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beccaand's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
what I got in The Rakess: complicated female characters, buttoned up heroes, high angst, luscious scenes.
Graphic: Sexual content, Misogyny, Forced institutionalization, Miscarriage, Alcoholism, Alcohol, and Addiction
Moderate: Child death, Pregnancy, Grief, and Animal death
meggiemine's review against another edition
3.5
“Fucking is rarely inconsequential.”
- The Rakess has a much stronger cast of secondary characters than The Duke I Tempted. Seeing how Adam and Sera interacted with their friends and family really helped flesh out their characterization.
- The feminist themes are interwoven with the story well. Peckham is aware of and acknowledges the historical setting. She does not ignore the legal and social constraints on the female characters during this time period. Nor does she shy away from depicting the consequences when they attempt to circumvent them.
- Sera was allowed to make mistakes, but always recognized them as such and apologized or made amends. I expected her to be one of those “strong female characters'' whose bad behavior is excused or forgiven simply because she’s a woman. Thankfully, I was proven wrong.
- Despite the feminist themes and the heroine-centric story, Adam is not emasculated or belittled in order to elevate the heroine. Often times, an author’s approach to a “feminist” romance involves taking the hero down a peg or two, perhaps to symbolize destruction of the patriarchy. Peckham does not resort to that at all.
- The narrator, Sienna Francis, was fine. I would listen to her again, but won't be actively seeking her out. I found a review on AudioGals that puts into words what bugged me about Francis: “repetitive intonation.” Every sentence was delivered with the same flat modulation. This was a detractor for me, but not a major one.
- In one of the top goodreads reviews, the reviewer criticized the book for a lack of sex positivity, but I personally found it to be refreshing. Peckham depicts all the complexities of sex. Both the hero and heroine have to find a balance between pleasure and risk. The reason I chose the opening quote that I did is because I think it encompasses the underlying theme of vulnerability in the story. For further reading on this topic, I recommend Tomorrow Sex Will Be Good Again: Women and Desire in the Age of Consent by Katherine Angel. I think about the book often, especially when reading romance—a genre which mirrors, in its portrayal of sex and sexuality, the consent culture that Angel is critiquing.
Heat Index: 4.2🌡️🌡️🌡️🌡️
Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Sexual content, Child death, Cursing, Death, Miscarriage, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Grief, Bullying, Forced institutionalization, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Misogyny
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
linguaignota's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Miscarriage, Addiction, and Child death
Minor: Animal death, Forced institutionalization, Grief, and Kidnapping
racheldida's review
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Alcoholism, Addiction, Animal death, Forced institutionalization, Miscarriage, Sexism, and Misogyny
taylordmccabe's review
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Forced institutionalization, Misogyny, Sexism, and Sexual content
Moderate: Animal death and Miscarriage