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lilly_reads98's review against another edition
1.25
I liked meeting Bjorn initially because I thought he would get Freya out of her marriage and I thought it was amusing. But then after he does somewhat help in that I just hate all the way the men talk about marriage. He’s the only character that I like besides Freya. The world they live in of marrying not for love is not what I enjoy reading. I started skimming at page 70 because I wanted to get to more enjoyable parts of the story but it wasn’t happening. I like when Freya are Bjorn are interacting but then I’m offended for Freya when he’s like not acting like he likes her anymore for a while. I had heard that the love interest has to protect the main character and train with her and that’s why I wanted to read this, that and I do want to read more fantasy romance. But the beginning is just so unenjoyable. And then it continued to be mostly unenjoyable the whole book. I kept going because I like training in books, but by page 250 they had only one training scene so I was like okay there probably won’t be any more and there wasn’t. I’m disappointed that the romance isn’t focused on more. Like I truly don’t get why all of these fantasy romance books don’t actually focus on the romance that much until the end of the book. I loved Fourth Wing so I have been wanting to read more fantasy romance, but like how am I the only one confused and disappointed by the romance taking the backseat of the plot? It’s also frustrating to me that most books I try to read lately do not interest me in the beginning and take hundreds of pages to get good. I’ve been dnfing so many books lately around page 50-150 if I’m not enjoying it but I did try harder with this one because I want to give it more of a chance since the parts I thought I would like hadn’t really happened yet. The way the main character only thinks about Bjorn as wanting him physically is also annoying and cringey. I’d rather read them falling in love but that’s just not shown to us very much. Freya does actually think later that she feels for him in her heart as well, but this story is just not for me at all. I like a more lighthearted book where the characters fall in love and the physical parts come after that. My rating is also not just based on my dislike and this book not being for me, I also found it just long and slow and repetitive. Every time Bjorn shows up, it’s written the same way. Freya turns around to find him standing there. Like the author could put more variety to how he shows up in a scene. Most of the characters are unlikeable. The plot revolves around something a seer said that may or may not be true. Freya repetitively has flashes of anger and all the other characters are also repetitive with their controlling and cruel nature. So much of the book is spent just talking about Freya. I don’t think those things make a good book. There are some lighthearted moments that made me keep going otherwise I would have dnfed this. I had a feeling that I wouldn’t enjoy the book until it focused more on the romance and that was correct, on page 351 I was like aww because of Freya and Bjorn and the only reason why I wanted to keep reading was to see them be together.
Spoiler thoughts / I liked how Freya was finally putting herself first and how he had been wanting her to and how protective he is of her. Bjorn is the best thing about this book and the stars I gave are just for him, I truly did not enjoy this book. I feel like the second one might be better since it might focus more on Freya and Bjorn but that’s only if she forgives him. I have felt with a lot of books lately that I might enjoy the second one more since it takes a first book to develop the characters and their relationship and then the book ends before we really get to see what they do after the ending.
page 381 made me somewhat glad I had pushed through the book because he is probably one of the best love interests I’ve read. And then the ending was actually getting good and I was happy they were getting a happy ending, but then of course the author ruins that at the end. The screaming and the main character abandoning all respect and love for Bjorn because of something he did that wasn’t even that bad was awful. I wanted her to just calm down and not be so mad at him. I literally never want to try any more fantasy romance if they’re all going to be like this and Serpent & The Wings of Night. It’s so toxic the way that the characters fall in love but then Freya just curses at him and threatens him after she finds out what he didn’t tell her.
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Blood, Sexual content, Death of parent, Death, Fire/Fire injury, War, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Gore, Murder, Violence, and Cursing
witcheep's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Sexual content, Death, Violence, Misogyny, and Murder
Moderate: Infidelity, Cursing, Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, War, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Classism, Grief, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Child death, Infertility, Death of parent, Drug use, and Kidnapping
dalek_caan'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? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Slavery, War, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Death, and Murder
figsofpeach's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Death of parent, Violence, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, and Death
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Vomit
marissaumble's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Violence, Grief, Murder, Suicide attempt, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Death of parent, and War
bookish_bry'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
4.5
I think the author writes characters very well. I liked Freya the whole time even when she made choices I didn't like, and I understood her motivations. Bjorn was also a good love interest. We didn't see into his mind, of course, but he always respected Freya, something that she noted and cited as a reason she liked him herself. That was very nice.
The whole cast of characters was interesting truthfully and while we really only dipped our toes into the lore, I think it's very interesting. I will definitely be following this series to see where it goes.
Graphic: Death of parent, Death, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, War, and Violence
Moderate: Sexism
writingbugtop's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Suicide attempt, War, Death, Death of parent, Animal death, and Violence
rachelblair's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Murder, War, Death of parent, Violence, and Fire/Fire injury
jasper_is_atypical's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Sexual violence, Fire/Fire injury, Cursing, Alcohol, Infidelity, Domestic abuse, Blood, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Death, War, Misogyny, Death of parent, Animal death, Sexism, Medical content, Violence, Sexual content, Murder, Grief, Gore, and Vomit
Moderate: Body horror, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Panic attacks/disorders, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual harassment, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Confinement, and Kidnapping
Minor: Slavery, Rape, Gaslighting, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Physical abuse
soniajoy98's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Blood, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Suicide attempt, War, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Alcohol, Animal death, Cursing, Murder, Death of parent, and Sexual content
Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Slavery, Drug use, Sexual harassment, Kidnapping, Infidelity, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Mental illness, Colonisation, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, and Vomit