Reviews tagging 'Rape'

Winter's Orbit by Everina Maxwell

38 reviews

wilybooklover's review

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious medium-paced

5.0

This is a tough one to categorise. Ostensibly, it’s sci-fi romance, but it’s a lot heavier on the actual sci-fi than most sci-fi romance is. Or maybe space opera, but it’s a lot heavier on the romance than most space opera. In my opinion, it’s pretty equally space opera/romance/suspense (all three of which are interwoven), but whatever it is I loved it. 

The book starts off with our two heroes, Kiem and Jainan, marrying for political alliance reasons. Now, this is how you do a miscommunication trope. It makes sense that Kiem and Jainan would have trouble communicating properly. Not only are they complete strangers, with very different styles of communication, they’re from entirely different cultures and Jainan has been kept isolated and deliberately in the dark about a lot of things. They’re both so considerate of the other that they overthink and misinterpret and get in their own heads about it. It’s kind of endearing, actually, and the slow unfolding of their thoughts and feelings to each other was such a delight to read. They really complemented each other well, despite being charming-extrovert/anxious-introvert opposites. 

Besides the romance, which was lovely and gentle and soft, the worldbuilding and plot were complex and interesting. Kiem and Jainan get dragged into a murder conspiracy upon which the fate of the Empire hinges, and it soon becomes apparent that their lives are also at stake. On top of that, you have a potential rebellion brewing back on Jainan’s home world. It’s a lot, and I do think there was maybe a little too much going on at times (or, perhaps, not paced correctly). But I very much enjoyed this story of political intrigue. Once facet of the worldbuilding that I really enjoyed was the queernorm world. It was so refreshing to see queer people of all kinds just existing without being a statement or facing hardship because of it. The secondary characters were all fleshed out and interesting as well, although I did think that one of the antagonists was a bit obvious

(it’s always suspicious when someone is a bit too friendly and helpful).

 

Ultimately I think this was a well-balanced story of romance and space politics, and would recommend this to people who enjoy both of those things. There are some heavy topics in this, so do check content warnings first.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Car accident, Confinement, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Colonisation, Death, Murder, Physical abuse, Torture, Kidnapping, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Xenophobia, and Violence

Minor: Alcoholism

fl0tsam's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Rape

Minor: War

yulecogs's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Violence, Gaslighting, and Rape

ryssabean's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape

ireadqueerbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, and Torture

res_siderum's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape and Domestic abuse

booksbutmakeitgay's review against another edition

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

paperbackstacks's review against another edition

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse and Rape

mazomazli's review against another edition

emotional inspiring mysterious medium-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

4.75

I absolutely enjoyed this book! Please note that it deals with past domestic violence however it is done with An extreme amount of care that if you usually avoid books with these because it is triggering you might find this story therapeutic. My absolute favorite part of the main relationship was the way that boundaries were respected, encouraged, and reinforced every step of the way. I also enjoy the main storyline though it could’ve used a bit more to make this a perfect 5/5 stars book for me.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Torture, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, and Grief

Moderate: Rape, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Car accident, and Colonisation

dolores_madil's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Death, Emotional abuse, Murder, Racism, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Cursing, Toxic relationship, and Mental illness

Moderate: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Alcohol