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bear_ridge_tarot's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Sexual violence, Blood, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Gore
Moderate: Body horror, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, War, and Mental illness
Minor: Drug use, Vomit, Child death, and Suicidal thoughts
ofateaspoon'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? Yes
4.0
But all that said, definitely check your content warnings. This one is *dark* and could be very triggering to anyone who can’t (or shouldn’t) read about domestic violence, sexual assault, or body horror, among other things.
Graphic: Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Death, Violence, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Blood, Body horror, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, and Child abuse
Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Drug use, Drug abuse, and Addiction
Minor: War and Torture
louisekf's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
The story follows Dmitri’s efforts to regain control of Novo-Svitsevo. He used to rule Novo-Svitsevo as Tsar, but lost to his husband, Alexey, in a civil war. Alexey is now immortal, having undergone a resurrection/transformation via what he calls the Holy Science, a twisted version of the fictional religion of Ludayzim. Dmitri is in exile now, with a few of his faithful court. The plot took quite a while to take off, but once it did, I was hooked.
Chapters are told from three POVs: Dmitri, Alexey, and Vasily who is Dmitri’s close friend and spymaster. The book design is beautiful, with illustrations at the beginning of each chapter and illustrations of two playing cards that figure in the story.
It’s not an easy read; be aware that there is a lot of violence and gore, body horror, human experimentation, and abusive relationships, among the content warnings. There are also quite a few very explicit MM sex scenes throughout the book. Dark magic pervades the whole story, which includes both angels and demons.
The story talks to us about the long-term effects of abuse and trauma, about deep friendships, facing our faults (and realizing that some things weren’t our fault).
The final chapter hints at the possibility of a sequel. If that happens, I’ll be reading it.
Don’t skip the Author’s Note at the end!
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Canada for the opportunity to read an advance readers copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, Body horror, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: War and Alcohol
Minor: Drug use
crothe77's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Sexual assault and Domestic abuse
frenchleigh's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
This book had a really interesting concept, and I don't read or know much about Jewish lore so I was excited for that aspect. I thought it was important that the book showed an abusive relationship between two men, because this is not talked about much and men have unique experiences with DV. That said, I really wish that this part was own-voices and I thought the normalization of queerness in the book kind of prevented a deeper discussion of what that experience and healing means for a lot of people in real life. I also did not like the role of the "best friend" in repeating the sexual trauma of the MC because it was "what he needed." It just felt like trauma was a plot device.
Overall, the book felt repetitive and lacked depth in its characters, world-building and plot. It read like a sequel to a book that would have actually established deep relationships between the characters and relationships between the reader and the characters, but starting "in the aftermath" didn't work in this book in my opinion because the narration doesn't take the time to really show you why you should care. The first half of the book is just expository backstory and the political intrigue wasn't there for me. I didn't think there were enough visual details to feel engrossed in the actual plot whenever there was an actual scene written.
I also thought the relationships between a tsar and his political consort were very oddly intimate and tangled. It doesn't seem appropriate for the main relationship/emotions to be based on deep love and friendship with nothing else. The Jasmine Throne or Black Sun, for example, do a good job of exploring what love and friendships can look like in political alliances that are more nuanced and based on mutual respect and difficult choices--but this book seemed more like a group of teenage friends who we're supposed to believe are competent.
Graphic: Torture, Emotional abuse, Grief, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Alcoholism, War, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, and Toxic relationship
tonyaf'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
3.75
- Alexey reminds me of The Darkling from the Shadow and Bone trilogy.
- There may be a Doctor Who reference.
- There is an asexual character and a non-binary character along with the many same-sex relationships that the book features.
- The whole book is delightfully queer normative with most of the main characters and several side characters being casually queer. There’s no drama or trauma around their identities.
- I also liked how the author wove Judaism into the world.
- Did I mention how much I love Vasily?
- The last 25% of the book is tense, action-packed, emotional, and surprising. It is almost impossible to put down!
- The ending is satisfying while also setting up issues for a future sequel.
Graphic: Violence, Child abuse, Sexual content, Murder, Domestic abuse, War, Gore, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Vomit, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, and Blood
peacheyprince's review against another edition
- 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
The plot is captivating, almost from the start. I have seen other reviews, and I can understand how it may be slower for some people, but, in my opinion, this is down to a matter of one's personal likes, rather than writing skill. I loved the fact the plot picked up from the back-end of a major tragedy - it wrote into the characterisation of Dimitri, and it provided a backdrop to build the world around. But above all, I fell in love with the characters, quickly, and there may lie bias in how well a queer-normative world was built up (to even see this representation at all!), but the introduction of a non-binary character, with neutral pronouns, so casually, just existing, was truly beautiful to read, despite the affliction the plot is built upon.
From here on I may spoil some parts of the novel. I will try to be as ambiguous as possible, but please read on with concern if the novel is unread for you.
All the reveals within this novel, every single one, struck me, such as finding out what the illustrations in the front of the novel are, and how this so subtly, but so wonderfully, revealed the relations from Vasily towards Dimitri, for example. But also finding out what Alexey has done - I don't know if I can say all of it was a shock, as you gradually learn enough of his character to predict the actions he is capable of, but it was still done so well, and with care. There lies concern writing from the point of view of a manipulator, or a villain, and particularly with one of Alexey's demise, but I think the author has done this brilliantly. Firstly, even balancing all three perspectives was seamless, and there was no hitch or break in the story telling that you can sometimes find in multiple-pov novels. But even so, reading Alexey's pov in particular, you understand his thinking, you understood his motivations, so well that it wasn't question, and yet it was still obvious that he was the villain, the manipulator (with the author even explicitly using words such as this) without ruining the character of his point of view.
Some of the moments in particular which got me, that I was present enough to stop and write down in my notes, include: the end of chapter 7, where I have written how happy I was, and how the author has already managed to create such strong connections to the characters; how i already was emotional with tears within the first one hundred pages of the book; and then a jump to the end of chapter 32, because I become so enhanced with the plot and characters, where, and i quote my own notes, 'i am screaming'; the transmission to the next chapter... it was captivating.
I think the only hinderance I held throughout the plot was in chapter 34, following Alexey and Ivan's following interactions, there is a sentence that reads on p. 336 immediately following the scene break, the illicit use of this word, made me believe a major plot point which, actually, never happened. Considering his character, this was entirely believable to me, and this may fully be a reflection of me finishing this novel late at night, because I went back and reread this paragraph when I realised. It did not dictate from the story, and nor did it ruin the unveiling of events in any way, but I wish to include it in an honest review. Nevertheless, for a debut novel, I have fallen in love, and I truly truly look forward to (what I hope will be!) the second instalment in this series. And finally, I admired the explanation at the end, and I respect the choice to include the further reading. This book was an easy five stars, no questions asked.
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Drug use, Gore, and War
atlastheninth'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
5.0
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Murder, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, Alcohol, Blood, Gore, Mental illness, Torture, and War
Minor: Child abuse and Panic attacks/disorders
mint_the_muffin's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
I want to like this book so much, but the truth is I only finished it out of sheer stubbornness (and maybe a sliver of hope that it will get better.)
This is a story of a tsar who gets overthrown by his own husband - even though his husband loves him so much - and has to go into hiding. His husband is a fan of black magic that goes against the tsar's religion, so he has to try and fight back - even though he also loves his husband so much. To this end, his spymaster, who is head over heels in love with him will find journey back to the palace alone under a disguise and try to find a way to kill the usurper - whom he hates so much he can't go one second without thinking about a thousand ways to kill him.
Let me talk about the things I like about this book first. It has a very beautiful prose. This is the book's main strength. It's very flowery and poetic. It's clear that the author puts in a lot of work into researching and crafting the Russian-inspired settings. And I can feel that the author really cares about the themes discussed in the book, like the struggle to love yourself after getting gaslighted for so long, finding a family that you belong, and overcoming your traumas. I can feel the beating heart through the letters of this book, and I really appreciate that.
Now, my problem, though, is that I didn't enjoy the story. And when I say it's my problem, I mean it's a matter of preferences. And there are two layers to this. Firstly, at the idea level, no one is competent at their jobs. Or if they're supposed to be, then I'm not convinced. It's awkward to be in the head of a spy who is constantly struggling to not be overwhelmed by his emotion and maintain his disguise. It's also hard to root for a man to reclaim his throne when you're not convinced he would make a good king. Like, he literally balks at making any decisions. Now, I know there's a point about anxiety and depression that come from domestic abuse, physically, emotionally, and sexually. As a person, he's a kind person who deserves all the nice and pretty things in the world. I root for him to heal, to take his time, to be surrounded by people he love and not have to stress about how his abusive husband is going to destroy the world. As a king, though, being nice is just not enough - I don't really trust the country in his hands.
The other level of my problem is how the idea is told. The story alternates between 3 POVs: the tsar, the usurper husband, and the spymaster. From the beginning, in each and every chapter, these characters never hold back on pouring all their thoughts and emotions onto the pages. This means, that, one, all their incompetency and foil are exposed to the readers very early on; and two, from the beginning, I know who they are. Maybe not all their histories exactly, but more than enough to predict what they're going to do in any situations. And then, the next time the character's chapter comes around, they are still wallowing in their emotions! Nothing happens until about 40% into the book because every chapter consists of a short dialogue that leads nowhere plus an endless turmoil of repetitive emotions. This style of writing makes me numb because when you start at maximum emotion - the grief, the anger, the fear, the yearning, and the yearning, and more yearning - there is just nowhere else to go. Not for the enmity nor the romance. So, the only thing left to keep me going was the plot which progresses at a snail pace and only picks up around the 70% mark, at which point the story does become significantly more entertaining.
I would still recommend this book if you're someone who enjoy characters with overflowing emotions and beautiful writing. I would also recommend it if you're looking books that explore the themes that I said I appreciated above. But if you're looking for court intrigue, complex schemes, or nuanced characters, I don't think you'll get that from here.
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Blood, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, and Death
Moderate: Emotional abuse
Minor: Alcohol
kiandrareadsbooks's review against another edition
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Gaslighting, Sexual violence, Mental illness, Grief, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Religious bigotry, Panic attacks/disorders, Gore, and Domestic abuse
Grooming by an older partner (not adult/minor, but large age gap)