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plumpaperbacks's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
- 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 was Very Nervous going into this for one reason and one reason only: tentacles. And I won’t lie—I did find the smut scenes weird for that reason, but not enough so that I didn’t enjoy the rest of the book. I did, much more than I expected to. Although there was a portion of the book where I found Thane to be rather annoying and insensitive, he grew on me significantly; I loved Catalina from the start and that never stopped. And pushing through was so, so worth it, because I got to see them become comfortable around each other, heal and build their future together. 💙
Also, in the biggest twist of the year—this book made me genuinely like Ramanu. They had much more page time here than in the first book, which annoyed me at first because I thought they were an obnoxious asshole. But seeing how they softened around Cat and were such a good friend to her… it really endeared them to me. I’m suddenly quite eager to read their book in the Peculiar Tastes series, which I’d already been thinking about but now will definitely be diving into next.
Current ranking of the series:
Also, in the biggest twist of the year—this book made me genuinely like Ramanu. They had much more page time here than in the first book, which annoyed me at first because I thought they were an obnoxious asshole. But seeing how they softened around Cat and were such a good friend to her… it really endeared them to me. I’m suddenly quite eager to read their book in the Peculiar Tastes series, which I’d already been thinking about but now will definitely be diving into next.
Current ranking of the series:
- The Kraken’s Sacrifice
- The Dragon’s Bride
Representation:
- two queer protagonists, each attracted to multiple genders
- nonbinary side character that uses ze/zir
- nonbinary side character that uses they/them
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Death, Grief, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Abortion and Pregnancy
Death & grief: Thane’s husband was killed prior to the story. Emotional abuse & gaslighting: experienced by Catalina prior to the story, by both her mother and various friends and partners. Pregnancy & abortion: Catalina ends up with and thus terminates an unwanted pregnancy. This is handled with care and respect, and she’s supported by everyone involved.thenerdybookwitch's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Will be honest, I did like The Dragon’s Bride more. Still a good book but this one was so fast that I felt like it was very rushed. I liked the couple, the world, I just wish there had been better pacing. Also really loved that this whole book is full of Queer characters. It is highly inclusive, even has a character with Neo-Pronouns! I cannot wait for the third book to see what more happens in this world!
Content Warnings not available: Death of Spouse
Content Warnings not available: Death of Spouse
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abortion, Grief, Sexual content, Abandonment, Cursing, and Death
Moderate: Gaslighting, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, Body shaming, and Child abuse
Minor: Blood
kim03's review against another edition
2.25
I did not like this.
Here is why:
Here is why:
- Catalina was abused and neglected all throughout her life. Thane takes advantage of that several times.
- Thane is a selfish bastard who says hurtful things to Catalina but it's okay because hE dOeSn'T mEaN iT
- This is purely my preference, but I don't like to read about widowed people. At all.
- Don't know how to explain this one: I hate thane. Everything he does
(except when he helps Catalina with an abortion) felt like nails on chalkboard. It was like anything he did would make me mad. And he did plenty of shitty things(like putting Catalina into a building surrounded by water, when she can't swim and can't escape, letting her be treated like a prisoner, taking her away from other people even tho that'll depress her and then avoiding her BECAUSE OF HIS EGO AND DELICATE FEELINGS)
The only thing that kinda made up for some of this is the writing style and gender + sexuality inclusivity.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Confinement, Child abuse, Grief, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Sexual content
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