Scan barcode
readingwithkaitlyn's review
challenging
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Blood, Gore, Death, Murder, Animal death, Animal cruelty, War, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Religious bigotry, Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, and Grief
Minor: Torture, Slavery, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Child death, Alcohol, and Confinement
alisoun's review
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I really enjoyed this book! Kassam is seen briefly in the previous book, and he is the Aspect of hedonism which is lots of fun!
It was great to start on Earth. That being said, by the time we got to Aos I somewhat missed the world building of the previous two books because they didn't really cover new ground. They went to locations that have already been explored, not counting Kassam's wild lands which I get are not that exciting, but I still missed the interactions with Aos locals.
I really loved the characters too, particularly Carly's mum and Kassam. I feel like Carly could have gone through a bit more of a development process - we are told a lot that she doesn't finish things, and I didn't quite feel we got to enjoy her working through that trauma and actually succeeding and finishing things with Kassam. I think some more conflict about this would have made her a stronger character.
I also was a little confused about the fuss Carly made about all the unprotected sex they were having (classic Ruby am I right? But I love it what can I say hahaha). She made a big fuss about getting the morning after pill, never did, sort of not really used condoms and there was NO mention of a risk of pregnancy at all after the first third. I think that should have been left out entirely OR picked up again. So fair warning pregnancy is discussed but not experienced in detail (I will put in the content warnings too).
I know I've put a lot of critiques here but truly I really loved this book. Hedonism is so intense sometimes but the discussions Carly and Kassam have about it make it less fun in a way. They both find it exhausting, but it's just something Kassam has to do. Fair warning that it could be seen as dubious consent because of the effect of hedonism in the first part of the book, but after Carly works some things out it changes their relationship. Truly in the final third there was hardly any sexy sex scenes, but in a way that was more powerful.
And the epilogue 😰🌶️💦💦 very nice.
It was great to start on Earth. That being said, by the time we got to Aos I somewhat missed the world building of the previous two books because they didn't really cover new ground. They went to locations that have already been explored, not counting Kassam's wild lands which I get are not that exciting, but I still missed the interactions with Aos locals.
I really loved the characters too, particularly Carly's mum and Kassam. I feel like Carly could have gone through a bit more of a development process - we are told a lot that she doesn't finish things, and I didn't quite feel we got to enjoy her working through that trauma and actually succeeding and finishing things with Kassam. I think some more conflict about this would have made her a stronger character.
I also was a little confused about the fuss Carly made about all the unprotected sex they were having (classic Ruby am I right? But I love it what can I say hahaha). She made a big fuss about getting the morning after pill, never did, sort of not really used condoms and there was NO mention of a risk of pregnancy at all after the first third. I think that should have been left out entirely OR picked up again. So fair warning pregnancy is discussed but not experienced in detail (I will put in the content warnings too).
I know I've put a lot of critiques here but truly I really loved this book. Hedonism is so intense sometimes but the discussions Carly and Kassam have about it make it less fun in a way. They both find it exhausting, but it's just something Kassam has to do. Fair warning that it could be seen as dubious consent because of the effect of hedonism in the first part of the book, but after Carly works some things out it changes their relationship. Truly in the final third there was hardly any sexy sex scenes, but in a way that was more powerful.
And the epilogue 😰🌶️💦💦 very nice.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Blood, War, Violence, Sexual content, Physical abuse, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Animal death, and Alcohol
Minor: Pregnancy and Drug abuse
More...