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ggcd1981's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
mysterious
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? It's complicated
3.5
Eu tinha expectativas altas para Winter’s Orbit porque a sinopse me interessou bastante, e eu gostei da obra, mas ela não realmente atendeu minhas expectativas. A principal razão para isso foi que esperava que haveria mais tempo de livro dedicado a recuperação de Jainan junto a Kiem, e também que haveria mais momentos emocionais entre o casal. Contudo esses aspectos não foram tratados de forma profunda como gostaria. Outro ponto que não me agradou muito, mas isso é mais uma questão de gosto pessoal, foi a voz que o narrador do audiobook fez para Jainan, dando a ele uma voz grave e alpha que não me permitia enxergar a vulnerabilidade do personagem que passou por traumas e ainda assim tentava navegar uma situação política tão delicada com tantas pressões e responsabilidades. Não consegui sentir muita proximidade a Jainan por causa da narração, mas como disse, isso foi uma questão de gosto. A construção do mundo e cenário político foi, em algumas partes, um pouco confusa. Isso dificultou um pouco a imersão nesses aspectos do livro, que foram mais proeminentes do que esperava. No entanto gostei dos personagens (Kiem era um cinnamon roll como marido), apesar de sentir essa certa distância de Jainan. Gostei da história do casal, apesar de achar que poderiam ter havido momentos mais profundos de cura de trauma e discussões mais vulneráveis e significativas. Neste momento não decidi se vou continuar com a série de companion novels, pois o universo e política da obra não capturaram minha imaginação por serem um pouco confusos. Contudo gostei de ter lido Winter’s Orbit e no geral foi uma experiência positiva. Dou 3.5 estrelas.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Death, Car accident, Colonisation, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Murder, and Violence
fanboyriot's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
slow-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
4.0
🔥 Slow Burn
🤝 Mutual Pinning
💍 Arranged Marriage
This book was great for people wanting to read sci-fi but get overwhelmed by the thought of it. Besides few names I had to look up the pronunciation of, it was fairly easy to read. I enjoyed how well the sci-fi and romance mixed with this book, there was also a bit of mystery to the plot as well.
Kiem was honestly such a lovable idiot and worked so well with Jainan. I would have liked a little more romance but the plot was good too. The romance itself is a bit of a slow burn, the main plot, focusing much more on the political scheming, and an alleged murder that might just be a cover-up, and in general dealing with diplomatic relations.
I got this book from Etsy in a Blind Date with a Book from @theannexlibrary and was so happy with it!
https://www.etsy.com/listing/1366979807/
https://www.etsy.com/listing/1366979807/
Spice Level: 🌶️ (1/5)
Release Date: 28, December 2021
POV: Duel, Third Person
Rep: LGBTQIA+ characters, Domestic Abuse (past)
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Toxic relationship, Rape, Xenophobia, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Death, Kidnapping, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, and Torture
Minor: Blood, Gun violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Bullying, Mental illness, Cursing, Murder, Racism, Car accident, and Confinement
talonsontypewriters's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Emotional abuse, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Murder, Sexual assault, Violence, Xenophobia, Death, Gun violence, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, and Confinement
Minor: Drug use, Alcohol, Sexual content, and War
Vehicle crash. Attack by animal. Abuse only briefly explicitly depicted in flashbacks, though the aftermath is present and discussed throughout. (Attempt at) memory modification.lunarexorcist's review
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
5.0
This book was so obviously written by someone who grew up on AO3. That has so much potential to be an embarrassing mess for everyone involved. But it works, and I want to read more of it yesterday.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Medical trauma, Car accident, Xenophobia, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Gun violence and Rape
exhumedprince's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
sad
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Confinement, Gun violence, Police brutality, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Violence, and Sexual content
Minor: Death, Alcohol, Blood, and Medical content
bluejayreads's review against another edition
emotional
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
4.5
Sometimes you get in the mood to read something absolutely emotionally devastating. The kind of book that will tear out your heart and crush it and leave you sobbing and grateful to have read it. And if you ever get into that mood, have I got a book for you!
Winter’s Orbit will crush you in the best way. There were a few points where my chest physically hurt from the beautifully devastating feelings (or it could have been because my new medication was entirely fucking me over – but I choose to attribute it to the book). It’s an arranged-marriage mutual-pining romance between two scared and hurting and uncertain young royals against the backdrop of empire-ending scifi politics. It’s wonderful and it hurts so much.
I loved Kiem. He was kind as an integral part of his existence, oblivious to anything that didn’t fit his experience until explicitly told (at which point he felt bad for not noticing), and very much trying his best. He knew how to handle his own life as a prince, for the most part, but had absolutely zero idea of how to handle being married. He was sweet and self-deprecating and I loved him.
And, unusual for a book with dual narrators, I loved Jainan just as much. He was uncertain, terrified, and absolutely dedicated to duty even when it involved excessive and painful self-sacrifice, and he had no idea how to deal with a partner as genuinely kind as Kiem. I called the dynamic between him and his first partner immediately (considering I have personal experience with it, it seemed obvious to be, but I can see how often oblivious and never-thinks-bad-of-people Kiem would miss it), and I was very pleased to see how everything worked out in this second marriage. I adored Kiem because he was sweet and fun, but I adored Jainan because he was hurt and broken and I wanted to see him heal and be happy.
The world itself was well sketched. It was done well enough that there were a few nice moments of culture clash, and I really enjoyed how Kiem’s and Jainan’s two cultures used clothing indicators like jewelry (Kiem’s people) and scarf knots (Jainan’s people) to indicate gender, rather than anything inherent in the physical body. There were definitely interesting parts, and it was detailed enough to support the story, but it took a back seat to the romance.
In fact, everything took a back seat to the romance. That includes the plot, which includes desperate politics to get an important treaty signed before the deadline, murder and assassination, and a far-reaching conspiracy with plans to destroy the empire. It’s enough to make an entire book on its own, and yet it fades into the background behind the two protagonists and their pining, uncertain, tentative, adorably awkward relationship. And even though I usually prefer plot and roll my eyes at romance, I enjoyed it thoroughly.
I’m still not fully clear on what was really so difficult about getting the treaty signed in the first place, which made the foundation of everything that happens feel very flimsy. But it was a solid book and a stellar romance. The plot was good, the characters were great, the emotions were intense and devastating in the best possible way. On the whole, it’s very good.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Violence
Minor: Death, Torture, and Gun violence
Forced marriage, unreality, romantic partner death, medical-like equipment used in interrogation/torturesarahlou79's review
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse
Minor: Gun violence and Violence
spaghettii's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
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? Yes
5.0
I LOVE THEM!!!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Violence, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, and War
massivepizzacrust's review
emotional
hopeful
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
4.5
It's so nice to find a great sci-fi standalone. This one has all the slow burn, drawn out tension between two truly lovable main characters you could want. And the epilogue is the best payoff possible. One of the blurbs recommends this for fans of The Goblin Emperor and I highly agree! But it's also more tense and high stakes, and I really recommend reviewing the content warnings because there's an abusive relationship we see in flashbacks.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Violence, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Confinement, and Gun violence
Moderate: Sexual assault and Rape
Minor: Sexual content
caseythereader's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
slow-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
4.5
- WINTER'S ORBIT is a beautiful, rich fantasy romance filled with longing and intrigue and only-one-bed.
- I adored both our sweet blockhead main characters, who were both trying to do what they thought was best for the other one without, you know, actually asking what might be best.
- The universe Maxwell has built here is so detailed and the central mystery kept me guessing.
- I adored both our sweet blockhead main characters, who were both trying to do what they thought was best for the other one without, you know, actually asking what might be best.
- The universe Maxwell has built here is so detailed and the central mystery kept me guessing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Gun violence, Death, Blood, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual content