Reviews with content warning for Gaslighting - Winter’s Orbit

Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

Winter’s Orbit by Everina Maxwell

94 reviews

ollie_again's review against another edition

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3.5

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tinyjude's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

Setting, characters, world-building and the intrinsics between them were very interesting and well-developed. Despite what it may look like, it was easy to follow and engaging. I think it was well paced both in terms of political intrigue and personal relationships among the characters. I also appreciated Kiem and Jainan's relationship so much as they were mature, understanding and brilliant together. Also props for the representation of domestic abuse, gaslighting and trauma.

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spaghettii's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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

I LOVE THEM!!!

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theatrealpaca's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful 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? It's complicated

4.5

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wilybooklover's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious medium-paced

5.0

This is a tough one to categorise. Ostensibly, it’s sci-fi romance, but it’s a lot heavier on the actual sci-fi than most sci-fi romance is. Or maybe space opera, but it’s a lot heavier on the romance than most space opera. In my opinion, it’s pretty equally space opera/romance/suspense (all three of which are interwoven), but whatever it is I loved it.

The book starts off with our two heroes, Kiem and Jainan, marrying for political alliance reasons. Now, this is how you do a miscommunication trope. It makes sense that Kiem and Jainan would have trouble communicating properly. Not only are they complete strangers, with very different styles of communication, they’re from entirely different cultures and Jainan has been kept isolated and deliberately in the dark about a lot of things. They’re both so considerate of the other that they overthink and misinterpret and get in their own heads about it. It’s kind of endearing, actually, and the slow unfolding of their thoughts and feelings to each other was such a delight to read. They really complemented each other well, despite being charming-extrovert/anxious-introvert opposites.

Besides the romance, which was lovely and gentle and soft, the worldbuilding and plot were complex and interesting. Kiem and Jainan get dragged into a murder conspiracy upon which the fate of the Empire hinges, and it soon becomes apparent that their lives are also at stake. On top of that, you have a potential rebellion brewing back on Jainan’s home world. It’s a lot, and I do think there was maybe a little too much going on at times (or, perhaps, not paced correctly). But I very much enjoyed this story of political intrigue. Once facet of the worldbuilding that I really enjoyed was the queernorm world. It was so refreshing to see queer people of all kinds just existing without being a statement or facing hardship because of it. The secondary characters were all fleshed out and interesting as well, although I did think that one of the antagonists was a bit obvious

(it’s always suspicious when someone is a bit too friendly and helpful).

Ultimately I think this was a well-balanced story of romance and space politics, and would recommend this to people who enjoy both of those things. There are some heavy topics in this, so do check content warnings first.

Content Warnings