Reviews

The Scandalous Letters of V and J by Felicia Davin

dobbsthedog's review

5.0

Oh, I so enjoyed this book!

It seems fitting that an epistolary book was sent out in daily emails.  I don’t know if it was this delivery method or not, but I really enjoyed it, despite not usually enjoying epistolary books.

I really loved the two MCs, V and J.  At the start it seemed that they were really at odds over magic and magical items, but as we get to know them, it is revealed why they have these beliefs about magic (esp J).  What I also loved about the MCs is that they are both non-binary, but not at all in the same way.  I liked how that was so clearly laid out, because gender is so varied, and just because you share a label with someone, doesn’t mean that the way you experience that is the same.  I don’t know if that makes sense! 😅

Overall, I really enjoyed the story, the magic and mystery and everything.  Also, there were some incredibly hot sex scenes! Like, 🥵🥵🥵.

Despite having just read the last instalment of the book via email, I am looking forward to rereading in its final book form. I’ve already pre-ordered it from my local indie.

I’m so excited for there to be more books in this series!

meganfalzone's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful inspiring medium-paced

• 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

tanouska's review against another edition

4.5

I really enjoyed reading this book in email installments!  I do think that in the future I'll reread it for a more streamlined experience, I wonder how that will change my experience of the story!

grise's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

jksteach's review

emotional mysterious

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

I really enjoyed this story by Davin. I was intrigued by the world and the characters and I especially liked how the magic seems to work. I’m looking forward to new books in the series.

khargaotte's review against another edition

adventurous emotional medium-paced

• 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

This was such a fun read!! Following along the prepublication emails was an amazing experience, albeit frustrating at times when the action slowed down. Additionally, the spicier scenes were very well done, and I now want several spin offs focusing on some of the side characters. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail and Sexual content

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Sexual harassment and Deadnaming

Injury:

several fights occur during the book, some of them leading to injury. The main weapon used however is one that makes wounds close instantly, so there is rarely blood

Sexual content:

the book is labeled as erotica for a reason, and contains several sex scenes, all of them enthusiastically consensual

Toxic relationship & emotional abuse :

one of the characters has a past relationship that was very toxic; the abuser is one of the main antagonists of the book, but the MC doesn't fall back under their influence. The relationship is described in the book but over by the time of the narration

Death of parent:

the book starts recently after the death of the mother of one of the main characters, whose cause of death is later explained in the book. The father of the same character dies of similar causes during the book.

Fire/fire injury:

the toxic relationship mentionned above ended with the abuser setting fire to the place where the main character was sleeping; no serious injury or death happened because of this fire, but it is described in the book as a memory

Deadnaming:

one of the main character's fakes their death, using their deadname for the funeral to make it more believable

Sexual harassment :

one of the main characters has some unsavory encounters, but nothing goes further than unwanted touches over clothes

yavin_iv's review

adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

bookishmindof1d's review

adventurous emotional funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

traeumenvonbuechern's review

emotional funny mysterious reflective

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

daniellekat's review against another edition

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

2.5

I subscribed to the author’s newsletter to have this book emailed to me over a series of months. I’m not sure if it was just this formatting, but I found the book way too slow paced. There were some high action points, and I loved all the magic but romance is generally not my genre. Overall, it was fine, but not something or an author I’d seek out again. 

What was with all the mentioning of Forestier? It was so specific and then literally amounted to nothing.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Murder, and Misogyny

Moderate: Classism and Violence