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orchidlilly's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Overall, subpar. The magic and world building are far more interesting than any of the characters could ever dream of being, which is a shame because we don't get to see much of it. The premise was interesting, the plot was an actual plot, but it could have been fleshed out so much better if it only had a bit more time. The ending was a semi-refreshing subversion of the expected romance ending, but it felt a bit rushed. The romance part itself was, in my opinion, wholly unnecessary and a bit unpleasant. The main romantic interest is an immortal while our mc is... 17-ish. Not to mention the attempted rape scene.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Death, Grief, Kidnapping, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Misogyny, Bullying, Fatphobia, Gore, and War
Moderate: Mental illness, Death, Sexual harassment, Blood, Body horror, Murder, Adult/minor relationship, Classism, Sexual assault, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Alcohol, Animal death, and Confinement
starlightsong's review
the romance in this book--between the 17 year old main character and hundreds of years old Dragon--is super abusive and gross to the point where i just couldn't stand to finish it. the main character is constantly called ugly and stupid, horsefaced and slovenly, the dirtiest thing in the tower, useless, mentally defective and all manner of insults by the dragon, and when she's nearly raped by another man, he blames it on her because of the dress she was wearing. she somehow seems to forget all of this and goes on an adventure with the almost-rapist and falls in love with the dragon, who calls her a raving lunatic before suddenly kissing her. the prose is beautiful but i wish i had read the goodreads reviews, which are much more honest about the fact that this book is a beauty and the beast retelling in which the beast character does inexcusably awful things and this is never properly addressed, with agnieszka somehow falling for him because... why? i'm honestly not sure, it was so poorly developed. i can't understand why the reviews on this site are so positive. DNFed after chapter 11 in which it became clear that the Dragon is somehow our romantic lead rather than our villain. the plot involving the wood also feels super ableist to me in suggesting that physical and mental disabilities are caused by supernatural evil. i wish I'd never tried to read this tbh.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping, Sexual assault, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Misogyny, Rape, and Sexism
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