
Overall disappointing but I kept going because I wanted to see plot movement that never realized. Briony is really missing some clues and is not keying into the real mysteries of the world to place significance on what she cares most about in the uprising. I am not familiar with Dramione fan fic but this girl is not a Hermione because she’s not clued in or curious or clever enough to be a Hermione. I don’t think Briony is even Ravenclaw (she’s so Hufflepuff coded).
I’m not clear on the magic of the world (trees just ripped out of the earth in combat?) and the significance of virginity. And yes I was uncomfortable by how much I wanted her to climb him even if she’s his property and there’s gross abuse all around.
The more I think about the book the more I just don’t understand. Needed more magic and less purity discussions. Perhaps also an honest conversation about their feelings because they could die at any moment.
I’m not clear on the magic of the world (trees just ripped out of the earth in combat?) and the significance of virginity. And yes I was uncomfortable by how much I wanted her to climb him even if she’s his property and there’s gross abuse all around.
The more I think about the book the more I just don’t understand. Needed more magic and less purity discussions. Perhaps also an honest conversation about their feelings because they could die at any moment.
adventurous
challenging
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
I couldn’t get into the story. The characters just didn’t do it for me. Briony was a little too perfect and the back and forth in time was as not enjoyable.
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
dark
emotional
tense
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Confinement, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Slavery, Trafficking, Sexual harassment, War, Classism
Moderate: Death, Infertility, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Murder
Minor: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Medical trauma, Abortion
challenging
dark
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Briony is a princess of a magic country called Eversun. We needn’t worry too much about details beyond this because we don’t get much from her. She is very much a passive vessel in this book, and for a book that SHOULD be interrogating the theme of autonomy, she exhibits none and no desire to gain it back. Her virginity and fertility are discussed as theoretical concepts and never really are we given an answer to the questions of does she want to have sex, or does she want to have children? Instead, Briony’s entire motivation depends on making Toven Hearst, her captor, with whom she’s been infatuated for years, happy.
My favourite moments in this book were those of solidarity between women, but they’re few and far between. Where did Larissa go? No idea! The questions about her capture and escape? Never answered!
Instead we are treated to over a hundred pages of this 440 page book being devoted to “Briony wants to go to a sex party!” Repeatedly. Week by week. At least twenty pages of this is an interlude where the group discusses Briony’s ability to give a blow job. We learn that the Heartsprings can give their captors something called Sacral Magic through a “deeper bond” and on circa page 300 Briony, a supposedly intelligent woman, asks if that’s a sex thing.
Toven, our main male character, lives at home in his big house with his talented and kind parents, and appears to have no personality except muscles quirking in his jaw.
Mostly, it felt stretched. This is the first in a trilogy, and you can tell, because it felt like the first third of a story. With a cliffhanger that I would consider weak, undermining and predictable, it’s going to be a hard sell for me to pick up book two.
dark
medium-paced
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
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:
No
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual violence