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robin_reads's review
adventurous
dark
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? It's complicated
5.0
This was much darker than I expected it to be. I was not prepared but still loved it all.
It was intense, interesting, mysterious and dark but with funny and heartfelt moments.
I’ll say that everything happened in a very short amount of time but such is life, isn’t it? Sometimes everything happens all at once and you gotta roll with the punches.
One of my favorite tropes is "idiots in love" and this was just that. Reminded me a lot of "Winter's Orbit", which I loved just as much as this.
Definitely check CW and TW if you’re interested in reading this. Prepare for a wild but amazing ride.
It was intense, interesting, mysterious and dark but with funny and heartfelt moments.
I’ll say that everything happened in a very short amount of time but such is life, isn’t it? Sometimes everything happens all at once and you gotta roll with the punches.
One of my favorite tropes is "idiots in love" and this was just that. Reminded me a lot of "Winter's Orbit", which I loved just as much as this.
Definitely check CW and TW if you’re interested in reading this. Prepare for a wild but amazing ride.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Suicide attempt, Animal death, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Murder, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, Gaslighting, and Outing
Minor: Ableism
marina_michelle's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
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? No
2.75
I wanted to like this book so much more than I actually did. I picked it up after hearing it recommended for fans of Winter's Orbit and I had pretty high hopes.
I will say that I did very much enjoy Meadows' prose and dialogue. I also think their characters themselves felt quite fleshed out and a ton of them were even very likable. Velasin definitely stands out as the strongest character with the clearest voice and motivation. I've seen a few reviews from people saying they found him standoffish and therefore unlikeable, but I think that's a bit silly considering the circumstances he's in. Of course he's going to be standoffish. That's also what made him feel real! He reacted to his circumstances like a real person, flaws and all. I loved Caethari and Velasin's relationship overall and found myself really rooting for them.
Unfortunately none of this was able to make up for the faults, at least to me. To start with, I am not at all the kind of person who feels that all difficult topics are off limits to explore in fiction. However there wasn't really a reason for Velasin's sexual assault to happen in detail on page. I do give Meadows and the publishing team kudos for putting a trigger warning on the first page of the book! That was an excellent idea and I'd love to see it more often.
The most jarring problem for me was that this book is written in two different points of view. Velasin's chapters are in first person and Caethari's are in third person. It was incredibly distracting. I spent the entire book trying to figure out any artistic reason why the choice was made to write it this way and I came up blank.
Despite being a little put off I continued reading anyway because I did really enjoy the writing itself and the characters. The mystery was engaging enough that I wanted to see where it was going. Unfortunately the culprit ended up being quite literally the most obvious choice possible. Like, I had initially written this character off because I thought it would be too obvious.
I might have been able to roll with that, even if it was a little disappointing, but the real kicker was that the mystery wasn't even solved through any actual investigative work in the end! They'd chased multiple false leads over the course of the story but when it came time for them to check out the lead that would actually get them somewhere they just so happen to stumble across the culprit detailing their evil plan! I would have loved to see them cut one of the earlier false leads and actually follow this one to it's conclusion.
Overall I would probably give any future books by Foz Meadows a try and I think they're a promising author, but I would have liked to see some more discerning editing.
I will say that I did very much enjoy Meadows' prose and dialogue. I also think their characters themselves felt quite fleshed out and a ton of them were even very likable. Velasin definitely stands out as the strongest character with the clearest voice and motivation. I've seen a few reviews from people saying they found him standoffish and therefore unlikeable, but I think that's a bit silly considering the circumstances he's in. Of course he's going to be standoffish. That's also what made him feel real! He reacted to his circumstances like a real person, flaws and all. I loved Caethari and Velasin's relationship overall and found myself really rooting for them.
Unfortunately none of this was able to make up for the faults, at least to me. To start with, I am not at all the kind of person who feels that all difficult topics are off limits to explore in fiction. However there wasn't really a reason for
The most jarring problem for me was that this book is written in two different points of view. Velasin's chapters are in first person and Caethari's are in third person. It was incredibly distracting. I spent the entire book trying to figure out any artistic reason why the choice was made to write it this way and I came up blank.
Despite being a little put off I continued reading anyway because I did really enjoy the writing itself and the characters. The mystery was engaging enough that I wanted to see where it was going. Unfortunately the culprit ended up being quite literally the most obvious choice possible. Like, I had initially written this character off because I thought it would be too obvious.
I might have been able to roll with that, even if it was a little disappointing, but the real kicker was that the mystery wasn't even solved through any actual investigative work in the end! They'd chased multiple false leads over the course of the story but when it came time for them to check out the lead that would actually get them somewhere they just so happen to stumble across the culprit detailing their evil plan! I would have loved to see them cut one of the earlier false leads and actually follow this one to it's conclusion.
Overall I would probably give any future books by Foz Meadows a try and I think they're a promising author, but I would have liked to see some more discerning editing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Animal death, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Outing, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Moderate: Ableism and Blood
Minor: Alcohol
The sexual assualt happens on page in graphic detail during chapter two and the outing happens immediately after.booksthatburn's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
tense
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? It's complicated
5.0
A STRANGE AND STUBBORN ENDURANCE is one of my favorite things I’ve read all year, in a year where I’ve already read more than two hundred books. It might be my favorite arranged/political marriage book, if it’s not the winner it’s at least in good company. It’s instantly achieved the rank of my favorite fantasy book dealing with rape (a strange category to have, but as I make a podcast dealing with fictional depictions of trauma, an almost necessary category to be aware of). If you’re uncomfortable with that content, please choose another book, with my best wishes, as this deals with the actual event and long aftermath of a (graphic but brief) sexual assault by someone who until very recently was the victim’s romantic partner.
There are two major countries, one of which is barely shown but heavily felt (Ralia), and the other is where almost all of the story takes place (Tithena). That means the reader's main understanding of Ralia is through Velasin's recollections and Tithenai gossip. The story's focus on Velasin's arranged marriage to a man, combined with Ralian homophobia, means that most descriptions of Ralia are unflattering, focusing on much that Velasin was unable to freely do in his former country. Most of the story is set in Tithena, in or around Caethari's home (now Velasin's new home). This allows the opportunity for both the official Tithenian line and the reality to appear side by side in a way that doesn't happen for Ralia. It makes it clear that even though Tithena is more egalitarian in many respects,
Velasin and his soon-to-be husband, Caethari, are the two narrators. I love Velasin and Caethari, both separately and together. However, unlike most books with dual narrators, this gives each narrator several chapters in a row before switching to the other. This helps with immersion into each man's perspective, and means that in this emotionally fraught story based on a colossal and nearly catastrophic misunderstanding, the reader doesn't get an immediate narrative resolution merely by switching to the other person. They're very different people, something which really gets to shine when Velasin gets more comfortable and begins turning his people skills and political mind to the mystery at hand.
We meet Velasin on the road, almost immediately reaching his father's home after fleeing his unfaithful partner (and accompanied by Markel, his servant and friend). Upon his arrival he's notified by his father of his impending arranged marriage to a Tithenai woman. Moments later his former partner arrives, having pursued him, then assaults him. After his father and the Tithenai envoy walk in on them (not understand that it was rape), the envoy offers him a marriage to a man instead. He accepts with as little consent as was involved in the former arrangement, and then travels to Tithena, where the rest of the plot unfolds.
Markel is Velasin's servant and best friend. He's mute, using signs, writing, and other non-verbal signals to communicate with Velasin (and anyone else who'll learn). I like Markel, and he gets a lot of space in Velasin's thoughts, but not quite as much in the actual narrative (as he spends much of it recovering from a very serious injury). He's very important to the story, playing much more of a role before he's attacked and after he's mostly recovered.
Caethari wasn't expecting to be the one getting married, since Ralia's endemic homophobia is well-known in Tithena. Tithenia as a country is so casually queer that saying it's more accepting of queerness than Ralia does a disservice in the comparison. It is not, however, free of other problems. Before Caethari can greet Velasin, the incoming party is attacked and their introduction is made under rather stressful circumstances.
The rest of the plot weaves together a series of strange and possibly politically-motivated attacks, investigations of the same, Velasin's internal struggles, Caethari's attempts to help, and many long conversations about cultural differences which range from extremely serious to mere curiosities. There's also the lingering threat that Velasin's attacker might pursue him further, a (not unfounded) worry which complicates his recovery. I was a bit overwhelmed by the sheer number of characters, but I'm generally terrible with names and was still able to track most of what was happening. Much of the narrative is structured like a mystery, where they're trying to figure out the person or group behind the attacks and don't know who they can trust. This is interwoven with Velasin and Caethari getting to know each other, and Velasin's introductions to Caethari's family and a few other important persons.
Read this for a kind of mystery story, full of political machinations, focused on recovery from trauma in a situation where bad things are still happening.
There are two major countries, one of which is barely shown but heavily felt (Ralia), and the other is where almost all of the story takes place (Tithena). That means the reader's main understanding of Ralia is through Velasin's recollections and Tithenai gossip. The story's focus on Velasin's arranged marriage to a man, combined with Ralian homophobia, means that most descriptions of Ralia are unflattering, focusing on much that Velasin was unable to freely do in his former country. Most of the story is set in Tithena, in or around Caethari's home (now Velasin's new home). This allows the opportunity for both the official Tithenian line and the reality to appear side by side in a way that doesn't happen for Ralia. It makes it clear that even though Tithena is more egalitarian in many respects,
Velasin and his soon-to-be husband, Caethari, are the two narrators. I love Velasin and Caethari, both separately and together. However, unlike most books with dual narrators, this gives each narrator several chapters in a row before switching to the other. This helps with immersion into each man's perspective, and means that in this emotionally fraught story based on a colossal and nearly catastrophic misunderstanding, the reader doesn't get an immediate narrative resolution merely by switching to the other person. They're very different people, something which really gets to shine when Velasin gets more comfortable and begins turning his people skills and political mind to the mystery at hand.
We meet Velasin on the road, almost immediately reaching his father's home after fleeing his unfaithful partner (and accompanied by Markel, his servant and friend). Upon his arrival he's notified by his father of his impending arranged marriage to a Tithenai woman. Moments later his former partner arrives, having pursued him, then assaults him. After his father and the Tithenai envoy walk in on them (not understand that it was rape), the envoy offers him a marriage to a man instead. He accepts with as little consent as was involved in the former arrangement, and then travels to Tithena, where the rest of the plot unfolds.
Markel is Velasin's servant and best friend. He's mute, using signs, writing, and other non-verbal signals to communicate with Velasin (and anyone else who'll learn). I like Markel, and he gets a lot of space in Velasin's thoughts, but not quite as much in the actual narrative (as he spends much of it recovering from a very serious injury). He's very important to the story, playing much more of a role before he's attacked and after he's mostly recovered.
Caethari wasn't expecting to be the one getting married, since Ralia's endemic homophobia is well-known in Tithena. Tithenia as a country is so casually queer that saying it's more accepting of queerness than Ralia does a disservice in the comparison. It is not, however, free of other problems. Before Caethari can greet Velasin, the incoming party is attacked and their introduction is made under rather stressful circumstances.
The rest of the plot weaves together a series of strange and possibly politically-motivated attacks, investigations of the same, Velasin's internal struggles, Caethari's attempts to help, and many long conversations about cultural differences which range from extremely serious to mere curiosities. There's also the lingering threat that Velasin's attacker might pursue him further, a (not unfounded) worry which complicates his recovery. I was a bit overwhelmed by the sheer number of characters, but I'm generally terrible with names and was still able to track most of what was happening. Much of the narrative is structured like a mystery, where they're trying to figure out the person or group behind the attacks and don't know who they can trust. This is interwoven with Velasin and Caethari getting to know each other, and Velasin's introductions to Caethari's family and a few other important persons.
Read this for a kind of mystery story, full of political machinations, focused on recovery from trauma in a situation where bad things are still happening.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Sexual content, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Violence, Homophobia, Vomit, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Animal death, Self harm, Rape, and Murder
Moderate: Gore, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Kidnapping, Confinement, Medical trauma, Xenophobia, Ableism, and Infidelity
Minor: Pregnancy, Bullying, Torture, Alcohol, Transphobia, Miscarriage, Child abuse, and Alcoholism
jmross10's review
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
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
4.5
A Strange and Stubborn Endurance is told in both first (Vel) and second (Cae) person, swapping between the perspectives of the two man characters - Velasin and Caethari. Both of them are highborn men in a pseudo-medieval setting who are fairly educated, which is reflected in the writing style. This is especially apparent in Velasin's sections. The sentence structure and wording takes time to adjust too and may not work for some readers. It's important to note though, this a clear and deliberate choice by the author, not just bad writing. The style makes sense for the character even if it's a bit disorienting.
The novel as a whole takes place over a relatively short period of time and a lot happens within its pages. While I wish there were points where things slowed down and there was time to digest, I didn't think it was too over the top, and the progression of events made sense. I appreciated that the main characters were given a chance to somewhat (again, very short timeframe) organically find their way to each other instead of instalove. We get to enjoy those almost moments instead of diving in head first.
I thought motive behind the unravelling events was very interesting and I liked the way it played out. I also appreciated that there were real consequences for character's actions, which we don't always see.
I know that one major deterrent for some readers will be the r*pe scene early on. Reviews I've seen call it "extremely graphic" and make it seem very excessive, but I disagree with that.It does play out on the page, but the emphasis is more specifically on the coercion of the main character and their feeling of helplessness at the hands of somebody they trusted. It talks about the conflicting signals between their body and their mind, as well as the humiliation of their body's reaction in the moment. This is not something that happens just for a throwaway plot point to add drama. There is a genuine motivating factor and the character effected spends the rest of the book dealing with the trauma from it.
I would never advocate for someone to read something that makes them triggered or uncomfortable but I think it's important to shed light on the author's representation of the act, instead of immediately assuming the worst because of what it is.
The novel as a whole takes place over a relatively short period of time and a lot happens within its pages. While I wish there were points where things slowed down and there was time to digest, I didn't think it was too over the top, and the progression of events made sense. I appreciated that the main characters were given a chance to somewhat (again, very short timeframe) organically find their way to each other instead of instalove. We get to enjoy those almost moments instead of diving in head first.
I thought motive behind the unravelling events was very interesting and I liked the way it played out. I also appreciated that there were real consequences for character's actions, which we don't always see.
I know that one major deterrent for some readers will be the r*pe scene early on. Reviews I've seen call it "extremely graphic" and make it seem very excessive, but I disagree with that.
I would never advocate for someone to read something that makes them triggered or uncomfortable but I think it's important to shed light on the author's representation of the act, instead of immediately assuming the worst because of what it is.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Violence, Child death, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Animal death, and Blood
Moderate: Sexual assault, Transphobia, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Homophobia, Classism, Emotional abuse, Ableism, Self harm, Body horror, Gaslighting, Grief, and Rape
Minor: Infidelity
madelegg's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
This one's so hard to rate because when it was good, it was really good, but there's like a good 200 pages of shit that could've been cut out of this damn book. I've never seen an author be so good at character writing and abandon that for a mystery plot that was absolutely beat to death with how much the book focused on it over the characters' interpersonal relationships. The end of this book is a banger and the romance, when it actually happens, is excellent, romantic, and the couple has great chemistry. But you have to weed through 300 pages of Velasin generating useless theories about whodunit only for the culprit to be captured by chance, and holy shit did they go hard on these theories and logic trails and analyses of the situation, only for it to all be a waste of time!! Quite literally if you'd cut out every single bit of Velasin and Cae working with the guards and hunting for clues kinda and talking about "what if the culprit is ralian" "what if they didn't know vel married cae" "what if what if what if" IT WOULDN'T ACTUALLY CHANGE THE BOOK AT ALL because of how they discover the culprit in the end! So slogging through all that boring shit was basically for nothing! The editor should've gone through this book with a fat tipped sharpie.
As angry as I am about it wasting so much of my time with the plot bloating, the characters were just spot on and excellent, every dialogue exchange was killer, and I was invested in almost every main character. This book would have soared if it cared more about characters than plot. The two just didn't mesh right.
Oh but my real biggest complaint is how poorly the manufacturers bound this book. Brand new copy and I had huge chunks of pages falling out of the back because they were poorly glued. Do better, Tor. This is a fucking disgrace.
As angry as I am about it wasting so much of my time with the plot bloating, the characters were just spot on and excellent, every dialogue exchange was killer, and I was invested in almost every main character. This book would have soared if it cared more about characters than plot. The two just didn't mesh right.
Oh but my real biggest complaint is how poorly the manufacturers bound this book. Brand new copy and I had huge chunks of pages falling out of the back because they were poorly glued. Do better, Tor. This is a fucking disgrace.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Homophobia, Suicide attempt, and Suicide
Minor: Ableism and Panic attacks/disorders
junovverse's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Outing, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Homophobia, Rape, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Animal death, Sexism, Transphobia, Vomit, and Ableism
bookcaptivated's review
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Murder, Animal death, Gore, Sexual content, Homophobia, Blood, Violence, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Vomit, Confinement, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Outing
Minor: Abandonment, Medical content, Transphobia, Ableism, Infidelity, and Self harm
breq's review
adventurous
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
This book has EVERYTHING. I loved the central romance, although it did feel a little fast. I had my suspicions about who was behind all the plotting, and I turned out to be correct, but I never felt certain until the page before it was revealed. I really enjoyed the worldbuilding, especially the contrast between the two main countries we see, and especially as it related to queerness. Vel was such a great character and I loved seeing him blossom as the book went on. I don't know if a sequel is planned but it felt like there was a possible setup for one, and I hope it's coming! Also, the food descriptions made me hungry.
I adore arranged marriage plotlines, and I loved how this one was handled. There was some miscommunication between the characters, but there were very good reasons relating to cultural differences. I appreciated that they did actually talk to each other a lot of the time, and they worked their problems out.
The way the villain's motivation was set up was really great, and it make me feel a lot of the emotions the characters felt when they found out, because I was also upset and wished things could have gone differently.
This isn't really a spoiler because it happens so early, butit can be very hard to write a fairly graphic, on-page rape scene in first-person and I thought it was well handled without being just overwhelmingly awful.
I did at times feel like elements of the plot went too fast--the main relationship and recovery from a traumatic event getting to the place that it ended up--but hey, everyone's different.
I adore arranged marriage plotlines, and I loved how this one was handled. There was some miscommunication between the characters, but there were very good reasons relating to cultural differences. I appreciated that they did actually talk to each other a lot of the time, and they worked their problems out.
The way the villain's motivation was set up was really great, and it make me feel a lot of the emotions the characters felt when they found out, because I was also upset and wished things could have gone differently.
This isn't really a spoiler because it happens so early, but
I did at times feel like elements of the plot went too fast--the main relationship and recovery from a traumatic event getting to the place that it ended up--but hey, everyone's different.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Animal death
Moderate: Homophobia, Ableism, and Transphobia
meltingpages's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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
5.0
First things first – the content warnings, since this book has a lot of them and some are pretty graphic, so content warnings for: sexual assault, suicidal thoughts, trauma, self-harm, animal death, homophobia, and ableism. I also haven’t seen many people mention this, but sexual assault does happen VERY early on in the book (like, within the first few chapters so it isn’t a spoiler) and the rest of the book deals a lot with how the character heals from that trauma.
Despite how hard that particular scene was to read, I did appreciate how the healing process was handled. While this book does also revolve around a mystery, I would definitely say the book is more about healing, finding one’s self worth, and challenging gender stereotypes, although it doesn’t shy away from the darker aspects of dealing with trauma.
This book also has a ton of representation, with many of the characters being queer, a prominent side character is mute and uses sign language with the main characters, nonbinary rep (they use “thir” pronouns), as well as trans rep. I’m sure that there are other things that I’m missing, because this book has so many and they all felt so natural and fit in with the story so well!
I loved meeting Velasin and Caethari, and their slow burn romance was so heartwarming, especially as you start to see how deeply they care about each other. I loved how open and honest they were with each other, and I loved how Velasin finally got to be who he really is without needing to hide a part of himself. I love the arranged marriage trope, and the political intrigue was fascinating as well.
I did enjoy the setting, although I do wish we had gotten to see more of it. I also wish we had seen more at the end of the book, because while it is a satisfying ending, I still had questions and it definitely leaves room for a sequel, although it seems that this is just a standalone at the moment. I definitely wouldn’t say no to seeing another book with these characters and expanding on their story!
Overall, this is a great romance story in a fantasy setting. A lot of popular romance these days tends to lean towards one (or both) characters being abusive or mean, so having two characters who were just purely kind to each other was so refreshing. I highly enjoyed this one, and I think that a lot of other people will enjoy it too, if you are able to get through those first few chapters!
Despite how hard that particular scene was to read, I did appreciate how the healing process was handled. While this book does also revolve around a mystery, I would definitely say the book is more about healing, finding one’s self worth, and challenging gender stereotypes, although it doesn’t shy away from the darker aspects of dealing with trauma.
This book also has a ton of representation, with many of the characters being queer, a prominent side character is mute and uses sign language with the main characters, nonbinary rep (they use “thir” pronouns), as well as trans rep. I’m sure that there are other things that I’m missing, because this book has so many and they all felt so natural and fit in with the story so well!
I loved meeting Velasin and Caethari, and their slow burn romance was so heartwarming, especially as you start to see how deeply they care about each other. I loved how open and honest they were with each other, and I loved how Velasin finally got to be who he really is without needing to hide a part of himself. I love the arranged marriage trope, and the political intrigue was fascinating as well.
I did enjoy the setting, although I do wish we had gotten to see more of it. I also wish we had seen more at the end of the book, because while it is a satisfying ending, I still had questions and it definitely leaves room for a sequel, although it seems that this is just a standalone at the moment. I definitely wouldn’t say no to seeing another book with these characters and expanding on their story!
Overall, this is a great romance story in a fantasy setting. A lot of popular romance these days tends to lean towards one (or both) characters being abusive or mean, so having two characters who were just purely kind to each other was so refreshing. I highly enjoyed this one, and I think that a lot of other people will enjoy it too, if you are able to get through those first few chapters!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Rape, Sexual assault, and Self harm
Moderate: Ableism, Homophobia, and Animal death
cleolindbooks's review
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? No
4.0
Thank you Net Galley for the E-Arc.
READ TRIGGER WARNINGS BEFORE READING BOOK
This is an amazing book with really complex and difficult themes. They handled sensitively and hard seems extremely well and very respectfully. While I 100% loved the story there is R--- on page and mentioned throughout the story. Please read the triggers before picking up the story as it mentions not only this but self-harm and suicidal thoughts/actions. I think the author did a wonderful job conveying the pain and growth without trivializing or making a plot point of this topic. It feels purposeful and truly a story about healing.
In addition to this, the mystery/main plot is very well detailed and interesting to read about. There is magic and political intrigue. Velasin and Caethari are put into an arranged marriage and you get to see their love and emotions grow and strengthen. This is definitely a slow burn and rightfully so.
Velasin is smart and strong after dealing with so many hardships. As a reader, both Velasin and Caethari are characters that you want to see happy and safe by the end of the story. And while I did kinda guess the culprit there were other characters I guessed as well. Meadows does a wonderful job of creating suspects and leaving clues/red herrings
There is also a wonderful amount of diversity in the characters. There are transgender charters, nonbinary, BIPOC characters, and Markel, mute characters that use sign language. Not only is Markel you and there's a lot of sign language used in the story, but he is a beloved character and friend. He is smart, clever, and desirable; he is an accomplished archer and fighter. I am very glad that they did not adhere to stereotypes and gave him such a vibrant personality. Not only do they not make him stereotype they also address ableism and the tendency for people to look over people with disabilities.
Overall I think this is definitely a book to read and check out but only once looking at the trigger warnings as these topics can definitely be harmful if not prepared for or known about beforehand.
READ TRIGGER WARNINGS BEFORE READING BOOK
This is an amazing book with really complex and difficult themes. They handled sensitively and hard seems extremely well and very respectfully. While I 100% loved the story there is R--- on page and mentioned throughout the story. Please read the triggers before picking up the story as it mentions not only this but self-harm and suicidal thoughts/actions. I think the author did a wonderful job conveying the pain and growth without trivializing or making a plot point of this topic. It feels purposeful and truly a story about healing.
In addition to this, the mystery/main plot is very well detailed and interesting to read about. There is magic and political intrigue. Velasin and Caethari are put into an arranged marriage and you get to see their love and emotions grow and strengthen. This is definitely a slow burn and rightfully so.
Velasin is smart and strong after dealing with so many hardships. As a reader, both Velasin and Caethari are characters that you want to see happy and safe by the end of the story. And while I did kinda guess the culprit there were other characters I guessed as well. Meadows does a wonderful job of creating suspects and leaving clues/red herrings
There is also a wonderful amount of diversity in the characters. There are transgender charters, nonbinary, BIPOC characters, and Markel, mute characters that use sign language. Not only is Markel you and there's a lot of sign language used in the story, but he is a beloved character and friend. He is smart, clever, and desirable; he is an accomplished archer and fighter. I am very glad that they did not adhere to stereotypes and gave him such a vibrant personality. Not only do they not make him stereotype they also address ableism and the tendency for people to look over people with disabilities.
Overall I think this is definitely a book to read and check out but only once looking at the trigger warnings as these topics can definitely be harmful if not prepared for or known about beforehand.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Ableism and Animal death