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crinkledmochi's review against another edition
the plot and point of the story just fell super flat after the first 15% and i really tried to enjoy it
Graphic: War, Child death, Colonisation, Xenophobia, Vomit, Alcoholism, Racism, Body horror, Body shaming, Death of parent, Gore, Kidnapping, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence
ashleynp24's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I loved seeing a strong woman as the protagonist and how her relationships evolved due to her nature. A reason I did give it a 4 and not higher was I wish the book was told in her POV, not a 3rd person POV. I feel if it was from hers, we’d get to know a bit more about her relationship with Ryon, and her thoughts regarding her experiences more. I do enjoy their relationship and the development of it, but I think it could be a deeper connection between them.
Graphic: Blood, Death, Gore, Grief, Violence, War, Classism, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Murder, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Slavery, Suicide, and Torture
jayremps's review
- 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? No
4.0
Graphic: Blood, Suicide, Classism, Gore, Violence, Grief, Sexual content, and Death of parent
Moderate: Confinement
shannanigans92's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Violence, War, Slavery, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Death of parent, Death, Suicide, and Abandonment
Moderate: Sexual content, Alcohol, Blood, and Cursing
Minor: Sexual harassment and Child death
emmsbookshelf's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Murder, Gore, Violence, and Xenophobia
amre23's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Graphic: Confinement, Gore, Violence, Slavery, Blood, Kidnapping, and Death
Moderate: Sexual content, Grief, Genocide, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Racism
Minor: Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Child death, Death of parent, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Torture, and Classism
nobeliumreads's review against another edition
3.0
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Gore
Moderate: Blood, Sexual content, and Child death
Minor: Sexual assault, Death of parent, and Alcohol
soniajoy98's review
- 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? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Death, Death of parent, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Sexual violence, Violence, War, Murder, Racism, Sexual assault, Cursing, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Slavery, Child abuse, Classism, Panic attacks/disorders, and Suicide
Minor: Cannibalism, Torture, Vomit, Pregnancy, and Physical abuse
anxiousnachos's review
1.75
Thank you to Angry Robot for the physical ARC of this one in exchange for an honest review!
I’ve been struggling with how to write this review since I finished because I’m hugely grateful to AR for sending me an ARC, especially because it’s so rare for me to get physical ARCs given where I live. Unfortunately as you can tell from my rating, this was not my cup of tea. This sounded like a really fun, enemies to lovers romantic fantasy which I was so on board with and I was so excited to see how the author’s humour translated into a book. But I found the worldbuilding to be pretty nonexistent (please explain the existence of a mage who turns up to heal people whenever the plot needs it) or badly written and the pacing off. It takes more than a third of the book to get off the mountain and the journey becomes very monotonous. At times, it felt like a tool to tell Dawyson (and thus us, the reader) things about the world. The whole book is very much “worldbuild entirely from telling not showing” which is the exact opposite of the books I tend to enjoy the most.
The above I can forgive as personal tastes, as I do think this could be something that might appeal to SJM fans? (Though note I say that having never read her books, but I imagine they could be something similar). And I know the heavy immersive worldbuilding I prefer is not for everyone! But more than the above, there were several moments that really…raised my hackles? The main love interest, Ryon, being an animalistic half beast Black man? 😬😬😬 This is a highly overused and problematic trope in media. Particularly given he is for much of the book, the only person of colour around - in fact on first read through, I thought he was the only one until page 284. When I went back to check I did notice a brief mention of another character’s darker skin colour.
There were also several very…TERFy lines around genitals and womanhood that I did not like? It was rather odd. One of these I could have excused as me just looking too deeply and feeling touchy as I read but there were multiple throughout the text and they just added up and left such a feeling of distaste in my mouth which is obviously not the feeling you want when reading. For some examples, implying that to reach womanhood you have to have a period. Or referring to “parts that make me girlish will never know your touch again” as if our genitals make our gender. Of course all of these lines wouldn’t even exist if Ryon didn’t constantly infantilise Dawyson by calling her “girl”… They all come up in her responses to him calling her this.
So yeah, l wasn’t a big fan of this unfortunately! But thank you again to Angry Robot for the ARC!
Oh God I thought I was finished but I just remembered they almost had sex after Dawyson just drowned and Ryon had to resuscitate her. WHAT.
Graphic: Murder, Blood, Gore, Violence, and Suicide
Moderate: Confinement, Sexual content, Child death, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexual assault and Rape