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dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Sexual harassment, Classism
Moderate: Abortion, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
challenging
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Love love LOVED this. My first dip into the dramionie world and I LOVED it!it was very well written and easy to understand and keep up with. I thought the world building was excellent and really liked the subtle foreshadowing and then going back in time to offer little snippets of history. The only reason it didn’t get 5 is because I wish she would’ve explored more of Briony’s emotions. I felt like we were given very surface level reactions to very devastating circumstances and I would’ve liked her to go deeper into that. I also so wish she would’ve made this book longer, there is soooo much more I want to see! Briony in the arena, the heart spring bond actually happening, some sort of reconciliation w Toven, maybe more from the rebels, and we know she’s going to be put on that elixir soon. I also wish there would’ve been more exploration on her powers after mentioning so many times how powerful she was. But all that was missing was in a good way in that I am literally counting down for the next book!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery
DNF at 120 pages. I just feel icky.
I know there are content warnings but every single man in this book is talking about touching the women or touching the women or selling the women to own and touch them and take their power and I just can’t. It’s every single page. And the power imbalance at the love interest being the one to buy her? I can guarantee it’ll be oh he’s not as bad as any of the others and he’s actually helping her by buying her, but it still feels wrong. I like dark fantasy but not like this. Just stab someone instead. So I give up cause I don’t know just how far they’re willing to go, and I don’t think I want to know.
I know there are content warnings but every single man in this book is talking about touching the women or touching the women or selling the women to own and touch them and take their power and I just can’t. It’s every single page. And the power imbalance at the love interest being the one to buy her? I can guarantee it’ll be oh he’s not as bad as any of the others and he’s actually helping her by buying her, but it still feels wrong. I like dark fantasy but not like this. Just stab someone instead. So I give up cause I don’t know just how far they’re willing to go, and I don’t think I want to know.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Sexual harassment, War
dark
medium-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Sexual assault, Slavery, Violence, Sexual harassment
Minor: Rape, Death of parent, War
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
lovesbitca8 WHEN I FIND U I STG
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infertility, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Murder
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I enjoyed reading this even though I was never a Harry Potter millennial. I love Julie Soto’s contemporary romances so I decided to give this a shot. The story and characters felt unique and original from my perspective.
This is very slow burn, as in, multiple books probably. Like, more painful than Assistant to the Villain. I think it makes sense, though, considering I as the reader don’t fully “get” their attraction to each other. Or at least her attraction to him. More needs to be explored there, so I’m fine with where we end up.
This is very slow burn, as in, multiple books probably. Like, more painful than Assistant to the Villain. I think it makes sense, though, considering I as the reader don’t fully “get” their attraction to each other. Or at least her attraction to him. More needs to be explored there, so I’m fine with where we end up.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Slavery, Sexual harassment
Moderate: Bullying, Violence
Minor: Death, War
If you can’t handle Handmaid’s Tale, skip this one. There are some parts that are harder to get through than others.
adventurous
challenging
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
I picked this up because I really enjoyed Not Another Love Song so I have some faith in Julie Soto (most new romantasy these days is so bad so I won’t read it unless I know the author or it’s recommended by someone trustworthy). I didn’t really like Briony at first and I think she came off as much younger than she was supposed to be (teenager vs 25, which makes sense in retrospect due to the origin of this story). It also took me an embarrassingly long amount of time to clock this as a dramione fanfic, and once I figured that out it brought down my enjoyment of this book for a while.
Overall, though, I enjoyed this book, but I think I would’ve definitely preferred to read it on AO3, rather than in this format (and maybe I have lol, I can’t remember). Especially because that means I wouldn’t have to wait years for the next books to come out and the story to be finished. I’d much rather read the longer fanfic all at once.
Overall, though, I enjoyed this book, but I think I would’ve definitely preferred to read it on AO3, rather than in this format (and maybe I have lol, I can’t remember). Especially because that means I wouldn’t have to wait years for the next books to come out and the story to be finished. I’d much rather read the longer fanfic all at once.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infertility, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Trafficking, Medical trauma, Murder, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Rape, Violence, Abortion, Pregnancy
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
The bad. As a reader familiar with the prior version.
Separating the ghost version that lives in my mind from the newly published work seemed like an impossible task. And you know the author knew this. Even each character was introduced with skin, hair, and eye color descriptors, as if to say, this is not the red head you expected!
And while the reader encounters a new magical world, the history, traditions and vibe are only slowly, sparsely, revealed through the course of this book; and mostly as secondary material to our two main characters’ interactions through the years. We do not have much of that knowledge when key scenes occur right away, and I could not help but fall back mentally on HP scenery and settings during the initial action.
While I did truly try to come into this with fresh eyes, I found myself also questioning key conflicts and character choices that didn’t appear to make sense in the new world. One large conundrum for me was the brutality of the Bomards’ subjugation of the Eversuns. Why do they hate each other? Will we see evidence of increasingly cruel othering? What ideological difference was twisted to bring about this rift? Or was there a historical event? An inherent unfairness of circumstance?We’re unclear.. just that heart and mind magics are different. And each one thinks theirs best. Additionally, the children of the two lands go to school together and they switch between the two countries. With all other things being equal, the bonds made or even just common contact should have engendered a tolerance in the younger generation, imo. Without the extremist violence, racist ideology, and cruelty of the DeathEater cult , what would bring the inhabitants of one country to so completely plan for and execute a dehumanizing system of slavery, rape, confinement, magical draining, and branding ??
And the big baddie? We know almost nothing of substance of them until the very end of the book.
The Good. Familiar banter.
The main character interaction was very familiar, but I think it worked even given the changes in setting and overarching mythos.
Separately, and not insignificantly, the author excels in sweet steamy scenes, and those moments never disappoint.
The Good. Departures and surprises.
When I started feeling surprised by what came next, and saw that the author was likely going to take us for a totally new ride in the next installment, my estimation of the book went up.
I’m hoping the next two books show the author finding more freedom, and with that a stronger, more cohesive story.
Separating the ghost version that lives in my mind from the newly published work seemed like an impossible task. And you know the author knew this. Even each character was introduced with skin, hair, and eye color descriptors, as if to say, this is not the red head you expected!
And while the reader encounters a new magical world, the history, traditions and vibe are only slowly, sparsely, revealed through the course of this book; and mostly as secondary material to our two main characters’ interactions through the years. We do not have much of that knowledge when key scenes occur right away, and I could not help but fall back mentally on HP scenery and settings during the initial action.
While I did truly try to come into this with fresh eyes, I found myself also questioning key conflicts and character choices that didn’t appear to make sense in the new world. One large conundrum for me was the brutality of the Bomards’ subjugation of the Eversuns. Why do they hate each other? Will we see evidence of increasingly cruel othering? What ideological difference was twisted to bring about this rift? Or was there a historical event? An inherent unfairness of circumstance?
And the big baddie? We know almost nothing of substance of them until the very end of the book.
The Good. Familiar banter.
The main character interaction was very familiar, but I think it worked even given the changes in setting and overarching mythos.
Separately, and not insignificantly, the author excels in sweet steamy scenes, and those moments never disappoint.
The Good. Departures and surprises.
When I started feeling surprised by what came next, and saw that the author was likely going to take us for a totally new ride in the next installment, my estimation of the book went up.
I’m hoping the next two books show the author finding more freedom, and with that a stronger, more cohesive story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Slavery, Sexual harassment
Moderate: Rape, Injury/Injury detail
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Sexual harassment
No non-con or harmful sexual interactions occur between the two main characters.
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
As someone who loved Julie Soto’s writing, I was excited to delve into her first foray into fantasy/romantasy. It’s giving dark, slow burn, forced proximity, enemies to lovers, rivals and so much more.
Important to note: this book has some dark themes and subject matter - be sure to read the trigger warnings ahead of time so you know if it’s right for you / what you’re getting into.
The world and magic system were unique and interesting. The realm that the story takes place in has some wild things going down and our FMC Briony ends up losing family members and allies whilst being held against her will. There’s a dual timeline that gives us a lot of the back story of how things got to this place, as well as Briony’s complicated feelings about Toven. I really liked a lot of the secondary characters and how they added to the plot & relationships.
I am very curious to know how this story moves forward - I can’t believe I’ll need to wait to find out.
Huge thank you to Forever and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Blood, Grief, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail