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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
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
gaelstorm's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This book was interesting and unique! I struggled to pick a rating because part of me liked it more than 3 stars but it also fell flat other times.... So I guess I'll settle for a middle of the road 3 stars with a slight leaning upwards. It was a great story concept but I wish there had been a bit more character development and that it had continued with more of the plots than it did. Since we follow 3 different timelines (which I loved), that unfortunately means that each timeline got less attention than I thought it deserved (each one could have been a full novel!). I am so glad I read it though! I flew through it and enjoyed a lot of it.
Warning: this is not a romance book in the sense of the romance book genre. It's a romance in the way that Romeo & Juliette is a romance; the story is all about love and star-crossed lovers. So don't be disappointed when it doesn't really fit into the "romance genre." The genres are more fantasy, mythology-retelling, thriller, with the main plot centering on romance, but not the romance genre.
Content Warning! (I'll put this here as well as in StoryGraph's content warning section)
This book contains a fair fit of sex, and while some of it is consensual, quite a lot of it is either non-consensual or questionably consensual (e.g. drugs involved). However, I don't feel like those scenes were romanticized too much (at least how I interpreted it); it's definitively part of the plot that people are taking advantage and not being great people. At the same time, the scenes also weren't gratuitously violent or super traumatic in my opinion, but read with caution if this will upset you! Like I said above, this is not a typical feel-good romance.
<b>❤️ What kind of romance can I expect in this book?</b>
(no major plot spoilers but still hidden if you don't wanna know)
Genders: m/m
POV: 1st person POV, 3 different timelines, rotating every chapter
Themes & Tropes: star-crossed lovers, unrequited love, mythology retelling, reincarnation
Sex Scenes? Yes
Explicit Rating: R
How Much: quite a lot but not in a way that felt like constant smut, and not all were consensual, see content warnings if you need to
Warning: this is not a romance book in the sense of the romance book genre. It's a romance in the way that Romeo & Juliette is a romance; the story is all about love and star-crossed lovers. So don't be disappointed when it doesn't really fit into the "romance genre." The genres are more fantasy, mythology-retelling, thriller, with the main plot centering on romance, but not the romance genre.
Content Warning! (I'll put this here as well as in StoryGraph's content warning section)
This book contains a fair fit of sex, and while some of it is consensual, quite a lot of it is either non-consensual or questionably consensual (e.g. drugs involved). However, I don't feel like those scenes were romanticized too much (at least how I interpreted it); it's definitively part of the plot that people are taking advantage and not being great people. At the same time, the scenes also weren't gratuitously violent or super traumatic in my opinion, but read with caution if this will upset you! Like I said above, this is not a typical feel-good romance.
<b>❤️ What kind of romance can I expect in this book?</b>
(no major plot spoilers but still hidden if you don't wanna know)
Genders: m/m
POV: 1st person POV, 3 different timelines, rotating every chapter
Themes & Tropes: star-crossed lovers, unrequited love, mythology retelling, reincarnation
Sex Scenes? Yes
Explicit Rating: R
How Much: quite a lot but not in a way that felt like constant smut, and not all were consensual, see content warnings if you need to
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Violence, Sexual assault, and Drug use
Minor: Infidelity, Abandonment, Body horror, and Death of parent
paracosim's review
adventurous
mysterious
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
3.25
The twist was great, but the lack of lube was not lmao.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse and Sexual content
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders and Death of parent
Minor: Sexual assault
heather667's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Violence, Gore, Homophobia, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Ableism, Blood, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Abandonment, Death of parent, and Rape
rainbowbrarian's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Toxic relationship, Rape, Sexual content, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Infidelity
sandreline's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
medium-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
4.5
To temper expectations, I think this book was marketed poorly. If you want traditional romance beats, look elsewhere. This is not that. It is a fantasy story with a romance at its center, but I would not categorize this as "romance" or "romantasy."
That said, I adored every moment of the Emporer and the Endless Palace. If I were to pick two books to express the vibes I'd go with This Is How You Lose the Time War and... Wuthering Heights? Iykyk.
Beautifully written and thoroughly engaging.
That said, I adored every moment of the Emporer and the Endless Palace. If I were to pick two books to express the vibes I'd go with This Is How You Lose the Time War and... Wuthering Heights? Iykyk.
Beautifully written and thoroughly engaging.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Sexual content, and Drug use
Moderate: Sexual violence and Toxic relationship
Minor: Death of parent
abbeghoul's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault and Death
Minor: Death of parent
moodreadererin's review against another edition
fast-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? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Sexual content, Death, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Rape, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Homophobia and Animal death
phua_jieying's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use and Sexual content
Minor: Death of parent, Homophobia, Terminal illness, and Cancer