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cheye13's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
While I found no faults in this book for my own reading tastes, I can see where it may fall short for others. This is not a surprising book in the slightest – though the political/criminal investigation is paced to persist through the full novel, it is set up pretty straightforwardly from the start. The romance progression is also fully predictable, and while it didn't deliver any gut-punch style emotion, I thoroughly enjoyed being swept through the journey. Finally, while the slow burn tension is off the charts, some may find the release/resolution of that tension unequal to the anticipation (i.e. it's pretty low on the spice).
But I don't look for any of these elements in my fantasy romance. I enjoy predictability and the satisfaction of the characters finally catching up to my detached perspective; I was awash in the natural flow and growth of the leads' relationship; and I love me a closed-door or mild heat level. In fact, given the building tension throughout the book, I would've felt like there was no closure if there weren't at least a vague on-page Scene™, so this book skipped past that pitfall as well. A complete joy to read. Hope there's more to this series in the future!
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Kidnapping, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death and Sexual content
Minor: Alcohol and Torture
amy_in_the_city's review against another edition
- 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
The romance in this was such a delicious, angsty, slow burn. Evemer was so stoic and reserved, which made it all the more fun to see him fall so hard for Kadou. I appreciated the anxiety representation with Kadou and that it didn't make him any less of a badass. He still defended Evemer whenever needed, and I loved seeing a prince also defend his bodyguard. A big theme in their relationship is reciprocity, and I love when couples feel like a real partnership.
There was enough action to keep the plot fun and exciting, but I do wish the villain wasn't so obvious from the start. Also, while this was a fantasy, the fantasy elements are used very sparingly. The ending felt a little bit rushed, and I do wish we got to see a bit more of Kadou and Evemer together as a happy couple. My overwhelming love for the romance and the characters overrides any of these quibbles though, and I know this is a book I'll come back to for rereads.
Graphic: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Blood, Alcohol, Mental illness, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual content, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, and Gore
Minor: Pregnancy, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Classism, and Death of parent
miraileah's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The characters, both our main romantic duo and side characters, were well fleshed out and came to life on the page. I started the book strongly disliking a character who I really enjoyed by the end of the book. Loved the magic system of touch tasting, what a unique and interesting idea! Also, the nods to the Ottoman inspired world was awesome to read. Finally a fantasy set in something other than Fantasy England! And finally, the mystery plot was a ton of fun. I thought the book was a good length to settle the mystery, feel the stakes get higher and higher, and of course see our main characters come to terms with their feelings.
I think that a comparison to Winter's Orbit by Everina Maxwell is really fair (though both have very unique worlds and different themes). They both have forced proximity love m/m love stories with one character being a prince, queer normative worlds, and fun mystery plotlines. The moral of the story is that this is exactly what romantasy should be like, and Alexandra Rowland is a new auto-buy author for me.
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders and Sexual content
Moderate: Violence and Pregnancy
cinnamonandpancakes's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
I loved Kadou and Evemer, especially Evemer, and their romance. It was very sexy and compelling. And Tadek was a lot of fun. But I found a lot of the other characters less interesting. Siranos, in particular, seemed to change personality depending on what the narrative needed him to be and that made his plotline quite unsatisfying in my opinion.
The world building was amazing, however, and I loved the focus on material culture. It felt very much like a world that people lived in.
Graphic: Kidnapping, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Mental illness, Alcohol, and Drug use
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, and Death
heather667's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Classism, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Blood, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Ableism, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Death
Minor: Acephobia/Arophobia
amarreth's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Violence and Mental illness
Moderate: Sexual content and Xenophobia
eidal's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Kidnapping and Violence
Minor: Alcohol and Pregnancy
keresian's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Blood, Alcoholism, Alcohol, and Drug use
Minor: Violence, Sexual content, and Death of parent
nicjmorrow's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Sexual content
vanillatwilights's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders and Mental illness
Moderate: Kidnapping
Minor: Violence and Murder