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mattiedancer's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Writing: 2.75⭐️/5
The writing at the beginning is rather rough. It reads very forced, a combination of unnatural storytelling with forced worldbuilding at its onset. As the novel progresses, the writing becomes better – though it still feels a touch rough around the edges. I feel most conflicted about the dialogue. On one hand, some of the lines were beautiful. On the other hand, it felt a bit too forced, too poetic, too wise for a natural conversation at times.
Characters: 3.5⭐️/5
I liked our main character, and I loved the vibrancy of several of the side characters. Ooma, Cian, Bogget: these characters stood out in their voices and actions. However, I found Sorcha’s family hard to side with and understand, especially given her lack of interest in truly seeking them out in friendly ways. They felt more like cardboard outlines of characters than true characters. Likewise, the guild and other antagonistic characters were very flat, reeking of simple misogyny and sexism instead of inspiring any true motivations. Adversely, again, Sorcha and Eammon both felt much more fully formed, and I enjoyed reading about them in detail.
Plot: 3⭐️/5
The plot from a distance? Really cool. The plot close up with convenient little holes that we have to ignore? Less cool. I liked the concept, but I didn’t love how we were continuously told time was rushing by, but also the characters stayed in very much the same mindset for months. It felt a bit like Hamm didn’t want to have the stereotypical love story that takes place over a few weeks but didn’t let the time stretch out naturally. Likewise, the ending felt really abrupt. We see the sidelines of a fight and then Sorcha is literally carried off and returned home within a few pages.
World 3.25⭐️/5
Alright, the world felt cool (again, from a distance) but kind of crumbled under closer inspection. I love the idea of a land previously inhabited by faeries being abandoned as people forgot to honour them, but it never really felt like that was the setting unless it was plot-relevant. Much of the worldbuilding was done in the moment in such a way that it felt unclear, forced, or overly convenient. That being said, did I enjoy reading about the world in spite of this? Yeah. I kind of did.
Who Should Read This Book?
- Fans of easy-to-read romantic fantasy novels
- Someone looking for a book of fae and faeries
- Someone looking for fun over too much worldbuilding and substance.
Content Warnings?
Near drowning, vomit, injury/injury detail, emotional abuse, abandonment, confinement, sexual content, blood, fire, war, death, murder, pregnancy, infidelity, sexual harassment, disease, illness, terminal illness,
Post-Reading Rating: 3.75⭐️/5
Just intrigued enough to consider reading the next one. Not intrigued enough to commit.
Final Rating: 3.25⭐️/5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Vomit, Animal death, Sexual content, War, Violence, Blood, Murder, Abortion, Alcohol, Death of parent, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Child death, Pregnancy, Chronic illness, Classism, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Suicidal thoughts, Miscarriage, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Infidelity, Grief, and Gore
genny's review
I can't get over Sorcha's creepy family structure. She and her sisters have an adoptive father who works as their pimp. I can understand if they simply felt affectionate towards a manager who treated them nicely, but it seems this dude adopted them as street kids ("The marks on the door where she’d kept track of Rosaleen’s growth") and then had them work as prostitutes once they were old enough. Except for Sorcha, because she's Special ("Sorcha had more uses than whoring, Papa used to say."). Not all of them were brought up this way - some of the women joined the "family" later on, presumably as adults - but still. 🤢 Am I supposed to take this as sex positivity?! Yes, Sorcha, sex work is work. But in this context??? Yikes. Apparently it's okay because their "Papa" is a nice man. He is Not Like Other Pimps. 🙄
The writing is clunky. Nuance is nowhere to be seen. And maybe I'm just stupid, but I cannot get my head around this piece of dialogue:
“One you are not proud of?”
“I’d never say I wasn’t proud of her.” He winked at her blush. “She is the other half of my heart! Sequestered on the land because the sea refuses to be her mistress. I understand why my ladies fight over me, but, alas, I cannot choose between them.”
What are they talking about lmao 😩
I can't speak on the romance because I didn't even make it that far. :/
Content Warnings
Moderate: Medical content
Minor: Death of parent and Incest
moabercrombie's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- 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
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Drug use, Vomit, Sexual content, and Confinement
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