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charmedstray's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
to be clear-- this book & its sequels, & pacat's writing as a whole loves to linger in grey areas. awful and deeply unpleasant shit happens in this book! every character does terrible things! what's crucial, though, is that pacat trusts the reader enough not to have the narration go "yes, the systemic sex slavery and the violence are, in fact, bad and not good," and if you grow to trust the author enough to go "you know what? i bet the themes of this book probably Aren't going to be slavery and rape good and hot actually," you'll have a good time. this feels unnecessarily didactic and condescending of me to say, but i'm so exhausted of the ghosts of terminally online lit discourse brainrot that i'm saying it anyway.
also, for those who also are skeeved out by the slavery thing & would maybe like to know more about it before they commit:
the second country is heavily inspired by western europe-- the court where this novel takes place is, imo, heavily reminiscent of the sun king's versailles, or the medici's florence. this culture nominally doesn't keep slaves-- "pets" as they're called, are contracted, can be paid and often have at least some autonomy. they're considered a status symbol & treated ridiculously well.
the idea of slavery (these countries specific ideas of & relationships with it, to be clear) is interrogated throughout the trilogy, and it is textually condemned.
anyway, the first two thirds of this book is dedicated to constructing the convoluted power dynamic between the two protagonists, and also reminding you of the whole slavery thing every single page. in a sort of frog-in-boiling-water way, this turns into intricate political intrigue. if you're not interested in the main premise of the book, the slavery thing, i'd say read it anyway, it gets better. if you're not interested in court intrigue? you will NOT enjoy this!! fortunately, i fucking love this type of thing. also now i'm done with the thesis statement on why this book is Good, Actually!
her writing style irt character is very much like a painting where the most attention and care is visibly concentrated on the most important areas, but all the side characters we meet are still solidly sketched out. the protagonist is.... a little bit blank slate meathead-y. this gets better later, but it does grow a bit tiresome. the pacing in this one is also fairly slow. overall, if you're interested in messy relationships (both platonic & not), convoluted power dynamics, identity shenanigans, or very pleasant untouchable princes who are definitely not always filled with seething hatred and frustration and misery.... crack it open. give it a try.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Confinement, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
teagstime's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Personally a big fan of Damen and his struggle to understand anything about Laurent- because I, too, struggle to understand him. Laurent... I want to crawl inside your brain. That boy definitely has so much emotion hidden under the cold, cruel demeanor... and I'm sooo ready to dive in 😌
I cannot rec to anyone without them looking into the TW first, because there's some content I can see being... problematic, let's say! But in my opinion, none of those acts are really glorified- our main two characters are/become aware of these issues and want to change things. But, imo, a very good read and I definitely have high hopes for the rest!
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Death, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, War, and Classism
Moderate: Drug use and Death of parent
frantic_vampire'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, War, and Injury/Injury detail
katamarija's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Rape and Sexual violence
livelaughlesbian99's review against another edition
3.75
And that’s kind what it’s supposed to be, so I’m not judging my rating on that. This takes place in a brutal world where slavery is normalized across many cultures. If that does not sound like a horror you can stomach do not read this book. I can understand why some say this romanticizes slavery, but I saw it more as trying to explore how cultures of the past treated sexual slavery (which is a horrific but prominent part of the human past… this content isn’t based off of nothing. Ancient Greeks and Romans had cultural practices similar to the practices in the book).
Personally I appreciate the focus on how those who were enslaved would have been impacted by societies like this. Between Damen and Erasmus’ perspective you learn a lot about how these systems are justified. I do not believe including morally wrong beliefs in characters means the text condones them. But I completely understand why people have issues with this book and it’s fine if you do. For me books with subject matter like this are also horror books, and like horror books, there can be catharsis in exploring the worst of humanity.
That being said, oh my GOD did I love this book’s political intrigue. It really is as good as people say. While this book is really preamble for the rest of the series, which is why I rated it the way I did, the ending was fantastic.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Xenophobia, Kidnapping, and Murder
Moderate: Death, Pedophilia, and War
lisareadingbooks_m's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Drug use, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail
30something_reads's review against another edition
4.25
Yes.
And now I have to go get the other ones because I am invested.
Graphic: Slavery
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death and Rape
hoppyread'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
5.0
Minor: Child abuse, Drug use, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, and Fire/Fire injury
dontaadme's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Rape, Slavery, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
giulia_rossi's review against another edition
3.75
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, and Sexual harassment