Reviews with content warning for Self harm - A Strange and Stubborn Endurance

Reviews tagging 'Self harm'

A Strange and Stubborn Endurance by Foz Meadows

95 reviews

ccpprrjj's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring 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 could barely put this book down. And, when I did, the only thing I wanted to do was pick it back up again. It was so good! The writing style and world-building were beautiful. I loved the casual queerness in Tithena, and it was interesting how it contrasted with the restrictive heteronormative society in Ralia. The big draw for me, though, was the characters. They were just fantastic. Cae is such a sweet himbo. Markel is amazing. And then there's Velasin. I absolutely adore him. It was so cool to see his personality and character come out, which we didn't really get to see until a ways into the book, due to traumatic events at the beginning of it. Velasin's healing journey was at times painful and sad, and at times hopeful and sweet. So, yeah. This was a really good book. However, this was not a light, easy read. There were some very dark and traumatic events that occurred, on page, so please look at the trigger warnings and read the author's note at the beginning of the book before reading it.

Content Warnings

cranberriqueen's review

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lighthearted sad medium-paced

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

3.0

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bookswithhojo's review

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective 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 was easily a 5/5 star read for me.

There are many things I enjoyed about this book. For starters, it had me working overtime the whole book thinking about who was behind everything. The politics were more than intriguing, with just enough twists and clues to keep me invested without being predictable. While I had my suspicions, it wasn’t overtly obvious how it would end/who would end up being revealed. Some of this may be down to the fact that there are small instances throughout where unrelated issues arise, such as guards’ negligence, in which both the main characters and the reader can’t be sure whether an incident is part of the grander scheme or whether it can be chalked up as a separate issue. Add in the fact that one of our two POV characters is from an entirely different place, it’s clear that he is learning about how the politics of this society works just as the reader is.

Speaking of, I was incredibly impressed with how flawlessly Velasin’s previous beliefs and lived experiences influenced how he approached everything throughout the book. Coming from Ralia, he has grown up in a place that has not looked kindly on people they don’t understand. It’s clear when he arrives in Tithena that he has a lot to unlearn, as he is now in a place where many of the unspoken rules in Ralian society no longer apply. Conversations and inner thoughts regarding this take place in several instances of the book, where he directly addresses how the change in his mind will not happen overnight. After all, though nobody blinks an eye seeing two men or two women together in Tithena, the same is very untrue in Ralia. The fact that Tithena even has a word to say a husband’s husband (Litai) is new to Velasin.

The same goes for the existence of transgender people. This is evident early on when Velasin meets Keletha, who is one of Tithena’s third-gender souls, called kemi. That’s not to say that the existence of such people in Ralia is impossible, just that it is more hidden and scandalous to Ralian courts. While Velasin has met transgender Ralians before, there doesn’t even seem to be a word for them other than slurs, while the Tithenai term is metem.

There are further instances where we get to see Velasin begin to unpack how differently things work in Ralia and Tithena. It’s incredibly interesting how these differences both become hindrances in some ways and advantages in others, as it allows Velasin to analyze the politics around them in ways that Caethari would and can not.

Outside of the cultural changes Velasin adjusts to, the book also delicately addresses the exploration of his identity and his healing from trauma. This is something that I thought was done incredibly well. There is no erasure of his trauma, but conversations and inner healing throughout the book showing how his trauma is influencing how he both thinks and acts around Caethari and others.

As for the relationship between Velasin and Caethari, it was wonderful to see the respect and tenderness they each gave to each other as their friendship developed. There was quite a lot of character development throughout, extending to all the characters and not just the main two.

Each and every character is thoughtfully fleshed out, with observations made by Velasin and Caethari allowing the reader to get to know the characters, their wants, and their backstories. I especially loved Markel and seeing his deep friendship with Velasin. It’s clear the mutual love and respect they have for each other. The same can be said for many of the other interpersonal relationships between different characters.

The only grievance I have is that the timeline felt off for me. I know that the reason is because so much happened each day but it was jarring every time they brought up that’s its only been a few days. Though, I will say that the characters also state that it feels like it’s been longer than a few days, so it is likely on purpose. I honestly just didn’t bother thinking too much about the timeline and just let myself read it as though weeks or months were passing. Overall, remembering the timeline wasn’t that important in the grand scheme of things for me.

In closing, it’s clear how much thought and care went into this book. Every bit of the political intrigue, emotional and heartfelt romance, and intricate world-building created the perfect blend for this book.

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hadleysunshine's review

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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

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nward88's review

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adventurous emotional inspiring 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

Read the trigger warnings.

Content Warnings

kayleypew's review

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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? Yes

2.5

I thought the pacing was so bizarre - let’s have four paragraphs describing the clothing he’s wearing and one paragraph describing a major plot point - and often would break pace to explain something to the audience during important dialogues, so when you real the reply you have to read back to the question again.

The intro was so painfully wordy and over descriptive of nothing happening I almost frogged it, but truly had to reread sections multiple times to stay focused long enough to put meaning to the words. Thankfully the wordiness subdues and becomes more readable.

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dae_as's review

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring sad medium-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

4.0

I enjoy political marriages set in a historical inspired setting. This book just had a lot of tropes I enjoyed and though there are some dark things I rather not have in books I read the rest of the book allowed me to work past those things. I read this fairly quickly and the way the relationship developed kept me invested.

I love a supportive, communicative spouse!

Content Warnings

crossbrit's review

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adventurous mysterious tense 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? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

wardenred's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful reflective 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

3.75

Stolen me? As well to say a caged bird can be stolen by the sky.

I'll be honest, my main thought finishing this book was this: "It would have been so much better if it didn't have the entire external plot with the murders." And that's not because I'm against fantasy murder mysteries with court intrigue, or high-stakes situations mixing into slow burn romance. On the contrary, I absolutely love those things! But the way they were handled in this story was just—so incredibly off. Honestly, it felt like the author somehow decided they absolutely needed a high-stakes mystery and intrigue plot to go with the romance and healing, and so they produced one by the skin of their teeth.

And like... the book didn't really need that, you know? It already had plenty going on! This is a story of surviving sexual assault and healing from it; it's a slow-burn arranged marriage romance; it's a story of cultures clashing and of having to adapt to a completely new normal. That's quite enough. This could be a wonderful slice-of-life take on all those themes, with external conflict coming from interpersonal relationships, and with many more chances to explore the worldbuilding beyond basically just affirming over and over that Tithena is this queernorm, overall inclusive paradise that poses a sharp contrast to the patriarchal hell of Vel's homeland. The book kind of attempted to dig deeper into the nuances, but because it was trying to do more things than I think it needed to and because it kept swinging back and forth between all kinds of thing, losing focus... well. It didn't quite work. And honestly, all that mystery subplot only raised more questions about how the country functioned. I can't be the only one who kept thinking, "But don't you have any special people you can assign to investigate this?"

And really, the entire subplot with the investigation ultimately turned out to be so unnecessary, given that the culprit was found entirely by accident. The work the main characters put into solving the mystery didn't even pay off.

Other than raising more questions about Tithena's culture and politics than it answered, this external plot also just plain stood in the way of the developing relationship between Vel and Cae. I really liked the relationship, by the way! I liked both character arcs. I liked the way they both handled the weight of Vel's trauma, and how overall sensitively handled his recovery was: an authentic, nonlinear process with its ups and downs. I wanted a closer focus on this bumpy road, but every time they got a bit closer, something immediately happened connected to the murdery plot. Usually, someone just flat out got attacked. It was getting a bit ridiculous by the second time it happened, and the second time wasn't the last.

So, yeah. I would have absolutely adored the world out of this book if it was a healing + new culture story with a slowly, slowly developing romance and lower-stakes interpersonal drama. Because I loved those parts. I loved the undeniably "hurt/comfort fanfiction" feel of the storytelling of those parts, and this is something I'm saying as high praise here. There's this highly specific set of tropes, themes, and feels that can be find rather easily in fanfic land but seldom blooms in original fiction, and this? This is exactly it, and so well done. I loved the characters, and not just the main leads (Markel stole my heart especially). I loved so many things this book could have been, if only the pesky murders didn't constantly get in the way. But alas, they did, and so what could have been a total five-star favorite is... probably not going to even be a four-star read, if I'm very honest with myself :(

Content Warnings

emmakate08's review

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adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad 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? N/A

5.0

Content Warnings

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