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gabibooksit's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
If Fire by Kristin Cashore and Studio Ghibli had a very dark and twisty offspring, it would be Night Shine by Tessa Gratton. A lush and dark Beauty and the Beast retelling, Night Shine has many story elements I love - gorgeous magic, LGBTQ+ characters abounding, darling side characters, and villainous love interests. For me though, it was missing something that kept me from full on loving it. A gorgeous story to be sure, and I will 100% put this in the hands of teens, but I wasn’t fully satisfied.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse
Minor: Toxic relationship, Violence, and Deadnaming
kylieqrada's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Tessa Gratton's writing is just RIDICULOUS. I absolutely adored both of her adult novels, Lady Hotspur and The Queens of Innis Lear, so when I saw an upcoming novel from her that was pitched as a dark sapphic fairy tale I was HERE FOR IT even though it was YA. Turned out not only is it sapphic, but it also has nonbinary rep (it is not explicitly stated what the character identifies as), and gay/polyamorous characters! The vibe of this is classic Tessa Gratton, but instead of being 10/10 dark and gritty like her adult stuff, she dials it back and adds a little whimsy for her YA audience, which I needed right about now. There were a few problematic elements, hence the 3.5 ⭐s. I'm not super comfy with the age gap, especially given the conclusion of this novel. Also, the author could have done a better job of clarifying her racial diversity without describing everybody as white or copper-colored. And there is a clear abuse element that wasn't resolved to my satisfaction. But overall I really enjoyed this. Definitely a "guilty" (I have no guilt) pleasure fantasy romance! Now to get started on Tessa Gratton's YA backlist!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Toxic relationship
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