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3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
medium-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Nonsensical, boring, and repetitive (how many times can one say “duty”)
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
On the one hand, I find this book impressively written. The sentence structure is polished, the storyline is logically constructed, and the plot is technically sound. It reads smoothly, and the style is engaging.
Yet I’m left with mixed feelings. The themes – emotions, trauma, chronic pain and illness, and parental expectations – are handled in a mature and nuanced way. Like the main characters, who are in their mid-twenties, the story feels adult in those respects.
On the other hand, a significant part of the plot – the romantic subplot – develops at an unrealistic pace. In just five days, during which one of the main characters spends a considerable amount of time as a horse, the relationship blossoms into love. It feels forced and unbelievable.
The worldbuilding also feels shaky at times. Two kingdoms both receive a letter proposing a sort of semi-arranged marriage: let our children marry each other. Neither side sends a messenger or letter back to discuss or negotiate. Instead, the decision is simply: here is my child, best of luck getting married. The ease with which this happens, without questions or objections, feels peculiar and somewhat lazy.
And then the ending… it came across as lazy and – well, a bit young or naïve – let’s just forgive everyone and get everything back on track in a risk-free way. Everything falls neatly into place without it truly feeling earned. Don’t get me wrong: give me a happy ending, always and forever. But not like this.
All in all, this makes the book difficult for me to judge. It is technically well-written and the themes are valuable and mature, but the speed and unbelievability of certain plot developments – and the lazy ending – undermine the story’s impact. As a result, it lingers somewhere between admiration and frustration.
Yet I’m left with mixed feelings. The themes – emotions, trauma, chronic pain and illness, and parental expectations – are handled in a mature and nuanced way. Like the main characters, who are in their mid-twenties, the story feels adult in those respects.
On the other hand, a significant part of the plot – the romantic subplot – develops at an unrealistic pace. In just five days, during which one of the main characters spends a considerable amount of time as a horse, the relationship blossoms into love. It feels forced and unbelievable.
The worldbuilding also feels shaky at times. Two kingdoms both receive a letter proposing a sort of semi-arranged marriage: let our children marry each other. Neither side sends a messenger or letter back to discuss or negotiate. Instead, the decision is simply: here is my child, best of luck getting married. The ease with which this happens, without questions or objections, feels peculiar and somewhat lazy.
And then the ending… it came across as lazy and – well, a bit young or naïve – let’s just forgive everyone and get everything back on track in a risk-free way. Everything falls neatly into place without it truly feeling earned. Don’t get me wrong: give me a happy ending, always and forever. But not like this.
All in all, this makes the book difficult for me to judge. It is technically well-written and the themes are valuable and mature, but the speed and unbelievability of certain plot developments – and the lazy ending – undermine the story’s impact. As a result, it lingers somewhere between admiration and frustration.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
This story was fairly light, but had such a fun and silly premise, I couldn't help but pick it up despite my bad track record for not enjoying straight romantasy books. But finally, finally, finally, I found one that I actually liked!
I really enjoyed the main characters, who were fun as individuals and as a couple. I enjoyed several aspects about their relationships with other characters, particularly the fact that Bianca had a romantic history with someone else. So often, romance stories start and end with one "first sight" love interest, which so rarely mirrors the real world. I also liked that the old fling was a lady--even though the end couple was between a man and a woman, the world doesn't adhere to boring heteronormativity.
Bianca was a fun heroine who expressed herself better with swords than with words. I really appreciated the mystery around her disability as well, particularly since the author shares it with her. It's always nice to see disabilities portrayed in fantasy worlds, and honestly makes them way more realistic.
Aric was also such a fresh breath of air as the love interest. In all the popular romantasies of today, the men are always these sultry, broad-chested shadow magicians with dark hair, husky voices, and tragic backstories. Aric is none of those things--he's honestly just a book nerd whose wife beats up people on his behalf, and I love that for him. His strength comes from his intelligence, and it's no less important to the overall story.
If I had one qualm, it was during a particular scene in the bookwhere Bianca and Aric are admitting their love to one another, and Bianca says something like "I've always loved you." Like no the hell you haven't, girl. You hated his guts until about 30 pages ago. If the realization had been that, in spite of their rocky start, she'd found love for him over time, that messaging might have left a stronger impact, especially considering how many other tropes were turned inside-out through the story . Despite this, I'm very glad I picked up this book. I probably compared this book with other romantasies too much in this review, but, genuinely, all I could think about while reading was that I wished more romantasies were like this one.
I really enjoyed the main characters, who were fun as individuals and as a couple. I enjoyed several aspects about their relationships with other characters, particularly the fact that Bianca had a romantic history with someone else. So often, romance stories start and end with one "first sight" love interest, which so rarely mirrors the real world. I also liked that the old fling was a lady--even though the end couple was between a man and a woman, the world doesn't adhere to boring heteronormativity.
Bianca was a fun heroine who expressed herself better with swords than with words. I really appreciated the mystery around her disability as well, particularly since the author shares it with her. It's always nice to see disabilities portrayed in fantasy worlds, and honestly makes them way more realistic.
Aric was also such a fresh breath of air as the love interest. In all the popular romantasies of today, the men are always these sultry, broad-chested shadow magicians with dark hair, husky voices, and tragic backstories. Aric is none of those things--he's honestly just a book nerd whose wife beats up people on his behalf, and I love that for him. His strength comes from his intelligence, and it's no less important to the overall story.
If I had one qualm, it was during a particular scene in the book
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Sexual content
Moderate: Blood
Minor: Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail