Scan barcode
akirokis's review
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping, Confinement, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Torture, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: War
wardenred's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
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
4.75
His arm doesn’t feel like a chain around Whisper’s waist; it’s a shield.
Oh wow, this book! It took me a bit to get into the writing style (third person past tense isn't my favorite), but once I adjusted to it, I was absolutely hooked throughout. It's been a while since I read such awesome hurt/comfort outside of fanfiction. Whisper and Julien absolutely melted my heart, and there were so many little moments that made me feel like this book was written for me. I loved the way they were growing closer through the secrets, Whisper's inner turmoil, Julien's kindness, the D/s overtones in the bedroom, everything. I kind of want to forget this book and read it again, to get all the feels afresh.
I also greatly enjoyed the supporting cast—so many colorful personalities and great people. A lot of the characters didn't get a lot of screen time, and still they left a very distinct impression. I'd love to read a book with almost any single one of them as a more prominent presence. I also really liked the worldbuilding. It's a combination of "a lot packed into it" and "broad strokes"; there are all those politics, assassin orders, different types of magic, dragons, magical drugs, cats with superpowers, and each of these cool details just makes me want to dig deeper into it.
The setting is also completely queernorm: no one assumes that a marriage necessarily involves a man and a woman, there's a lovely casual mention of a character being trans, etc. I remember not so long ago fantasy queer romances (especially the ones with royalty) used to have all the homophobia-induced drama, but nowadays, I keep seeing these wonderful queernorm worlds where the characters are free to have and sort out problems that don't have anything to do with their orientation. I'm absolutely digging all these beautiful fantasy worlds.
Back to the book: the one reason I'm not giving it a full five-star mark is that one twist at the end, the one with the betrayal. I feel like it simplified the conflict and the solutions to it. There might have been ways to get to the happy ending without that, too—though admittedly I would probably fall off the edge of my sit if the author went with some alternate route. :D But, yeah. Not really a fan of that specific character turning out to be a manipulator. Very much a fan of absolutely everything else in this book, though!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping and Confinement
Moderate: Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Child abuse
More...