Reviews

Oak King Holly King by Sebastian Nothwell

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wickedwitchofthewords's review against another edition

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funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

3.0

izzymmcfarland's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted mysterious 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

4.0

rachelgreenreads's review

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5.0

This is hands down one of my favorite books of all time. The serotonin this book provided me with start to finish…..

We have: classical fairy lore, an absolutely adorable couple, fabulous creatures, and a subplot of a somewhat gothic style Victorian murder mystery?? Amazing.

I loved how the characters’ relationship was able to develop throughout the book, while external factors provided the action/ conflict/ mystery. The relationship itself was equal part wholesome and hot, and we got all the deliciousness of a romance without the romantic tension being the only tension of the story.

This book gave me pure joy, dare I say.. queer euphoria. 13/10

alllycat72's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

This was a relaxing read that was not particularly worried about having tight pacing or following either conventional fantasy or romance plot structures. For some people, this will make it too slow and meandering, but if you like slice of life and watching two nice people be nice to each other, it's great. Like I said, relaxing.

purrson's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny hopeful inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I enjoyed reading this so much and was really pleased with how the characters and story was handled—not that I should be surprised, having read some of the author’s other work before this one. The beginning, of the Oak King’s predicament and how he comes for Lofthouse’s help, is a strong starting point; a natural halfway point forms in the story when we meet the Holly King, and the finally the book wraps up resolving things for both Kings. Those three events make for very strong anchors for the story to weave itself around as the characters grow. In between the main plotpoints, smaller storylines naturally emerge as our characters get to know one another and have various adventures in both the human and fae realms. It works together very nicely, and even when the story meanders, it does so pleasantly, so you get lots of time with the two main characters as they grow truly comfortable together, enjoying their romance, and begin to hope for new futures. The ending is very satisfying, nicely resolving not only smaller plots but the main ones as well. However, I’m quite happy Book 2 of short stories was there for me to jump into—I wasn’t ready to leave this world or it’s characters yet.

Content Warnings