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sophiesmallhands'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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Mental illness
Moderate: Death, Sexual content, Kidnapping, and Murder
Minor: Death of parent and Gaslighting
pitsikakku'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? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism, Eating disorder, and Sexual content
Minor: Death of parent
immovabletype's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Confinement, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Violence, and Alcohol
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Torture, Blood, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Death of parent and Pregnancy
wanderingtales'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
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, and Alcohol
ehmannky'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
3.25
I thought the characters and romance were really well executed and I liked the portrayal of anxiety as disability. I also really liked the world building aspects of it all, though again this book is less concerned about like political mechanics than about the pining of the main characters. I also enjoyed the side characters (Tadek my beloved). The plot just dragged on a bit, and I thought it was around 100 pages too long. I also think Evemer wasn't a particularly great bodyguard as Kadou does rescue him like 3 times throughout the book and would have liked to see more scenes of him demonstrating his supposed competence.
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Death, Violence, and Kidnapping
Minor: Death of parent
wilybooklover's review against another edition
5.0
This book also somehow made economics interesting to me and that is talent.
Graphic: Confinement, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Bullying, Death, Sexual content, Blood, and Murder
Minor: Animal death, Drug use, and Death of parent
pagesofnay'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? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Death, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Death of parent
nefariousbee'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? Yes
5.0
This is mine.
Easily my favourite romance novel of all time.
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Kidnapping, and Murder
mallorypen'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? Yes
5.0
Characters: Kadou and Evermere are OTP for life. Kadou’s anxiety, like I mentioned, is written in a perfectly heartbreaking way that makes his behaviors and conflicts completely believable. The “fear monster” metaphor got a little overused, but overall I was captivated by this struggle and his perceived cowardice. Evermere is the embodiment of one of my favorite tropes - the hard rule-following, logical-sequential, painfully upright but unflinchingly morally upright … who then falls into EMOTIONAL TURMOIL in the most delicious way. His progression from disliking Kadou to loving him is written so perfectly; even knowing they were endgame didn’t take away from my enjoyment of Evermere’s fall into love and out of his repressive shell. I loved that his character growth wasn’t just because and for Kadou; his moment with the unburdening at the shrine was also for him and his own development in such a lovely way (and in-universe therapy without it feeling forced! We love to see it.) Tadek was such a fun character, both easy to dislike and love in turns with his actions. His delight in figuring out why Evermere was a secret prince made me laugh out loud. Zelia was amazing, the captain of the guard was amazing, and overall the supporting cast all felt fully fleshed out and interesting in their own right.
The Yearning™️ was literally perfect. I absolutely love a slow burn done well, and this was a slow burn done EXCEPTIONALLY. Evermere not recognizing his own feelings of jealousy or desire or admiration … Kadou getting in his own way thinking Evermere was only acting out of duty and obligation … their mutual concern for navigating the imbalance of power, the communication … makes a girl weak in the knees! Then, add the most amazingly trope-tastic plot points of “we were about to be spotted in the alley on a surveillance mission so we had to kiss” and “more surveillance, let’s canoodle” and finally “we’re about to be caught in a lie and marriage is the only way to save your life” UGGGGHHHHHH kill me now because a more perfect combo of tropes downs not exist. That, and the “prove your loyalty by cutting off your hand” and Evermere’s heart stopping obedience played into this amazing dynamic of respect and trust that had d/s undertones and all together spicy excellence.
I also loved the sociopolitical elements of the dynasty, the purity of their monetary system, and the idea of “body fathers” not having a claim on the child unless granted as such by the mother. The caiular as a protection force leading into the ministries was another interesting concept. The author did a great job establishing the significance of both the counterfeiting and the betrayal of the caiulars.
Moderate: Death and Kidnapping
Minor: Death of parent
just_one_more_paige'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: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Bullying, Death, and Murder