Scan barcode
rya_'s review
2.5
Beautiful writing and a very compelling emotional story. I’m just sad I had to wade through so much unnecessary stuff to get there.
Also PLEASE check out the damn content warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, and Sexual assault
thewileyseven's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
I also agree with another review I read regarding the treatment of women in this book. All completely sidelined, used as plot devices, killed off to further men's emotional development, and worse. Rough! Again, I can understand why, with commentaries on gender violence, historic sexism, and more, but I dunno. The main characters' complicity in this was a bummer.
Part II, however, sang for me. Beautiful, aching, blossoming. And the system of binding is a splendid magic. Overall, I think this was 100% worth the read for me. But there are just pieces that grated at me a little too much to go unsaid.
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Sexism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Forced institutionalization, Sexual assault, Misogyny, Outing, Alcoholism, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicide, and Violence
samgerv's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.0
I started it as an audio book but I would just stop listening cause it was not able to keep my attention. I had to get the physical copy of the book and basically forced myself to get through it.
I liked the story overall but it was too slow for me, and although a lot of thing happened, at the same time there was so little action or movement to the story
Graphic: Animal death, Animal cruelty, and Rape
xbeka56x's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Minor: Animal death, Murder, Animal cruelty, Rape, Sexual assault, and Suicide
reverie_and_books'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? No
3.0
This story has a huge emphasis on a lgbtq+ romance, is tinged in bits of magic and placed in a gothic/victorian setting. It’s written in gentle prose and contains some issues that prompt several content warnings. The scenes are autumnal or wintery and Collins leads the reader into them well. The story is divided into three parts and told from two points of view.
So far, so good. But I was expecting a lot less romance and a lot more political or social storylines. The ending was a bit too quick, partly too neat, partly too frayed. I did like Emmett and enjoyed the promising first part of the story. It lost me a bit later on when it got darker, but not necessarily deeper. Some of the scenic descriptions were too monotonous to me and the craft of binding had much more potential to be explored. I wished Collins had put more focus onto that, because I quite liked her prose and the setting.
If you’re looking for an atmospheric romance story (and I’d say that part is strong) this might be a good choice for you. If you’ve been eyeing this and expected romance to be just a smaller part of the plot - well, now you know it isn’t.
All that being said: I liked being in this story and turned the pages quickly. I had just hoped for a bit more of something else.
Graphic: Animal cruelty
Moderate: Homophobia and Domestic abuse
coffee_and_wool's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Graphic: Sexual assault, Outing, Suicide, Sexual violence, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Animal cruelty, Homophobia, Vomit, Domestic abuse, Rape, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Child death, Classism, Incest, and Pedophilia
sannesbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
I was so excited about the premise of this book! Unfortunately, i ended skim reading a large portion of this book, especially the last part. It was just too slow and I didn't care anymore. I also didn't know this would be so romance heavy. It doesn't say clearly in the synopsis. However, I do enjoy some romantacies and part 2 was cute, but overall this was not the book for me.
Graphic: Rape, Sexual harassment, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Violence, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Vomit, Murder, Sexual content, Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, Suicide, Animal cruelty, and Violence
stellabombella's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Moderate: Death, Pedophilia, Murder, Child abuse, Animal cruelty, Emotional abuse, and Homophobia
fe_aye's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Alcohol, Classism, Cursing, Death, Sexual harassment, Animal death, Confinement, Dementia, Homophobia, Outing, Rape, Sexual assault, Animal cruelty, Sexual content, and Vomit
oogtube's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Abortion, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Suicide, Alcoholism, Gaslighting, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Kidnapping, and Vomit