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styxx's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Moderate: Gaslighting, Drug use, Toxic friendship, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Infidelity, Forced institutionalization, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Bullying, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Classism, Abandonment, Body shaming, Rape, and Injury/Injury detail
jackiepreston's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Bullying, Classism, Drug use, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, and Vomit
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Homophobia, Death, Racism, Domestic abuse, Animal death, and Lesbophobia
Minor: Slavery
allisonwonderlandreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The story has a quick, biting wit akin to Georgiana's own subversive, barbed remarks. Several funny asides made me laugh aloud. Also, letter banter is the BEST banter, and this one delivers in that category 100%. I was unconvinced of the central romance plot til the correspondence started up halfway through, and then I suddenly found myself on board. It was that high quality.
While reading, my stress level was high, even though I knew all the bad decisions and situations were building up to a lesson to be learned. It comes at a steep price for many characters involved. The emphasis on needing to be cool or seem above everyone else made me cringe, with side helpings of peer pressure and harassment, bullying and exclusionary tactics. Add in quick judgments and nasty put-downs to make oneself feel superior. It offers a deep view of the root causes of the characters' behaviors. For example, our protagonist Georgiana is spinning out in bitter rebellion after being abandoned by cold, distant parents. She seeks affection and belonging at any cost.
There are several content warnings of note for this story: sexual assault on-page and other incidents that occur off-page with physical and psychological harm explored, gaslighting and victim-blaming following claims of assault, racism and slavery, homophobia/lesbophobia, domestic abuse, toxic relationships, a lot of alcohol and other substance abuse, and parental neglect. The author takes a worthy stand on the proper response to assault claims and offers a glimpse into a diverse regency world hampered by prejudice but not whitewashed or offering queer characters as mere sidekicks. It's an interesting book that manages to be difficult to read at some points, uproariously funny at others, sometimes reflective and other times barreling forward. It was a compelling read, and I am curious to see what the author does next.
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment, Toxic friendship, Bullying, Classism, Sexual assault, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, Domestic abuse, and Homophobia
Minor: Colonisation, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Slavery, and Animal cruelty
pipn_t's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Drug use, Alcohol, and Classism
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Domestic abuse and Infidelity
booksandcat's review
- 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
Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Infidelity, Medical content, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Slavery
simixfe's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Bullying, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Vomit
laurenlucy's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Grief, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship