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wrensandroses's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Medical content, Medical trauma, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Sexual content, Ableism, and Classism
Moderate: Abandonment, Physical abuse, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Pregnancy and Child death
yourbookishbff's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content, Ableism, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, Mental illness, and Sexual content
Moderate: Pregnancy and Infidelity
caitlin_bookchats's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
So... this book is very addicting but I'm very uncomfortable with how Maddie's religious conflict was handled. Essentially it's o.k. to lose your entire religious community which appears to be 90% of your social community because this one man is worth it. Nope nope nope nope. What happens to Maddie if Christian has another medical event that kills him, hmmm??? She didn't have to stay Quaker forever, but I would have preferred more reasons for leaving than just a dichotomy between choosing Christian or Church.
I'm also uncomfortable with some of the undertones re: their physical relationship. This is not unheard of in historical romance, by-the-by, but there was this tendency for Maddie to be reticent and Christian to essentially overpower her with lustiness until she assented. She always eventually assented, but his utter confidence that she wanted it was really overconfident being that he couldn't see into her head at the inner turmoil she felt, like the reader can, and therefore should maybe have listened or, you know, talked with her about say why wanting sex during daytime hours or in the study instead of the bedroom, or just generally being sexually attracted to your husband wasn't a bad thing. Instead he was always just seducing her out of her misgivings, which felt a little dubious tbh.
I'm also uncomfortable with some of the undertones re: their physical relationship. This is not unheard of in historical romance, by-the-by, but there was this tendency for Maddie to be reticent and Christian to essentially overpower her with lustiness until she assented. She always eventually assented, but his utter confidence that she wanted it was really overconfident being that he couldn't see into her head at the inner turmoil she felt, like the reader can, and therefore should maybe have listened or, you know, talked with her about say why wanting sex during daytime hours or in the study instead of the bedroom, or just generally being sexually attracted to your husband wasn't a bad thing. Instead he was always just seducing her out of her misgivings, which felt a little dubious tbh.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, Physical abuse, Medical trauma, Medical content, Infidelity, and Confinement
Moderate: Domestic abuse
Minor: Abandonment, Pregnancy, and Cursing
A good third of the book occurs in a ye-olde-asylum and the threat of returning there hangs over the book (but it is a romance so you know there's an HEA.)
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