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pattyblom's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
I really liked the character development of Hattie the main character. And it also went into a bit more depth then the previous book in the series. The romance takes a bit of time to develop.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Body shaming and Fatphobia
saeruh's review against another edition
emotional
- Strong character development? Yes
4.75
This book was very close to being perfect. I felt like all of the characters were so complex and it was lovely to see them develop. The suffrage part that was so prevalent in the first two books took a bit of a backseat (although it was still a major function of the book!), instead what was focused more on as the political history of this one was poor worker’s rights in the late 1800s and specifically the poor working and living conditions of Scottish coal miners. It was interesting to me to read this take on that sad part of history since Dunmore seemed to really breathe live into the coal miners’ community.
The love story within this had amazing chemistry and was filled with tropes (forced proximity, strangers to enemies to lovers, love at first sight, grumpy/sunshine, probably more im forgetting) but also was such an original story. It was also both quite steamy and spicy which was a great bonus. I do think this is the best book and romance in the series (although I guess I’ll see how the fourth one coming out next year will change that). I loved the representation of living with a learning/comprehension disability in the 1800s that came with Hattie’s character. I thought it was incredibly well done. I also just loved Hattie in general, I have since the beginning of this series, she’s such a sweetheart and the sad way that she’s treated by her family that affects her own self esteem broke my heart. I also loved Lucian! He was so complex but so besotted with Hattie. There was an accurate portrayal of PTSD within his character as well. They were so great together even when they sort of hated each other. Lucian went through the Darcy-character-development and by the end of the story, he was changing his ways that Hattie had previously told him were his faults (aka actually listening to her concerns and actively changing his ways to make a lasting difference).
I quite liked the side characters, I thought they were all interesting and had enough time in the story for me to actually care about them/their futures. I wished we saw more of the friend group and all of them being together like in the previous books. I didn’t like beginning or the last few chapters before the epilogue. The former because I felt like Dunmore did not ease the reader into the story at all (i mean the first kiss is in the freaking first chapter) and instead just kind of threw you into the midst. The latter becausewhile I understood why Hattie wanted to leave/separate from Lucian due to the beginning of their relationship, i also majorly felt like it erased a lot of their emotional development. I mean like hell they just admitted to each other that they loved one another and suddenly they’re separating?? It was hard to read and that last 5% took me much longer to read that the rest because I was so disappointed .
Anyways I do recommend this book, it was quite a bit of fun and informative, it had spice that made me blush quite hard, and I listened to the full audiobook in two days 😋👍
The love story within this had amazing chemistry and was filled with tropes (forced proximity, strangers to enemies to lovers, love at first sight, grumpy/sunshine, probably more im forgetting) but also was such an original story. It was also both quite steamy and spicy which was a great bonus. I do think this is the best book and romance in the series (although I guess I’ll see how the fourth one coming out next year will change that). I loved the representation of living with a learning/comprehension disability in the 1800s that came with Hattie’s character. I thought it was incredibly well done. I also just loved Hattie in general, I have since the beginning of this series, she’s such a sweetheart and the sad way that she’s treated by her family that affects her own self esteem broke my heart. I also loved Lucian! He was so complex but so besotted with Hattie. There was an accurate portrayal of PTSD within his character as well. They were so great together even when they sort of hated each other. Lucian went through the Darcy-character-development and by the end of the story, he was changing his ways that Hattie had previously told him were his faults (aka actually listening to her concerns and actively changing his ways to make a lasting difference).
I quite liked the side characters, I thought they were all interesting and had enough time in the story for me to actually care about them/their futures. I wished we saw more of the friend group and all of them being together like in the previous books. I didn’t like beginning or the last few chapters before the epilogue. The former because I felt like Dunmore did not ease the reader into the story at all (i mean the first kiss is in the freaking first chapter) and instead just kind of threw you into the midst. The latter because
Anyways I do recommend this book, it was quite a bit of fun and informative, it had spice that made me blush quite hard, and I listened to the full audiobook in two days 😋👍
Content Warnings
Minor: Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Cursing, Fatphobia, Grief, Sexual content, Body shaming, Child death, Classism, Death of parent, and Infidelity
avidreaderandgeekgirl's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Sexual content, Alcohol, Grief, Mental illness, and Misogyny
Moderate: Alcoholism, Blood, Death, and Death of parent
Minor: Fatphobia and Suicide
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