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miraileah's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The characters, both our main romantic duo and side characters, were well fleshed out and came to life on the page. I started the book strongly disliking a character who I really enjoyed by the end of the book. Loved the magic system of touch tasting, what a unique and interesting idea! Also, the nods to the Ottoman inspired world was awesome to read. Finally a fantasy set in something other than Fantasy England! And finally, the mystery plot was a ton of fun. I thought the book was a good length to settle the mystery, feel the stakes get higher and higher, and of course see our main characters come to terms with their feelings.
I think that a comparison to Winter's Orbit by Everina Maxwell is really fair (though both have very unique worlds and different themes). They both have forced proximity love m/m love stories with one character being a prince, queer normative worlds, and fun mystery plotlines. The moral of the story is that this is exactly what romantasy should be like, and Alexandra Rowland is a new auto-buy author for me.
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders and Sexual content
Moderate: Violence and Pregnancy
cinnamonandpancakes'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? Yes
3.75
I loved Kadou and Evemer, especially Evemer, and their romance. It was very sexy and compelling. And Tadek was a lot of fun. But I found a lot of the other characters less interesting. Siranos, in particular, seemed to change personality depending on what the narrative needed him to be and that made his plotline quite unsatisfying in my opinion.
The world building was amazing, however, and I loved the focus on material culture. It felt very much like a world that people lived in.
Graphic: Kidnapping, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Mental illness, Alcohol, and Drug use
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, and Death
tinyelfarcanist's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Sexual content and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Death
heather667's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Classism, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Blood, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Ableism, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Death
Minor: Acephobia/Arophobia
najoua's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders
erinmichele_reads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders
freesiaelect'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
4.0
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders
lepetiterik's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders
aplpaca'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
5.0
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Sexual content
jayjayre'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
I found the small magic system to be well-integrated into the world of the story, and as a bonus, it was suitably plot-relevant. I appreciated the inclusion of queer characters and the diversity of gender, especially because it was simply a facet of the characters rather than a focus of the plot. I love fantasy worlds that don't transplant bigotry/systems of oppression from our world, this setting has a woman ruling, people can marry any gender, and there is a common pronoun used for some (nonbinary) characters, and that is all in the background.
I loved the characters in this book. I worried I wouldn't like several of them to start, but they grew on me, and a character I found very annoying upon first introduction ended up being my favorite by the end. I think this book would be even better on a second read, with the knowledge of where the characters' development leads coloring my perspective.
This book is not a good book to skim for action/adventure/mystery. The plot is a bit plodding with a predictable mystery and antagonists that are not well-developed. Thankfully, that is a relatively small part of the book, mostly sidelined for the very enjoyable character-heavy focus. It was rewarding to get to know the main characters, reveal their flaws, and see them grow to understand each other while they better themselves and their relationships.
(My rating is increased compared to my personal enjoyment of the book, as it's not my ideal subgenre. I don't detract stars for things aimed at a different target audience.)
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Mental illness
Minor: Grief, Alcohol, Kidnapping, and Eating disorder