You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Scan barcode
olivialandryxo's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Also, in the biggest twist of the year—this book made me genuinely like Ramanu. They had much more page time here than in the first book, which annoyed me at first because I thought they were an obnoxious asshole. But seeing how they softened around Cat and were such a good friend to her… it really endeared them to me. I’m suddenly quite eager to read their book in the Peculiar Tastes series, which I’d already been thinking about but now will definitely be diving into next.
Current ranking of the series:
- The Kraken’s Sacrifice
- The Dragon’s Bride
Representation:
- two queer protagonists, each attracted to multiple genders
- nonbinary side character that uses ze/zir
- nonbinary side character that uses they/them
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Grief, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Abortion and Pregnancy
Death & grief: Thane’s husband was killed prior to the story. Emotional abuse & gaslighting: experienced by Catalina prior to the story, by both her mother and various friends and partners. Pregnancy & abortion: Catalina ends up with and thus terminates an unwanted pregnancy. This is handled with care and respect, and she’s supported by everyone involved.sba2x's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Sexual content and Abandonment
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Medical content, Grief, Abortion, and Pregnancy
morgansbookshelves's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Grief, and Abandonment
Moderate: Child abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Vomit, Medical content, and Abortion
Minor: Death, Murder, and Pregnancy
anxiousnachos's review
4.0
Graphic: Sexual content and Abortion
Moderate: Death and Grief
kamreadsandrecs's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
First reason: the narrative was stronger in this one than in The Dragon’s Bride. not to say that the first book was told badly, but I just liked how this one hung together, as it were. It just seemed better-told over all, than the first book.
Second reason: I liked the characters more. I liked the way Catalina’s inner angst was portrayed, and ngl I felt as if I could relate to some degree to what she was going through. The disbelief, especially, is something I relate to very, very hard. Thane, too, was interesting, though I personally found that their inner angst was a bit…idk. Broken too swiftly? Like, I know that processing grief is different for other people, and that for some it can take a VERY long time to finally get a handle on it while some people seem to manage it just fine in a couple of weeks, but a part of me wishes there’d been more time given over to exploring that angst. But then again, I’m a slowburn kinda gal, so that might just be personal preference. Would’ve also given more time to explore Catalina’s emotional baggage too, maybe given more room to portray how Thane helped with that - not fixed it, of course, since love and sex don’t fix deep emotional wounds, but it would have been nice to see how Catalina progressed and changed.
I’m also gonna have to say I liked that this novel portrayed a couple actively choosing to be child-free. Sometimes in some other novels, one or both characters will say they don’t want children, only for twu wuv to somehow change that stance and boom! By the end they’ve got one or two kids with more on the way. And yes, yes, I KNOW that for some people that does actually happen, that meeting the right person at the right time can soften one’s stance regarding having kids if one didn’t want to have them before, but I appreciate how the characters in THIS novel stuck to their guns about not having them, and how Thane really respected Catalina’s decision on the matter and didn’t try to get her to change her mind. I also appreciate how it portrayed abortion as something any woman should be able to get, regardless of WHY she’s getting it.
Since it appears that this series gets better with every succeeding book, I’ve got high hopes for the third book in the series - not least because that gargoyle man looks pretty attractive.
Graphic: Emotional abuse and Sexual content
Moderate: Body shaming, Death, Vomit, and Abortion
reference to age play and to DDlg, slight dollification, use of unconventional gagpumpkinghost24's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Moderate: Child abuse and Death
Minor: Abortion
alliecat1915's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Abortion
Minor: Death, Emotional abuse, and Abandonment
a_libra_library's review
- 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? It's complicated
3.75
Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Abortion, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
ashleycmms's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Grief, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Abandonment
Moderate: Toxic relationship and Death of parent
Minor: Blood and War
forgottencupoftea's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Sexual content, Grief, and Abortion
Moderate: Death and Emotional abuse