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chelseaisreading's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-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
5.0
Oh….my god. Couldn’t put this down. When I tell you even when I had a glimmer of an idea of what was going on this book still had me screaming with the mystery and whatever the hell is happening with these two.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Blood
Moderate: Death
Minor: Death of parent
ephemeral_remi's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Grief, Kidnapping, Gore, Emotional abuse, Death, Blood, Infidelity, Abandonment, Violence, War, Torture, Religious bigotry, and Physical abuse
Minor: Sexual content
louiepotterbook's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Grief, Kidnapping, Sexual content, Death, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Gaslighting, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Torture, and Toxic relationship
qosmosvoid's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
fast-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? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Sexual content
maistfu's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
boy did this give me a whiplash in the best way possible
I thoroughly enjoyed the storyline and the characterisation but in the beginning I was very confused about what was the deal with this universe. also, pretty sure the consent in this book was very questionable at certain times.
I am curious as to what else is going to happen in this series so I'm going to keep reading.
I thoroughly enjoyed the storyline and the characterisation but in the beginning I was very confused about what was the deal with this universe. also, pretty sure the consent in this book was very questionable at certain times.
I am curious as to what else is going to happen in this series so I'm going to keep reading.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Death, Violence, and Sexual content
Minor: Death of parent
questionable consentlucycharm9's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
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? No
4.5
It took me longer than I expected to finish because I stopped so many times to cry for someone's death and take time to recover from those emotional turmoils. I guess it might be the reason why I cannot give it a 5 stars as I strongly dislike seeing those people whom Poppy loved die on page. The idea and world building was very interesting. I now understand why so many people like this one and how it became popular.
Heat: 🔥 (Honestly I think the hottest scene happened at the Red Pearl instead of chapter 33)
Heat: 🔥 (Honestly I think the hottest scene happened at the Red Pearl instead of chapter 33)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Death, and Grief
Moderate: Death of parent
maevesheehan's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Sexual content, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Ableism, Body shaming, Gaslighting, and Confinement
thelongroadtosanity's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-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? Yes
4.5
"Promise me you won't forget this, Poppy. That no matter what happens tomorrow, the next day, next week, you won't forget this, forget that this was real"
*
**
***
**
*
From the very beginning I was sucked into this book and the world built around it (no pun intended). I really enjoyed that this isn't the stereotypical 'vampire' romance, and that the bodyguard troupe in it is something I actually wasn't expecting. To be honest, even though I had a huge plot twist spoiled for me (thanks Instagram) I still was dying to know what happened on the next page.
Poppy is the Maiden, someone blessed by the gods to Ascend and bring forth the next generation to the gods. Despite her high role in society, Poppy can't stand being the Maiden and does what she can, in secret, to feel alive and live the life she chooses. Her secret life takes her to The Red Pearl, a high end brothel that the elite tend to visit in disguise. Recognizing some of her own personal guard in the brothel, Poppy tries to leave, despite the mask hiding her identity, and is ushered into an unoccupied room by a worker trying to help her hide. Unbeknownst to her, the room however, is occupied by one of the newest and elite guardsman, Hawke. Deciding to live a little, things progress between them until Hawke is called away and begs Poppy to stay. She doesn't, and returns back to the castle that she resides in. After a few days, she comes to realize that Hawke is her personal guard, and that he sees her differently than anyone has ever seen her before, not just as the Maiden, but as Poppy.
I really liked how you had to read between the lines to understand the world building, until the truth comes out near the end of the book. I did correctly anticipate a few things in regards to the political structure and history of the world, but I was still surprised how well it was done, with nothing being truly spoken until the end. I feel like the beasts like the Cravens and Wolven have never really been done before, so I really enjoyed that unique element to this book. I also wasn't anticipating the spice (like 2-3 peppers). Usually I feel it takes a while to develop but I enjoyed the sprinkles of it through the book. I also really thought Poppy was a well done character. I never really felt annoyed with her like I typically do with characters in her troupes, to which I think adding the Maiden element to conflict with her own personal views and personality helped me understand her more.
Definitely will be reading more of this series in the upcoming year. A solid 4 out of 5 stars. (12/2023)
*
**
***
**
*
From the very beginning I was sucked into this book and the world built around it (no pun intended). I really enjoyed that this isn't the stereotypical 'vampire' romance, and that the bodyguard troupe in it is something I actually wasn't expecting. To be honest, even though I had a huge plot twist spoiled for me (thanks Instagram) I still was dying to know what happened on the next page.
Poppy is the Maiden, someone blessed by the gods to Ascend and bring forth the next generation to the gods. Despite her high role in society, Poppy can't stand being the Maiden and does what she can, in secret, to feel alive and live the life she chooses. Her secret life takes her to The Red Pearl, a high end brothel that the elite tend to visit in disguise. Recognizing some of her own personal guard in the brothel, Poppy tries to leave, despite the mask hiding her identity, and is ushered into an unoccupied room by a worker trying to help her hide. Unbeknownst to her, the room however, is occupied by one of the newest and elite guardsman, Hawke. Deciding to live a little, things progress between them until Hawke is called away and begs Poppy to stay. She doesn't, and returns back to the castle that she resides in. After a few days, she comes to realize that Hawke is her personal guard, and that he sees her differently than anyone has ever seen her before, not just as the Maiden, but as Poppy.
I really liked how you had to read between the lines to understand the world building, until the truth comes out near the end of the book. I did correctly anticipate a few things in regards to the political structure and history of the world, but I was still surprised how well it was done, with nothing being truly spoken until the end. I feel like the beasts like the Cravens and Wolven have never really been done before, so I really enjoyed that unique element to this book. I also wasn't anticipating the spice (like 2-3 peppers). Usually I feel it takes a while to develop but I enjoyed the sprinkles of it through the book. I also really thought Poppy was a well done character. I never really felt annoyed with her like I typically do with characters in her troupes, to which I think adding the Maiden element to conflict with her own personal views and personality helped me understand her more.
Definitely will be reading more of this series in the upcoming year. A solid 4 out of 5 stars. (12/2023)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Death, and Sexual content
Moderate: Physical abuse and Violence
jo_d's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Vomit, Torture, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Murder, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Violence, and Blood
mishshell's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, and Murder
Minor: Child death and Cannibalism