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happyeverabigail's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-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
5.0
I went into this thinking it would be fantasy but it actually feels more historical fiction and fairytale with a caveat that one POV is in modern times which was such a fun voice to break things up. If you are unfamiliar with Chinese dynasties this never gets in the weeds with presumed background knowledge of details, I felt like everything was described well and the pace moved at a steady clip.
There is an overarching air of mystery. One of the POVs is more fairytale than the others so switching back and forth I could tell there was going to be some kind of connection but I really just had to sit back and let this book happen to me.
Some things that may be helpful to know going in: this is on page intimacy but this is not a romance, and there is consensual intimacy but several SAs or implied SA. I never felt that they were gratuitously written and most fade to black but it can be hard to read when you really care for these characters and feel that continued tension throughout this story. I understand their purpose just wanted to share the CW.
I felt like the author had such a control over their writing. I’m looking forward to future works by them! I looked forward to what was going to happen next on this journey and felt truly immersed every time I picked this book up.
There is an overarching air of mystery. One of the POVs is more fairytale than the others so switching back and forth I could tell there was going to be some kind of connection but I really just had to sit back and let this book happen to me.
Some things that may be helpful to know going in: this is on page intimacy but this is not a romance, and there is consensual intimacy but several SAs or implied SA. I never felt that they were gratuitously written and most fade to black but it can be hard to read when you really care for these characters and feel that continued tension throughout this story. I understand their purpose just wanted to share the CW.
I felt like the author had such a control over their writing. I’m looking forward to future works by them! I looked forward to what was going to happen next on this journey and felt truly immersed every time I picked this book up.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Drug use, Rape, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Toxic relationship and Classism
kay_rose's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Drug use, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Rape, Torture, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Sexual content
linnaboobooks's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.5
This can be considered one of my anticipated releases of the year. After putting it on hold months before it was released, this was a book I found myself so hopeful to enjoy but it fell flat. Flatter than a crepe.
The execution and development of the story was lacking still by the end - where it could very well have been a novella with amount of information it contained if you took out roughly half of the sexual content and drug usage.
And because of how much of the mentioned above existed, there was very little relationship explored outside of the sexual nature. Perhaps in the "first" lifetime and a little bit of the "second", yet nothing to grasp onto to feel any particular way about the couple when tragedy strikes. Rape was used to show us the readers that certain characters were the villains in that (first and second) timeline, when there were plenty of other ways to do that - such as their other actions. One of the times was extremely unexpectedly dropped into the second timeline that I was ready to throw the book if it weren't a library copy.
I love reincarnation / 'find you in another lifetime' kind of plots, they're usually intriguing with their mix of history between characters and the setting, emotions flooding through the characters when the past comes to meet the present. Tugging at readers' heartstrings. Sadly that didn't happen here for me.
The entirety of this book feels like a concept, a good one, but when put to execution, the author struggled or outright chose to keep it lacking in substance on purpose. For a debut author, I think he did alright with what he put out but I can't praise it the way I've seen other readers do.
The execution and development of the story was lacking still by the end - where it could very well have been a novella with amount of information it contained if you took out roughly half of the sexual content and drug usage.
And because of how much of the mentioned above existed, there was very little relationship explored outside of the sexual nature. Perhaps in the "first" lifetime and a little bit of the "second", yet nothing to grasp onto to feel any particular way about the couple when tragedy strikes. Rape was used to show us the readers that certain characters were the villains in that (first and second) timeline, when there were plenty of other ways to do that - such as their other actions. One of the times was extremely unexpectedly dropped into the second timeline that I was ready to throw the book if it weren't a library copy.
I love reincarnation / 'find you in another lifetime' kind of plots, they're usually intriguing with their mix of history between characters and the setting, emotions flooding through the characters when the past comes to meet the present. Tugging at readers' heartstrings. Sadly that didn't happen here for me.
The entirety of this book feels like a concept, a good one, but when put to execution, the author struggled or outright chose to keep it lacking in substance on purpose. For a debut author, I think he did alright with what he put out but I can't praise it the way I've seen other readers do.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Rape, Sexual content, Drug abuse, and Sexual assault
Minor: Cancer and Death of parent
sayhar13's review against another edition
emotional
medium-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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual content, Sexual assault, and Drug use
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders
irisandfoxglove's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Infidelity, Sexual assault, and Sexual content
Moderate: Drug use and Violence
parchmentandflour's review against another edition
fast-paced
3.0
I really enjoyed the 3 intertwined timelines element of this novel. I think the first half of the book is the strongest and I read 150 pages in basically one sitting last night. Another good aspect of the book is that most of the twists and turns were fun too.
However, the ending felt incomplete and fell really flat for me, especially with all the build-up to it. I was really hoping for an ending I could bite my teeth into and instead I felt like I got a bag of chips that was just filled with air.
I never got to a point in their relationships to ever get the feeling of "ok yes, they're in love and all of this makes sense" for a never-ending love that lasts through lifetimes. There aren't any real explanations/tied loose ends, the love felt very surface level at best, and the "villains" never villained?
In my opinion, we needed the first two timelines to have been the main focus with more detail and story dedicated to it so that we could see this epic love story. The modern era was fun but it did not give what it needed to to further the thriller/intrigue of the story. It was just drugs, parties, and a bowl of nothing.
There's also heavy drug use in the book, which is not a problem for me - however our MC had smoked something that makes him very randy and then he gets basically SA'd by someone, only for later on them to say he was actually in love with that guy all along. HUH? Did my copy miss some pages? Any time he pops up he is a bad guy and the MC does not have real feelings for them but then suddenly, lol jk you loved him too in all of our timelines. Made no sense but it did make me mad :)
However, the ending felt incomplete and fell really flat for me, especially with all the build-up to it. I was really hoping for an ending I could bite my teeth into and instead I felt like I got a bag of chips that was just filled with air.
In my opinion, we needed the first two timelines to have been the main focus with more detail and story dedicated to it so that we could see this epic love story. The modern era was fun but it did not give what it needed to to further the thriller/intrigue of the story. It was just drugs, parties, and a bowl of nothing.
There's also heavy drug use in the book, which is not a problem for me - however our MC had smoked something that makes him very randy and then he gets basically SA'd by someone, only for later on them to say he was actually in love with that guy all along. HUH? Did my copy miss some pages? Any time he pops up he is a bad guy and the MC does not have real feelings for them but then suddenly, lol jk you loved him too in all of our timelines. Made no sense but it did make me mad :)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Sexual content, and Death
Moderate: Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, and Sexual harassment
jesshammons's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual content, and Sexual assault
_fallinglight_'s review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I was so entertained, turned on (it was barely 4% in and the horniness was going off the charts 🥵) and invested with this story! To me, this is a fantastic debut although some things could've been tweaked here and there like a bit further work on character development in a few characters to make pop even more, but overall there's mastery in Justinian Huang's writing and storytelling which made it such a worthwhile read to me regardless. If it weren't for some things I personally didn't vibe with the book (re: the way hard drugs use is depicted, it's totally a me thing, no judgement whatsoever to the author) it could've been a fiver for me. But I really enjoyed this tale of lust, betrayals, revenge, unfinished love stories which turn into obsessions, past lives, and how being a greedy, opportunistic mf steals actual precious things from you.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Drug use, and Sexual content
Moderate: Infidelity and Sexual assault
Minor: Schizophrenia/Psychosis
arcadiabaes's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Sexual assault
city_girl_writer's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
What an unconventional romantasy thriller in every part of each genre!
- Fantasy = reincarnation in an endless loop like a curse
- Romance = multiple love stories throughout time
- Thriller = wanting to turn the page to find out what happens next with outside forces getting in the way of these love stories
This will not be for everyone (especially not for romance readers who want a HEA), but it was really cool to see 3 interconnected love stories come together and yell "what the fuck?!" at the end. I will read more from this author in the future.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Sexual assault, and Drug use
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Blood, Gore, and Rape
Minor: Cancer and Death of parent