Reviews tagging 'Car accident'

Winter's Orbit by Everina Maxwell

35 reviews

wilybooklover's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious medium-paced

5.0

This is a tough one to categorise. Ostensibly, it’s sci-fi romance, but it’s a lot heavier on the actual sci-fi than most sci-fi romance is. Or maybe space opera, but it’s a lot heavier on the romance than most space opera. In my opinion, it’s pretty equally space opera/romance/suspense (all three of which are interwoven), but whatever it is I loved it. 

The book starts off with our two heroes, Kiem and Jainan, marrying for political alliance reasons. Now, this is how you do a miscommunication trope. It makes sense that Kiem and Jainan would have trouble communicating properly. Not only are they complete strangers, with very different styles of communication, they’re from entirely different cultures and Jainan has been kept isolated and deliberately in the dark about a lot of things. They’re both so considerate of the other that they overthink and misinterpret and get in their own heads about it. It’s kind of endearing, actually, and the slow unfolding of their thoughts and feelings to each other was such a delight to read. They really complemented each other well, despite being charming-extrovert/anxious-introvert opposites. 

Besides the romance, which was lovely and gentle and soft, the worldbuilding and plot were complex and interesting. Kiem and Jainan get dragged into a murder conspiracy upon which the fate of the Empire hinges, and it soon becomes apparent that their lives are also at stake. On top of that, you have a potential rebellion brewing back on Jainan’s home world. It’s a lot, and I do think there was maybe a little too much going on at times (or, perhaps, not paced correctly). But I very much enjoyed this story of political intrigue. Once facet of the worldbuilding that I really enjoyed was the queernorm world. It was so refreshing to see queer people of all kinds just existing without being a statement or facing hardship because of it. The secondary characters were all fleshed out and interesting as well, although I did think that one of the antagonists was a bit obvious

(it’s always suspicious when someone is a bit too friendly and helpful).

 

Ultimately I think this was a well-balanced story of romance and space politics, and would recommend this to people who enjoy both of those things. There are some heavy topics in this, so do check content warnings first.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Car accident, Confinement, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Colonisation, Death, Murder, Physical abuse, Torture, Kidnapping, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Xenophobia, and Violence

Minor: Alcoholism

skrulls's review

emotional hopeful 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Torture, Kidnapping, Car accident, and Confinement

Minor: Medical content, Sexual content, and Violence

breadbees's review

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful tense slow-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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Death, Violence, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Violence, Xenophobia, and Torture

Minor: Car accident, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, War, Sexual violence, and Medical content

kate_arts's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Car accident, Torture, and Domestic abuse

dusksolace's review against another edition

adventurous emotional 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

5.0

wish I could put into words how much I love this book

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Car accident, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Violence, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Blood

Minor: War and Grief

mazomazli's review against another edition

emotional inspiring mysterious 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? Yes

4.75

I absolutely enjoyed this book! Please note that it deals with past domestic violence however it is done with An extreme amount of care that if you usually avoid books with these because it is triggering you might find this story therapeutic. My absolute favorite part of the main relationship was the way that boundaries were respected, encouraged, and reinforced every step of the way. I also enjoy the main storyline though it could’ve used a bit more to make this a perfect 5/5 stars book for me.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Torture, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, and Grief

Moderate: Rape, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Car accident, and Colonisation

cheye13's review

adventurous tense slow-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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Emotional abuse, Colonisation, Domestic abuse, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Classism, Medical content, Murder, Sexual violence, Violence, Sexual content, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, and Torture

Minor: Genocide, Gun violence, and War

most severe content notes regard Jainan's abuse in his previous marriage

blewballoon's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful informative mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

One of the books responsible for getting me back into reading after being in a reading slump for about 10 years. I don't normally even like a sci-fi space setting, but I found the world building easy enough to slip into and understand, I liked the political intrigue, I enjoyed our main characters and several of the side characters, and I really enjoyed the arranged marriage romance. I thought the writing quality was excellent, which felt like icing on the cake since the characters and plot were captivating enough for me.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Colonisation, Physical abuse, Cursing, and Car accident

kathleencoughlin's review against another edition

adventurous emotional 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

3.75

Jainan and Kiem are rushed into am arranged political marriage and understandably spend a good deal of time talking past each other. Normally I hate miscommunication plotlines but here their assumptions are understandable based on their own situations. Characters were interesting and I appreciated their growth throughout the book. The whole treaty/empire/auditor thing was a bit convoluted in my opinion but I don't it didn't get in the way too much. Also, did I miss why this was the title?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Physical abuse, Torture, Car accident, and Eating disorder

Minor: Xenophobia, War, Gaslighting, and Blood

eamily's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, and Car accident

Moderate: Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, and Murder

Minor: Alcohol, Blood, War, Violence, Torture, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, and Infidelity