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rhyslightning's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
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
5.0
I absolutely love the protagonists Enzo and Fiore. They’re so magnetic, the setting is fresh and unique, and the book is a feast for everyone that loves hurt/comfort.
the relationship between characters in Nothwell’s novels always avoid reliance on toxic tropes, and it’s been a huge comfort to read his gay pairings for me. i started with fiorenzo and will now read anything attached to his name!
the relationship between characters in Nothwell’s novels always avoid reliance on toxic tropes, and it’s been a huge comfort to read his gay pairings for me. i started with fiorenzo and will now read anything attached to his name!
Graphic: Death, Animal death, Sexual assault, Murder, Sexual violence, Vomit, Physical abuse, Violence, Sexual content, Medical trauma, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, and Gore
atlastheninth's review
adventurous
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Thanks to the author for an ARC copy, all opinions are my own.
I loved this. Fiore and Enzo are so sweet, I adore them. Also it's a dual POV, so you know that both of them are a mess and constantly pining for the other. And you get some important moments told from both POV's, which YES! I need that in more books.
The only thing I knew about this book before reading it was that it has hurt/comfort and it sure does! And it's so good. It's also the most hurt/comfort I've ever read in a single book.
The pacing was rather slow, but I was never bored nor did it feel like scenes were too long.
We don't spend a lot of time with the side characters, but still all of them feel like fully fleshed-out characters with different personalities.
I also felt like Fiore's trauma, his occupation and the class difference between him and Enzo was all handled very well.
It's difficult to say more about it because this is a full on romance with minimal plot. And the bit of plot was only there so we could have more hurt/comfort, which I personally didn't mind.
This book is very spicy and (what I def didn't expect) it starts out with a lot of it. Overall the spice is really good but there are only so many times I can read the metaphor of a sword being put into a sheath before it becomes ridiculous. It definitly was a couple of times too many for me. But that's pretty much the only complaint I have.
Also noteworthy: One of the characters has a "particular peculiarity" as the character himself calls it (which is such a weird combination of words) or as the author calls it a "creative anatomy".
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Kidnapping, Murder, and Sexual content
Moderate: Blood, Gore, Rape, and Violence
Minor: Animal death and Child abuse
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