Reviews tagging 'Blood'

Winter's Orbit by Everina Maxwell

21 reviews

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/

Spice Level: 🌶️ (1/5)

Release Date: 28, December 2021

POV: Duel, Third Person 

Rep: LGBTQIA+ characters, Domestic Abuse (past)

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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

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

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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. 

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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/torture

kathigh86's review

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? It's complicated

4.0

This was my first sci-fi book in many months, it was like a cool refresher for my reading palate. I thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of this book. The romance, the mystery, the politics, the world building. I appreciated the fact that everything builds as the book goes on, that there isn’t 80 pages of pure description of the world. There were two main reasons for my 4 star rating over a 5 star. The pacing of this book is SLOW (at least for me), so it was a lot harder for me to get into it and finish it. The stakes of the plot were high, however I didn’t necessarily feel like the stakes were high. Even for this review I find it difficult to tell you how I felt while I was reading. Regardless, I liked this book and look forward to reading the second one.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Car accident, and Grief

Minor: Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Blood, War, Kidnapping, and Sexual content

theatrealpaca's review

adventurous emotional hopeful fast-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Gaslighting, Blood, Colonisation, and Cursing

Minor: Alcohol, War, Death, and Murder

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. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Gun violence, Death, Blood, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Murder, and Violence

Moderate: Sexual content

breadbees's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Death, Violence, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Violence, Xenophobia, and Torture

Minor: Car accident, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, War, Sexual violence, and Medical content

booksbutmakeitgay's review

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Rape, Violence, Classism, Kidnapping, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, and Torture

dusksolace's review against another edition

adventurous emotional 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? Yes

5.0

wish I could put into words how much I love this book

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Car accident, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Violence, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Blood

Minor: War and Grief

beesbeesbeez's review

• 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse

Moderate: Blood

Minor: Alcohol, Addiction, Alcoholism, and War