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buttermellow'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
4.5
Moderate: Misogyny
Minor: Colonisation and War
notsobinaryart's review against another edition
This isn’t to say it’s a bad book, but I would say to know what to expect before reading this book.
Graphic: Gaslighting, Misogyny, and Sexism
Moderate: Abandonment and Emotional abuse
thewildmageslibrary's review
3.5
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic relationship, and Sexual content
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Death of parent, and Grief
martamae77'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
4.5
Graphic: Sexual content, Death of parent, and Misogyny
Moderate: Colonisation
shinysue's review against another edition
Moderate: Misogyny
mishi543's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Misogyny and Emotional abuse
toffishay's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Sexism, and Misogyny
bisexualwentworth's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
This is a romance book, and the romance was fine. I wasn’t totally invested in their love or whatever, but I was VERY invested in their partnership and their growth, and I did like them together.
I found the rest of the plot more compelling than the romance, but luckily for me, there was a great mix of both. Shanti, with her laser-sharp focus on her goal of becoming a queen, and Sanyu, with his insecurities and anxieties about being king, were both interesting and compelling.
I thought the handling of abuse and power and patriarchy in this book was pretty good, though the nature of it being a romance means that things got resolved a little too neatly.
The Njazan politics were super interesting and maybe my favorite part of the book, though some of the religious stuff got wrapped up too quickly as well.
I would absolutely read another book set in Njaza. I’d love to see the traditional triad marriage play out in a polyamorous romance novel if the author ever decides to write something like that!
I probably should have started with the Reluctant Royals series since this book has a lot of references to those ones, but I’m planning to read the second Runaway Royals one next because that one is sapphic. Alyssa Cole has done a really impressive job of creating a whole network of fictional countries with fictional monarchies. I think it’s the most worldbuilding I’ve ever seen in a romance series, and I’m definitely here for it!
Graphic: Emotional abuse and Misogyny
Moderate: Grief and Death of parent
Minor: Colonisation
honeybeatslibrary's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Death of parent, Emotional abuse, and Misogyny
accidentalspaceexplorer'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
3.5
For one thing, I wouldn't consider either the hero or the heroine to be "runaway royals". I also expected the reason the queen wasn't being respected to be because of her outsider status, rather than really blatant and pervasive misogyny that the hero spent most of the book unlearning. To be clear, I didn't dislike him, which is a big credit to him, but I wasn't expecting to have that be his big issue. Honestly, I think that's why I'm so frustrated. I genuinely liked both of the main characters, but instead of getting the story I thought I was getting with them, it was a big slog through misogyny, "tradition", and anxiety.
Overall, while I enjoyed the story, I would have liked it a lot more if it had stuck to the blurb or if I'd known what it was going into it.
Moderate: Misogyny