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kaylahcc's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Graphic: Blood and Self harm
Moderate: Gore, Death of parent, Murder, and Violence
Minor: Sexual content
littlefern's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Blood and Gore
gray_hamilton's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Moderate: Self harm, Blood, Confinement, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
reclusivebookslug's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
- Provided an overall fun reading experience; helped get me out of a reading slump
- Great set-up, especially with the religion that's built up around the magical elements
- Themes about the power of choice and autonomy
- Feels like a book that wants to stand on its own but still ends up requiring reading more of the series to feel complete or meaningful (part assumption, as I haven't read the rest of the series yet)
- Romance felt pretty generic
- World-building became a bit difficult to understand and it's thematic resonance was unclear; overall, didn't quite stick the landing
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, and Blood
Minor: Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Kidnapping, and Gore
robin_leeann'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
4.5
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Violence, Grief, Blood, Death of parent, and Death
readwithria's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.0
I love fairytale retellings, I love folklore, and I love Hannah Whitten’s other book The Foxglove King, so I went into this book wanting to love it with my whole heart. It delivered on so many things! The world was lush and beautiful, the prose was atmospheric, and the characters had such strong bonds with each other. This book took the spooky forest trope and spun it into something new and delicately beautiful.
The one thing that kept this from being a five start book for me was the pacing. It was definitely intentional, and built a lot of necessary tension, but the first half was much slower than I personally prefer. It picked up significantly around the halfway mark, and the last 40-50 pages were an avalanche of action and emotional beats.
I can’t wait to read the sequel! Hannah Whitten is making herself one of my go-to spooky season authors. 4 stars.
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Violence, Blood, Panic attacks/disorders, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, Gore, and Self harm
Moderate: Cursing, Confinement, Grief, and Alcohol
Minor: Sexual content
bea_reads_books's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
5.0
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Alcohol, Body horror, Violence, Animal death, Gore, and Grief
Minor: Death of parent
livrosnstuff's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Gore
Moderate: Self harm
tifftastic87's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
⚠️ Self-harm (cutting)
When presented with her destiny as a human sacrifice, Redarys appears to take it on the chin. Really she's hiding from magic that wants to consume her. Eammon, the Wolf, is Warden of the Wilderwood where Red is destined for. But the Wilderwood is dying and Eammon is determined to save and Red and he is not accepting applications for assistants.
Supposedly, this is a Beauty and the Beast retelling, but I fail to see it. The only similarities is a curse that makes the town think a man is a monster and love breaking that curse. The two main characters are both stubborn martyrs and that is where most of the conflict comes from. If they could be honest and communicate from the beginning things would have been better. But the main story is politics and religion.
The actual plot of the story, which is shadowed a bit by the romance plot, is one of religious fanaticism that is actually really well done. There's a dark versus light magic trope used where the religious use the dark magic and are out for power. The damn athiests only wantinf peace, love, and healthy trees.
That being said, the magic system was a little confusing. Its clear that is blood magic but it reacts different in different settings and different people. It isnt predictable unless it is. I would have liked to have seen this worked out a bit better.
Oh ya and the age gap, centuries to 20 years....
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Suicide attempt, Kidnapping, Eating disorder, and Murder
zuha_kh's review against another edition
- 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? No
3.0
Graphic: Self harm, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail