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renee_fae's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: War
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Death of parent, Grief, Gore, and Blood
kermittuesday's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
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
4.0
Used the word raiment far too much. Just say clothes every once in a while.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War
Moderate: Medical content, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Blood, and Grief
Minor: Child death, Sexual content, Alcoholism, and Vomit
Despite the amount of triggers I listed, this is not a horror book but it does involve war so it has this stuff. The sexual content is very minimal but because it’s a YA book, you might want to know it’s there.amy_in_the_city's review against another edition
dark
emotional
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
4.75
I loved the epistolary elements of this book, and the writing was absolutely beautiful! The love story felt very Pride & Prejudice-inspired. I liked the setting, but I thought there could have been a bit more worldbuilding. The fantasy elements (other than the magic typewriters and Kitt's magic house) felt too abstract. I don't feel like I got a good sense of the gods and the monsters, but I'm assuming that will be explored more in the sequel. Still, for most of the book, I felt like I was just reading a WWI historical novel instead of a different fantasy world inspired by WWI. I didn't understand the main characters' decision to stay and defend the town even though they were not soldiers and had no fighting training or equipment. They didn't accomplish anything at all by staying, so the decision felt contrived for plot reasons. . Another thing that seemed contrived for plot reasons is Forest not revealing himself sooner and instead deciding that waiting to kidnap Iris during battle was the best course of action.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, War, Grief, Blood, Death of parent, Death, Classism, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
Moderate: Car accident, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Child death, and Medical content
Minor: Sexual content and Stalking
annabananadel's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
“I think we all wear armor. I think those who don’t are fools, risking the pain of being wounded by the sharp edges of the world, over and over again. But if I’ve learned anything from those fools, it is that to be vulnerable is a strength most of us fear. It takes courage to let down your armor, to welcome people to see you as you are. Sometimes I feel the same as you: I can’t risk having people behold me as I truly am. But there’s also a small voice in the back of my mind, a voice that tells me, “You will miss so much by being so guarded.”
This is worth the hype for sure. I can see why people kept picking this book up and recommending it because it really is an amazing story. It's been awhile since I read a YA romance fantasy and even though I usually steer clear from YAs, I've been brought in by the book community to try this book. I wasn't disappoint. Although it was slow at first - duh! It's world building so it not unusual, but I would have loved for the world to be built more. I did not really have the backstory of the world and how it came to be. I think that's what made me slow in the beginning but once I've hit a quarter of the story, it was just smooth sailing from there. I was just immediately hooked.
I love the war setting where this couple should conquer war for their love or something in that sense. I love the banters and I really wish there was more of it. I love the typewriter form of communication and how these two just write the loveliest letters to each other. It makes a lot of sense why they wouldn't fall for each other. The side characters and their stories as well was a good addition to the book. I really do love the story and was just devastated for the last quarter of the book where I just need to know what happened to the main characters. I wish the twist at the end had been made a little bit more sense but that's just me, I guess. I was heart broken for that last 50 pages and I'm so glad I bought the next book last weekend.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, and War
Moderate: Death of parent, Grief, Medical trauma, and Blood
Minor: Vomit
knunderb's review against another edition
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
The premise was really interesting and I liked the characters. However, I thought the first half and second half felt like two different books. I also felt like the lore wasn't really fleshed out. also, it made no sense to me why Iris went with Forrest after he choked her and left Roman for dead, especially when he wouldn't explain anything to her.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore and War
Minor: Sexual content
cait's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Abandonment, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Slavery, Violence, War, Alcohol, Classism, Medical content, Gore, Gun violence, Addiction, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, Death, and Death of parent
katelynndzindzio's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
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? Yes
5.0
Roman C. Kitt and Iris Winnow are rivals, competing for the columnist position at the Gazette only to have their worlds completely changed. Iris's brother goes to war, her mom died, and Roman gets engaged. Roman wins the columnist position and Iris quits, determined to find her brother she heads to the war zone. All the while, Iris has been sending letters from her magical typewriter... Unknowingly, not to her brother.
Kitt and winnow's journey is magical to say the least. Through a series of unfortunate events they fall in love. Can true love save them?
Kitt and winnow's journey is magical to say the least. Through a series of unfortunate events they fall in love. Can true love save them?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Medical content, War, Murder, Blood, Death of parent, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Gore, and Violence
amelianotthepilot's review against another edition
5.0
ughhhhh this book had me punchin walls and kicking blankets it was so cute
Iris Winnow has won a writing competition and although she didn't finish school because they ran out of money she now has the opportunity to become a columnist at a leading newspaper in the city. However, her academic rival, Roman C Kitt, is a wealthy git who seems to do everything in his power to annoy her and is her only competition for the columnist role.
*stefan voice* This book has everything: rivals to lovers, austen-esque letter exchanges, the missed important letter trope, 1940s city vibes but with a magical twist, a rich boy not allowed to pursue his true love since shes poor, a poor girl struggling to get by but not letting anyone know or help, a WWI-esque war, and a god problem with persephoneXhades vibes.
Iris Winnow has won a writing competition and although she didn't finish school because they ran out of money she now has the opportunity to become a columnist at a leading newspaper in the city. However, her academic rival, Roman C Kitt, is a wealthy git who seems to do everything in his power to annoy her and is her only competition for the columnist role.
*stefan voice* This book has everything: rivals to lovers, austen-esque letter exchanges, the missed important letter trope, 1940s city vibes but with a magical twist, a rich boy not allowed to pursue his true love since shes poor, a poor girl struggling to get by but not letting anyone know or help, a WWI-esque war, and a god problem with persephoneXhades vibes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Grief, Death of parent, Blood, War, Vomit, and Alcoholism
savanah's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: War, Abandonment, and Violence
Minor: Gore and Addiction
tabea1409's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
inspiring
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Gun violence, Violence, War, Death, Gore, Mass/school shootings, Medical content, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Blood, and Fire/Fire injury