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elizabeth_delozier's review
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
5 stars.
A well written, beautifully painful - yet enjoyable, gay fantasy romance. The book features some fun tropes: politically arranged marriage, one-bed, some pining. PLEASE Check your trigger warnings for this one! I listed some at the bottom of this review. This book contains very heavy themes and the primary character development for Velasin surrounds overcoming various traumatic experiences. If that feels daunting, this book may not be for you.
There are a lot of politics taking place in the book, without the reader feeling bogged down by a confusing political system. Rather, the politics are written in a way the provide intrigue and help further the story development. One complaint I see in other's reviews is that the mystery portion felt drawn out...I disagree. It think it was a good subplot that allowed space for each of the love interests to see different sides of each other while also providing an intriguing non-romantic plot line. Also, the addition of magic, while perhaps unnecessary was done well and enjoyable, without it being a major focus of the story.
I loved all of the representation in this story: the main characters are a gay man and a bi man, one character is mute and communicates primarily through sign language, and there is both trans and nonbinary rep.
This is a highly recommend for anyone who enjoys fantasy romance...who has checked the trigger warnings.
I listened to the audiobook, narrated by James Fouhey and Vikas Adam, via NetGalley. An advanced reader's copy of this audiobook was provided to me via NetGalley by Macmillan Audio in exchange for an honest review.
TWs: On-page rape occurring/byearly in the story by a former lover , suicidal ideation, attempted suicide, posttraumatic responses, homophobia, transphobia, internalized homophobia, outing, animal death/gore, blood/gore.
A well written, beautifully painful - yet enjoyable, gay fantasy romance. The book features some fun tropes: politically arranged marriage, one-bed, some pining. PLEASE Check your trigger warnings for this one! I listed some at the bottom of this review. This book contains very heavy themes and the primary character development for Velasin surrounds overcoming various traumatic experiences. If that feels daunting, this book may not be for you.
There are a lot of politics taking place in the book, without the reader feeling bogged down by a confusing political system. Rather, the politics are written in a way the provide intrigue and help further the story development. One complaint I see in other's reviews is that the mystery portion felt drawn out...I disagree. It think it was a good subplot that allowed space for each of the love interests to see different sides of each other while also providing an intriguing non-romantic plot line. Also, the addition of magic, while perhaps unnecessary was done well and enjoyable, without it being a major focus of the story.
I loved all of the representation in this story: the main characters are a gay man and a bi man, one character is mute and communicates primarily through sign language, and there is both trans and nonbinary rep.
This is a highly recommend for anyone who enjoys fantasy romance...who has checked the trigger warnings.
I listened to the audiobook, narrated by James Fouhey and Vikas Adam, via NetGalley. An advanced reader's copy of this audiobook was provided to me via NetGalley by Macmillan Audio in exchange for an honest review.
TWs: On-page rape occurring/by
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Animal death, Blood, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Outing, Transphobia, and Suicidal thoughts
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