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penandpages's review
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Death, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
odunayo_y's review
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Actual Rating: 3.5 stars
The prose was beautiful and the bits of worldbuilding were compelling. So much so that I was way more interested in the setting than the actual romance.
As for the romance it was honestly not to my taste, quite frankly I despise the age gap trope, and thankfully this was the bare minimum in that both parties were adults (Valerin is like 20/21). But it was eh. Even minus the age gap I didn't feel the connection at all. Like the sorceress burns down your home fvks up your family and kidnapps you and you go from wanting to decapitate her to mashing genitals and being the love of your life in less than 10 hours?????
The insta-love/lust is another one of my mehs in romance. Yes it's a novella so there couldn't be too much content,but there could have at least been a significant time skip to make the relationship development feel more realistic.
That being said the sex scene was elite very nicely done. Even if the "bigger butch top/smaller femme bottom" dynamic is more than a little overplayed, but the way it was done didn't annoy me too much. Bonus points that because it was written in the same flowery prose as the rest of the novella, there wasn't any anachronistic switch to more "modern/vulgar" wording.
And it was queer as hell so I can't complain too
much. Despite this is a fantasy romance series the the non romance aspects of the story/World really got me going.
Finally verdict; pretty damn good despite my whinging. Beware reader there be fvking in this lol, like very explicitly, great if you're looking for that but if you prefer your romances more fade to black with empathise on the emotional side, this might not be the book for you.
The prose was beautiful and the bits of worldbuilding were compelling. So much so that I was way more interested in the setting than the actual romance.
As for the romance it was honestly not to my taste, quite frankly I despise the age gap trope, and thankfully this was the bare minimum in that both parties were adults (Valerin is like 20/21). But it was eh. Even minus the age gap I didn't feel the connection at all. Like the sorceress burns down your home fvks up your family and kidnapps you and you go from wanting to decapitate her to mashing genitals and being the love of your life in less than 10 hours?????
The insta-love/lust is another one of my mehs in romance. Yes it's a novella so there couldn't be too much content,but there could have at least been a significant time skip to make the relationship development feel more realistic.
That being said the sex scene was elite very nicely done. Even if the "bigger butch top/smaller femme bottom" dynamic is more than a little overplayed, but the way it was done didn't annoy me too much. Bonus points that because it was written in the same flowery prose as the rest of the novella, there wasn't any anachronistic switch to more "modern/vulgar" wording.
And it was queer as hell so I can't complain too
much. Despite this is a fantasy romance series the the non romance aspects of the story/World really got me going.
Finally verdict; pretty damn good despite my whinging. Beware reader there be fvking in this lol, like very explicitly, great if you're looking for that but if you prefer your romances more fade to black with empathise on the emotional side, this might not be the book for you.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Violence
marleywrites's review
adventurous
mysterious
5.0
Can I just start off by saying that the prose in this novella is seriously immaculate? Seriously, the flow of the author’s writing style is beautiful. I was hooked by all the descriptions of the settings, the outfits, and the feelings the characters were experiencing. I highlighted so many passages during my read through; the author has this way of pairing words and phrases together in a manner that you feel like you’re living in the fantasy world yourself. As an aside, the smut was incredible, it was emotional and passionate. On a differing note, the relationship between Valerin and the druids was interesting to read, and there were mixed emotions during the later scenes. Overall, this author is quite talented and I’m looking forward to reading more of their works!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Violence and Injury/Injury detail