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4.08 AVERAGE
4.08 AVERAGE
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Vivid, vibrant and utterly delightful!
I picked this book up on a complete whim and it turned out to be exactly what I needed. This cosy romantic fantasy is set in the wonderfully magical city of Levena, where our fantastically diverse group of characters are gearing up to participate in the yearly scavenger hunt to win the grand prize: The Wish.
And while that is definitely an intriguing plot set-up, there's something even more exciting driving this narrative forward. Because... what happens when an immortal who no-one remembers falls in love with a grumpy hedge witch?
This book features some of the most endearing characters I have read in a long time and the found family vibes are seriously off the charts!! These characters are so vibrant and realistic and their relationships were incredibly deep, complex and heartfelt. It honestly felt like I was spending time with life-long friends and I loved it. Also, I really appreciated that this world was so delightfully diverse. The cast of characters we follow all have their own struggles and quirks, yet they are accepted exactly as they are. And the way mental illness is portrayed in this story was also incredibly powerful and authentic, I felt so much for these characters!!
Now, I have to admit I was a bit hesitant when I found out that this had the fated mates trope, but wow... it was executed to perfection here. Instead of a cheesy insta-love situation, we get a deliciously slow-burn romance with lots of pining and I was so here for it! I really appreciated that we got to see such a beautiful blossoming of their relationship, it filled my heart with joy. Also, kudos to the author for not having the romantic relationship solve all their personal inner struggles. These characters are quite broken and traumatized when we first meet them, but then we get to see them heal and grow together. And it's a beautifully human and messy process, just as it should be!
So all in all, I highly recommend this queer and slow-burn fantasy romance if you are in the mood for something that will tug on your heartstrings and fill you with joy.
I loved it!
I picked this book up on a complete whim and it turned out to be exactly what I needed. This cosy romantic fantasy is set in the wonderfully magical city of Levena, where our fantastically diverse group of characters are gearing up to participate in the yearly scavenger hunt to win the grand prize: The Wish.
And while that is definitely an intriguing plot set-up, there's something even more exciting driving this narrative forward. Because... what happens when an immortal who no-one remembers falls in love with a grumpy hedge witch?
This book features some of the most endearing characters I have read in a long time and the found family vibes are seriously off the charts!! These characters are so vibrant and realistic and their relationships were incredibly deep, complex and heartfelt. It honestly felt like I was spending time with life-long friends and I loved it. Also, I really appreciated that this world was so delightfully diverse. The cast of characters we follow all have their own struggles and quirks, yet they are accepted exactly as they are. And the way mental illness is portrayed in this story was also incredibly powerful and authentic, I felt so much for these characters!!
Now, I have to admit I was a bit hesitant when I found out that this had the fated mates trope, but wow... it was executed to perfection here. Instead of a cheesy insta-love situation, we get a deliciously slow-burn romance with lots of pining and I was so here for it! I really appreciated that we got to see such a beautiful blossoming of their relationship, it filled my heart with joy. Also, kudos to the author for not having the romantic relationship solve all their personal inner struggles. These characters are quite broken and traumatized when we first meet them, but then we get to see them heal and grow together. And it's a beautifully human and messy process, just as it should be!
So all in all, I highly recommend this queer and slow-burn fantasy romance if you are in the mood for something that will tug on your heartstrings and fill you with joy.
I loved it!
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The author says ahead of time that this is a slow burn, low spice until the end, and has a content warning for mental illness and emotional pain (can’t remember exactly how they phrased it), but I was definitely warned
This book is beautiful. It hurt so badly that I couldn’t even cry, I just *ached* all the way through it. The mental illness stuff resonated so deeply with mine and my kids’ experiences (cw: mental illness misery) esp since one of my kids was forcefully hospitalized, and the main character has trauma related to same .
The author says it has an HEA but “not what everyone would traditionally consider one” or something similar. That’s accurate. I was satisfied with the ending and would classify it as an HEA for me.
The queer rep, normalization of a spectrum of ability levels, gender spectum rep, freaking *everything* brought a deep warmth to every scene for me.
Anyway, I am a hollowed out shell of a human after reading, and I will never forget this book
This book is beautiful. It hurt so badly that I couldn’t even cry, I just *ached* all the way through it. The mental illness stuff resonated so deeply with mine and my kids’ experiences (cw: mental illness misery)
The author says it has an HEA but “not what everyone would traditionally consider one” or something similar. That’s accurate. I was satisfied with the ending and would classify it as an HEA for me.
The queer rep, normalization of a spectrum of ability levels, gender spectum rep, freaking *everything* brought a deep warmth to every scene for me.
Anyway, I am a hollowed out shell of a human after reading, and I will never forget this book
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness
Moderate: Torture
ᴀʀʟᴏ • ᴛʜᴀᴛᴄʜ
EVERYTHING IS FINE! IM FINE! 😭🖤 THAT LAST CHAPTER?!?! NOAH, WHEN I FUCKING CATCH YOU BRO.
The story was beautiful ! I was so invested in the game and all the different dynamics of this found family. My heart !
I didn't want this story to end but, alas it did and the ending was so good. I'm definitely continuing the series soon cause I love them all so much. Fuck ME bro 😭
🍂 𝑪𝑶𝒁𝒀 𝑺𝑶𝑳𝑨𝑹𝑷𝑼𝑵𝑲 𝑼𝑹𝑩𝑨𝑵 𝑭𝑨𝑵𝑻𝑨𝑺𝒀
🍁 𝑾𝑰𝑻𝑪𝑯×𝑰𝑴𝑴𝑶𝑹𝑻𝑨𝑳
🍂 𝑺𝑾𝑬𝑬𝑻 & 𝑺𝑳𝑶𝑾 𝑹𝑶𝑴𝑨𝑵𝑪𝑬
🍁 𝑭𝑶𝑼𝑵𝑫 𝑭𝑨𝑴𝑰𝑳𝒀
🍂 '𝑯𝑨𝑽𝑬 𝑾𝑬 𝑴𝑬𝑻?'
🍁 '𝑪𝑨𝑻𝑪𝑯 𝑴𝑬 𝑰𝑭 𝒀𝑶𝑼 𝑪𝑨𝑵'
🍂 '𝑰 𝑾𝑶𝑵'𝑻 𝑭𝑶𝑹𝑮𝑬𝑻 𝒀𝑶𝑼'
🍁 𝑴𝒀𝑺𝑻𝑬𝑹𝒀
🍂 𝑯𝑬𝑨𝑳𝑰𝑵𝑮
🍁 𝑴𝑬𝑵𝑻𝑨𝑳 𝑯𝑬𝑨𝑳𝑻𝑯 𝑴𝑨𝑻𝑻𝑬𝑹𝑺
🍂 𝑭𝑰𝑵𝑫𝑰𝑵𝑮 𝒀𝑶𝑼𝑹𝑺𝑬𝑳𝑭 𝑨𝑺 𝑨𝑵 𝑨𝑫𝑼𝑳𝑻
🍁 𝑴𝑨𝑮𝑰𝑪 𝑻𝑨𝑻𝑻𝑶𝑶𝑺
🍂 𝑫𝑰𝑺𝑨𝑩𝑰𝑳𝑰𝑻𝒀 & 𝑳𝑮𝑩𝑻𝑰𝑨+ 𝑹𝑬𝑷
🖇
📍 𝑨𝒗𝒂𝒊𝒍𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝑵𝒐𝒘 🔥
📍 𝙲𝙷𝙴𝙲𝙺 𝙲𝚆 + 𝚃𝚆 𝙿𝙴𝚁𝚂𝙾𝙽𝙰𝙻𝙻𝚈 ‼
🖇
𝑹𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝑸𝒖𝒆𝒆𝒓 𝑨𝒍𝒍 𝒀𝒆𝒂𝒓🌈
𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒚 𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒃𝒚 🔪🏳️⚧️
- 𝑿𝑯𝑩
EVERYTHING IS FINE! IM FINE! 😭🖤 THAT LAST CHAPTER?!?! NOAH, WHEN I FUCKING CATCH YOU BRO.
The story was beautiful ! I was so invested in the game and all the different dynamics of this found family. My heart !
I didn't want this story to end but, alas it did and the ending was so good. I'm definitely continuing the series soon cause I love them all so much. Fuck ME bro 😭
🍂 𝑪𝑶𝒁𝒀 𝑺𝑶𝑳𝑨𝑹𝑷𝑼𝑵𝑲 𝑼𝑹𝑩𝑨𝑵 𝑭𝑨𝑵𝑻𝑨𝑺𝒀
🍁 𝑾𝑰𝑻𝑪𝑯×𝑰𝑴𝑴𝑶𝑹𝑻𝑨𝑳
🍂 𝑺𝑾𝑬𝑬𝑻 & 𝑺𝑳𝑶𝑾 𝑹𝑶𝑴𝑨𝑵𝑪𝑬
🍁 𝑭𝑶𝑼𝑵𝑫 𝑭𝑨𝑴𝑰𝑳𝒀
🍂 '𝑯𝑨𝑽𝑬 𝑾𝑬 𝑴𝑬𝑻?'
🍁 '𝑪𝑨𝑻𝑪𝑯 𝑴𝑬 𝑰𝑭 𝒀𝑶𝑼 𝑪𝑨𝑵'
🍂 '𝑰 𝑾𝑶𝑵'𝑻 𝑭𝑶𝑹𝑮𝑬𝑻 𝒀𝑶𝑼'
🍁 𝑴𝒀𝑺𝑻𝑬𝑹𝒀
🍂 𝑯𝑬𝑨𝑳𝑰𝑵𝑮
🍁 𝑴𝑬𝑵𝑻𝑨𝑳 𝑯𝑬𝑨𝑳𝑻𝑯 𝑴𝑨𝑻𝑻𝑬𝑹𝑺
🍂 𝑭𝑰𝑵𝑫𝑰𝑵𝑮 𝒀𝑶𝑼𝑹𝑺𝑬𝑳𝑭 𝑨𝑺 𝑨𝑵 𝑨𝑫𝑼𝑳𝑻
🍁 𝑴𝑨𝑮𝑰𝑪 𝑻𝑨𝑻𝑻𝑶𝑶𝑺
🍂 𝑫𝑰𝑺𝑨𝑩𝑰𝑳𝑰𝑻𝒀 & 𝑳𝑮𝑩𝑻𝑰𝑨+ 𝑹𝑬𝑷
🖇
📍 𝑨𝒗𝒂𝒊𝒍𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝑵𝒐𝒘 🔥
📍 𝙲𝙷𝙴𝙲𝙺 𝙲𝚆 + 𝚃𝚆 𝙿𝙴𝚁𝚂𝙾𝙽𝙰𝙻𝙻𝚈 ‼
🖇
𝑹𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝑸𝒖𝒆𝒆𝒓 𝑨𝒍𝒍 𝒀𝒆𝒂𝒓🌈
𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒚 𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒃𝒚 🔪🏳️⚧️
- 𝑿𝑯𝑩
2.5 stars
I'm disappointed with this. This proves the old adage that you can't judge a book by its cover because the cover is absolutely gorgeous, but I had major issues with this book.
First of all, there are so many pointless long descriptions, and pointless scenes, for example, why do we need two chapters about how this group of friends went out to a bar one time? That could have been a paragraph! I felt lost wading through these scenes, like, I'm still not even sure what this book is about?
There are too many characters and they are underdeveloped. I did not feel invested in either of the MCs, or their relationship. I like found family, but it felt forced here. Also, the MCs are over 100 years old and yet they act like teenagers. Thatch is apparently thousands of years old, but he is incredibly naive.
The world building is way too complicated for no good reason. A lot of this magical world felt like wallpaper. What I mean is, it served no purpose as far as the story was concerned and seemed like just another excuse to write some more pointless scenes. Everything felt sort of vague and contrived. The mystery surrounding Thatch - which is really the only source of tension between the two MCs - didn't really make sense to me, and left me with a lot of questions.
There were a few somewhat enjoyable parts, and a couple parts when I thought things were finally coming together, but then...no.
I'm disappointed with this. This proves the old adage that you can't judge a book by its cover because the cover is absolutely gorgeous, but I had major issues with this book.
First of all, there are so many pointless long descriptions, and pointless scenes, for example, why do we need two chapters about how this group of friends went out to a bar one time? That could have been a paragraph! I felt lost wading through these scenes, like, I'm still not even sure what this book is about?
There are too many characters and they are underdeveloped. I did not feel invested in either of the MCs, or their relationship. I like found family, but it felt forced here. Also, the MCs are over 100 years old and yet they act like teenagers. Thatch is apparently thousands of years old, but he is incredibly naive.
The world building is way too complicated for no good reason. A lot of this magical world felt like wallpaper. What I mean is, it served no purpose as far as the story was concerned and seemed like just another excuse to write some more pointless scenes. Everything felt sort of vague and contrived. The mystery surrounding Thatch - which is really the only source of tension between the two MCs - didn't really make sense to me, and left me with a lot of questions.
There were a few somewhat enjoyable parts, and a couple parts when I thought things were finally coming together, but then...no.
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Very enjoyable story, and I liked the worldbuilding and the characters, but somehow it didn't quite connect for me. The catharsis simply wasn't there.