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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
Here’s why I liked it: both the heroine and hero were older characters (thirties, I think), I haven’t seen this concept before, the romance wasn’t insta-love and wasn’t a painful slow burn but rather a gradual movement to love, I love the setting of the majority of the story and the worldbuilding is insane, and I love how much the hero supports Martise in her own power.
Here’s why I didn’t like it: it took a hot minute for Silhara to stop being a jackass, I didn’t like some of the comments about her voice and just the whole thing with how Silhara reacted to realizing he actually liked/respected Martise (this chapter is j a little uncomfy and unsettling),
Here’s why you should read it: the world is incredibly well-built and interesting (not insanely complex or overwhelming), it isn’t really ya and doesn’t play into a lot of those tropes, the slow build up to their relationship and just the general transition from mistrust to friendship to romance is sooo good, the fantasy plot is soo well done and woven in
Here’s why I didn’t like it: it took a hot minute for Silhara to stop being a jackass, I didn’t like some of the comments about her voice and just the whole thing with how Silhara reacted to realizing he actually liked/respected Martise (this chapter is j a little uncomfy and unsettling),
Here’s why you should read it: the world is incredibly well-built and interesting (not insanely complex or overwhelming), it isn’t really ya and doesn’t play into a lot of those tropes, the slow build up to their relationship and just the general transition from mistrust to friendship to romance is sooo good, the fantasy plot is soo well done and woven in
perfect balance between angst and common sense. Draven navigated the difference in power dynamics deftl
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-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
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
this was fine. Unremarkable honestly. Grace Draven is a talented writer. She’s a nice go-to for quick fantasy-romance, however there’s a lack of worldbuilding especially in this one. It Felt longer than it was and took me longer than I wanted to finish. I found martise to be sweet. Silhara was funny sometimes but also quite rude. Gurn was sweet and so was his relationship with Martise and Silhara. None of them were insanely developed as characters. I preferred the radiance trio to this book.
Obviously it’s a fantasy world where values are different but it was emphasized wayyyyy too much that Martise is “plain”. Like how often can the love interest call out fmc different versions of plain and lowkey ugly before it starts to become unbelievable that he somehow became attracted to her. Maybe Draven was trying a “looks don’t matter” approach but idk. Also the word cunnus was used a lot… were there no other synonyms lmfao
Idk how to explain it but I didn’t like the writing surrounding sex workers in this ?
Obviously it’s a fantasy world where values are different but it was emphasized wayyyyy too much that Martise is “plain”. Like how often can the love interest call out fmc different versions of plain and lowkey ugly before it starts to become unbelievable that he somehow became attracted to her. Maybe Draven was trying a “looks don’t matter” approach but idk. Also the word cunnus was used a lot… were there no other synonyms lmfao
Idk how to explain it but I didn’t like the writing surrounding sex workers in this ?