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yourbookishbff's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This is CL Polk's debut work - historical fantasy set in a magical WWI-era alt-England with a murder mystery and closed-door MM romance. It starts the Kingston cycle, a trilogy of interconnected fantasies that each have a central romance with a different set of main characters, but one overarching class/political conflict. I really enjoyed this, though I would say the romance felt like it took more of a backseat than I had hoped and the world-building leaned info-dumpy at times. That said, this is a really concrete magic system and an intricately imagined world and Polk did a LOT of work creating the foundation for us in this book, so I look forward to seeing how this lends itself to compelling mysteries and adventures in books two and three (if I can manage to forgive our side character from book one who becomes a main character in book two - looking forward to this redemption arc, because I'm still pretty rage-y!).
Also just have to give a shout-out to the on-page bicycle race with the villains - this was SO FUN and really memorable.
Also just have to give a shout-out to the on-page bicycle race with the villains - this was SO FUN and really memorable.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting, Murder, Domestic abuse, Death, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Death of parent, Grief, and Alcohol
k_aro's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.75
Overall a good story. I'm left mildly unsatisfied by the ending and how it all shook out, it feels like it pulled punches to provide a "happy ending", something like how I felt at the end of Eat the Rich, in which the story wasn't necessarily bad but didn't really feel like a, for lack of a better word, "realistic" ending.
I am, however, brainrotten, and can only think about parallels between necromancer/cavalier relationships in The Locked Tomb series and the stormsinger/secondary relationships in this book. Fascinating!
I am, however, brainrotten, and can only think about parallels between necromancer/cavalier relationships in The Locked Tomb series and the stormsinger/secondary relationships in this book. Fascinating!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, War, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Ableism, Confinement, Emotional abuse, and Forced institutionalization
Moderate: Drug use and Alcohol
Minor: Drug abuse
ninjamuse's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death, and Murder
Moderate: War, Emotional abuse, Classism, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Suicide, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Homophobia, Death of parent, and Grief
micheala's review against another edition
adventurous
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
This is an alternative history with hidden magic type of book. I really liked the atmosphere and the dual ways that magic was treated in societies. It had a nice little mystery and gave me a ship to care about, so really this was set up to be a book I was going to really love. For the most part I did really enjoy it.
If it was unclear before, I have strong feelings about characters, and I loathed Grace. Did I knock an entire star off this book because of her? Yes, yes I did. Am I debating not continuing with the series because I don't want her to have a happily ever after? Yup. Jessica /might/ be able to convince me to read the second book, but only if the third book is amazing, otherwise this will live in my heart as a standalone.
Even with that all said, the actual main characters of Miles and Tristan were *chefs kiss* and I feel like this is one of those books that I'll end up rereading on a at least semi-regular basis.
Even though I'm not a fan of first person narration, I liked Polk's writing enough that I'm interested to check out other things that they publishes.
If it was unclear before, I have strong feelings about characters, and I loathed Grace. Did I knock an entire star off this book because of her? Yes, yes I did. Am I debating not continuing with the series because I don't want her to have a happily ever after? Yup. Jessica /might/ be able to convince me to read the second book, but only if the third book is amazing, otherwise this will live in my heart as a standalone.
Even with that all said, the actual main characters of Miles and Tristan were *chefs kiss* and I feel like this is one of those books that I'll end up rereading on a at least semi-regular basis.
Even though I'm not a fan of first person narration, I liked Polk's writing enough that I'm interested to check out other things that they publishes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship
Moderate: Death, Blood, Body horror, Cancer, Confinement, Genocide, Medical content, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, and Xenophobia
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
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