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ijustboughtaskateboard's review against another edition
funny
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Nettes Setting, belanglose, flache Geschichte.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol
ibjilln's review against another edition
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.25
I started off excited to read this as a fun light-hearted rom-com but that it was not.
Instead it was 368 pages of how much the FMC hates various aspects of herself and how, weirdly, every one seems to hate her - or have a weird hangup about her. I didn't get it at all.
There was a few nice bits - namely the parts with the history around the tower and its contents but the rest was a bore.
As for the romance? Where? It was worse than a hallmark channel Christmas movie -- the MC love interest was barely in it and spent 90% of the time just leaving Maggie behind without explanation. It would've been more believable if the FMC fell in love with the Ravenmaster for how much focus was on the Ravens and weird coded messages every few chapters.
Disappointing overall.
Instead it was 368 pages of how much the FMC hates various aspects of herself and how, weirdly, every one seems to hate her - or have a weird hangup about her. I didn't get it at all.
There was a few nice bits - namely the parts with the history around the tower and its contents but the rest was a bore.
As for the romance? Where? It was worse than a hallmark channel Christmas movie -- the MC love interest was barely in it and spent 90% of the time just leaving Maggie behind without explanation. It would've been more believable if the FMC fell in love with the Ravenmaster for how much focus was on the Ravens and weird coded messages every few chapters.
Disappointing overall.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Vomit, Grief, Dysphoria, Gaslighting, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Infidelity
Minor: Classism
12dejamoo's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I really enjoyed this book! Just so much fun the whole way through and lots of parts that genuinely made me laugh. The setting is so unique and the fact that the author did actually live in the Tower of London makes it feel more authentic which is fun. I loved the fun cast of side characters, although I will mention that it's impossible to keep track of them all. There is the one scene where we meet the group of like seven or eight guards and even as I was reading it I forgot all the facts about each of them. Not that it was needed for the story, but it was more the general vibe of the group which I loved than any individual personalities.
I think the romance was actually not the strongest romance I've ever come across. That being said, I did totally buy it and I liked both Freddie and Maggie a lot. There were plenty of scenes that gave that squealy/squirmy/throw the book across the room/cuteness feeling, but I think it was drawn out a little too long. They don't kiss until the 90% mark and that felt a little too late for me personally.
Also an absolute metric tonne of things happen in this book. From Tinder dates to ex-boyfriends to family drama, you kind of get it all. And I almost think maybe you could have got rid of the Tinder dates especially and it still have worked well. And the way the Oliver date ends kind of made me really sad (even though he wasn't perfect I KNOW but he was sweet).
I also really need to STOP reading books where they're late to work. Waking up once work has already started. Like bloody hell. I do not need this stress in my life because I've done that too many times in my life and it's the worst thing.
Special note for the multiple nights where a lot of alcohol is consumed and I always hate reading about their hangovers in the morning. It's like having a second-hand hangover. I hate it.
Spoilery bits...
There's no real theme to these spoilers just some random thoughts. I liked Mhari and Katie a lot but I think they were introduced a little too late into the book to have much of an impact.
The ravenmaster was a slightly random character. I get the idea of her but adding the psychic element into the book felt like a whole other thing.
The scene after the fancy evening where Maggie cries in her room broke my whole heart and I think even if I'd hated a lot else about the book (which I absolutely didn't), that scene would have made it worth it.
The scene where she finally goes to kiss him and does it all in front of everyone and he holds her tight I just loved it so much! I wish it had come a tiny bit sooner though!
I think the romance was actually not the strongest romance I've ever come across. That being said, I did totally buy it and I liked both Freddie and Maggie a lot. There were plenty of scenes that gave that squealy/squirmy/throw the book across the room/cuteness feeling, but I think it was drawn out a little too long. They don't kiss until the 90% mark and that felt a little too late for me personally.
Also an absolute metric tonne of things happen in this book. From Tinder dates to ex-boyfriends to family drama, you kind of get it all. And I almost think maybe you could have got rid of the Tinder dates especially and it still have worked well. And the way the Oliver date ends kind of made me really sad (even though he wasn't perfect I KNOW but he was sweet).
I also really need to STOP reading books where they're late to work. Waking up once work has already started. Like bloody hell. I do not need this stress in my life because I've done that too many times in my life and it's the worst thing.
Special note for the multiple nights where a lot of alcohol is consumed and I always hate reading about their hangovers in the morning. It's like having a second-hand hangover. I hate it.
Spoilery bits...
The ravenmaster was a slightly random character. I get the idea of her but adding the psychic element into the book felt like a whole other thing.
The scene after the fancy evening where Maggie cries in her room broke my whole heart and I think even if I'd hated a lot else about the book (which I absolutely didn't), that scene would have made it worth it.
The scene where she finally goes to kiss him and does it all in front of everyone and he holds her tight I just loved it so much! I wish it had come a tiny bit sooner though!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Homophobia
bookaholic_in_wonderland's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Toxic relationship
meghanm404's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol and Body shaming
Minor: Death, Violence, War, Classism, Death of parent, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Sexism, and Torture
natashaleighton_'s review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
This was such an entertaining Rom-com that I literally devoured! I loved the Tower of London setting and the little morsels of historical facts that Megan Clawson has snuck in (I definitely learned a few things I didn’t previously know) but it was protagonist Maggie that really kept me hooked!
Her Bridget Jones-esque clumsiness was hilariously endearing and I rather enjoyed her deliciously intense, slow-burn romance with Royal Guard Freddie. The ensemble cast of Guards, Yeoman Warders and even some pretty lively Ravens also kept things pretty pacey with all their humour filled antics.
Overall, an absolutely fantastic debut that any self confessed Rom-com lover and history buff needs to check out —and if you’re on TikTok I’d definitely recommend following the author (who like Maggie actually does live inside the Tower of London.)
Her Bridget Jones-esque clumsiness was hilariously endearing and I rather enjoyed her deliciously intense, slow-burn romance with Royal Guard Freddie. The ensemble cast of Guards, Yeoman Warders and even some pretty lively Ravens also kept things pretty pacey with all their humour filled antics.
Overall, an absolutely fantastic debut that any self confessed Rom-com lover and history buff needs to check out —and if you’re on TikTok I’d definitely recommend following the author (who like Maggie actually does live inside the Tower of London.)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol
Moderate: Infidelity, Bullying, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Emotional abuse
tamsterdam_reads's review against another edition
funny
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Megan Clawson’s debut novel is an entertaining read. She provides historical facts and details about the protagonist’s (Maggie’s) home, which happens to be within the London Tower. I really appreciated these details because I love history. The humour was spot on, which had me giggling and overall, I enjoyed reading this novel.
What I will say about this book is that it’s marketed incorrectly. This book is centrally focused on Maggie’s insecurities, her mental health and her very unique home and surroundings. Her character arc is well developed but this wasn’t a book that centered around her budding feelings with love interest, Freddie. A lot of the relationship development was missing as Maggie and Freddie barely see each other throughout the entire story, so I couldn’t buy the ending all that much. What also contributes to this conclusion is that the title, while so adorable (and of course, the charming cover!), doesn’t fit in with the main plot of the story. It makes the reader think this is a romance novel when really it’s a women’s fiction novel, which contributes to confusion and dare I say, a bit of disappointment. I would say this falls in-line with Sophie Kinsella books that are hilarious in itself, but expect the romance to play a backseat to the protagonist’s character arc.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Alcohol, Bullying, Cancer, Cursing, Grief, Emotional abuse, and Toxic relationship
summerslittlelibrary's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Alcohol
ctsquirrel's review against another edition
emotional
funny
informative
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I expected too much from this. It sounded British and fun. And it was i guess, it just probably wasn't the part I expected to enjoy. The romance itself was on the boring side. I couldn't quite see what the too perfect to be real Freddie saw in the unkempt scatterbrained disaster that was Maggie.
However, I really did enjoy the bits about the history and atmosphere of the Tower of London. It's really like a small town inside London and all the characters were very interesting. (Especially all the ravens that were fleshed out characters in their own right.) I would read another book about life in the Tower immediately, but as a romance this fell flat.
However, I really did enjoy the bits about the history and atmosphere of the Tower of London. It's really like a small town inside London and all the characters were very interesting. (Especially all the ravens that were fleshed out characters in their own right.) I would read another book about life in the Tower immediately, but as a romance this fell flat.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol
Minor: Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, and Infidelity
Most Emotional Abuse (Minor) warnings I tagged were from references to Maggie's former relationship with Bran. The Alcohol (moderate) was Maggie's semi-heavy drinking to cope with disappointment, after one failed date she drinks 2 bottles of wineems_rxlibrary's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship
Moderate: Alcohol