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lignjahal'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? No
4.0
It’s a cute little queer historical romance that will keep you engaged with solid writing and good characters.
My only cons are the length being just a bit too long and the writing sometimes being a bit too modern for the period, but these are only minor complaints.
Graphic: Body shaming, Drug abuse, Sexism, Ableism, War, Sexual harassment, Classism, Kidnapping, and Drug use
Moderate: Medical trauma, Medical content, Transphobia, Outing, Sexism, Gore, Addiction, Child abuse, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
adelll'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? No
4.25
Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, and Sexual content
Moderate: Ableism and War
Minor: Transphobia and Suicidal thoughts
kato_goldacker's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Friends to lovers slow-burn with good Trans Representation.
(go to end for conclusion)
Loved it. When I found this one I knew I had to read it simply because it is exactly what I wanted.
Alexis Hall has some really beautiful writing and ways of describing things, as well as the ability to spark inspiration or thought with the way he puts things. This had a lot of inspiring, beautiful lines and romantic, soft, yearning moments that I really enjoyed, I marked a lot of parts in this book. Hall did a great job with writing a relatable trans character, too.
I did feel that, overall in its execution it’s not a masterpiece of a book, as I still felt like some things were perhaps missing or too simple. I also wasn’t always entirely sure about the pace of the book, I would call it a slow-burn romance, which I liked, but it did change pace a bit later. I don’t think it’s extraordinary story-writing or anything -generally I felt like there were things missing for me to make it a GREAT book, but I couldn’t exactly pinpoint what it was. Depth, the feeling of a more detailedly thought-through plot / story, most likely.
Still, I loved it, and I’m so happy there’s a book with this story.
The characters were lovely and the playful, intimate and teasing interactions and the yearning and pining between Gracewood and Viola were really fun to read.
I’m also really happy we got a bit of spicy/intimate scenes, which I think is great seeing trans characters nicely represented in.
I don’t think you always need an absolutely great story with a unique plot that wasn’t ever written before. Popular tropes can still be enjoyable, and I don’t think it’s necessary to have an entirely period-accurate representation in every LGBTQIA+ novel, especially since -some people argue- it can be nice for us to have something simple, cheesy and stereotypical for once too, just like there’s tons of (non-LGBTQIA+) straight fiction like that.
Conclusion
So I’d say, if you’re not looking for a terribly original storyline but for a happy, hopelessly romantic, historical friends to lovers slow-burn, featuring good and positive trans representation, you will really like this.
About Triggers
I put all from this list I think are (briefly) in the book,
Of course it is for yourself to know but I just need to say I didn’t find this much triggering, even though I am quite sensitive to a lot of those. If drug use is really triggering for you it might be a different thing, for me it is mainly violence related as well as any sexual abuse or transphobia related ones, but I was mostly fine reading this and, despite containing all of those listed triggers, I found this was book that still felt light.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Violence, Drug abuse, Ableism, Addiction, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Outing, War, Gun violence, Mental illness, Kidnapping, and Grief
Minor: Deadnaming, Physical abuse, Transphobia, Suicide attempt, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, and Lesbophobia
froukjemelenhorst's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This book was extremely devoid of plot, so much so that the middle 250 took me like 2.5 weeks because nothing was happening and I was so bored because of it.
I also felt like the relationship was so quickly developed (which does make sense with Viola and Gracewood’s history), but then afterwards every scene between them felt the same. In a book with a focus on these two main characters I found myself looking forward to the scenes with the side characters, because they felt new and fun every time.
I will say that the trans rep, which was one of the things that initially drew me to this book, was really great and you could feel the care put into it. Combine that with the great writing, this book was very enjoyable to read, but the aforementioned things made me rate it 3.5 stars.
Moderate: Deadnaming, Ableism, and Violence
Minor: Sexual assault
questingnotcoasting'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? No
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Kidnapping, Sexual content, and Deadnaming
Moderate: War, Ableism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Mental illness
Minor: Vomit
lynxpardinus's review against another edition
3.5
Graphic: Addiction, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Drug abuse, Ableism, Mental illness, Misogyny, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: War, Pedophilia, Kidnapping, Blood, Gun violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Violence, Vomit, Adult/minor relationship, and Deadnaming
kelisabeth's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Ableism, Alcoholism, Addiction, Alcohol, Homophobia, Sexism, Suicide attempt, Infertility, Classism, Violence, Biphobia, Bullying, Child abuse, Deadnaming, Dysphoria, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Drug use, Transphobia, Vomit, War, Grief, Gun violence, Lesbophobia, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Cursing, Drug abuse, and Emotional abuse
mayaism_01'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
4.0
Graphic: Ableism, Alcoholism, Transphobia, Deadnaming, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, War, Drug abuse, Dysphoria, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Gun violence
hobbithopeful's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Viola was presumed dead during the war, and in truth a part of her did die that day. She has been able to live as her true self for the past two years, but when an old friend from her past needs help, she is forced to confront her feelings, and who she left behind.
There are a few more difficult topics that Hall tackles, such as PTSD, drug abuse, and ableism. I found each of these handled with grace and depicted very well, not shying away from the harsh truth of such subjects.
I highly recommend this book, I can't wait to read more from the author.
Graphic: Ableism, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, Addiction, Drug use, and Deadnaming
Minor: Death of parent
pvbobrien'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
4.5
Graphic: Grief, Sexual content, and Drug abuse
Moderate: Deadnaming, Panic attacks/disorders, Ableism, and Addiction
Minor: Vomit, War, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail