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30something_reads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
A runaway groom and the hunter sent to retrieve him.
Clandestine meeting in the forest.
Secret identities.
Mutual pining.
Huddling close while they camp outside. ("Only for warmth," they say! Not because they wanna hold each other tenderly.)
This was a delight. I would hazard to call this an accurate Historical- more historical adjacent. It was very A Knights Tale coded and I really loved that.
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Violence, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Outing, and Medical trauma
haileeraye's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, and Gore
callidoralblack's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Medical content
Minor: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Abandonment, Blood, Body shaming, Cursing, Violence, Confinement, Emotional abuse, and Kidnapping
jess_justmaybeperfect's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Child abuse
booksthatburn's review
- 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? Yes
5.0
This is set up to have at least one sequel, though its particular story is self-contained. Rather than leave an obvious story hook open, it ends with the characters in new situations which grant the possibility of future events without demanding any particular follow up.
I love Penn and Raff, I like them as individual characters and I enjoy how well they work together. They each have very different relationships with their families. Penn seems to be close with two of his several siblings, despite neither showing up for very long. His father is terrible, rather unambiguously playing the villain. Raff has close and mostly loving relationships with his sister and brother, and, despite their differences, they seem to understand each other fairly well. Not much is shown of Raff's relationship with his father, but what is there seems to be filled with respect and care.
Other things I love, in no particular order: how much of the time is spent just traveling and sleeping in the woods and dealing with inns; the wound care towards the end of the book; the way Penn obviously grows as a person; the more subtle ways that Raff starts to trust in other peoples' competence.
This was great, I want more, and I'm eager for the sequel.
Graphic: Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual content
Moderate: Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, Deadnaming, Physical abuse, Gore, Murder, Gaslighting, Homophobia, Confinement, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Classism, Blood, Death, War, and Medical trauma
Minor: Pregnancy, Child abuse, Vomit, and Death of parent
bi_n_large's review
- 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
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, and Child abuse
Moderate: Physical abuse, Violence, Homophobia, and Blood
ezwolf'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? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
This is one of those cases where I think it's just not for me. I cannot exactly explain why this didn't grab me, the best I can say is that I found it boring. I wasn't drawn to either Penn or Raff and so it made it hard to be interested in either point of view. By the time the story got to plot points I would have been interested in (like Penn's scars) I was 50% of the way through and I was already just reading for the sake of finishing the story.
Thank you to NetGalley and Harper 360 for making this available in exchange for an honest review!
Graphic: Blood, Violence, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Animal death, Child abuse, and Classism
Moderate: Grief and Animal cruelty
Minor: Death, Xenophobia, and Suicidal thoughts
thaliareads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Blood, Sexual content, and Violence
Minor: War, Death of parent, Death, and Homophobia
cateemma's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Physical abuse, and Child abuse
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, Confinement, War, Vomit, and Homophobia
wilybooklover's review against another edition
4.0
However, the pacing felt a bit off. There was virtually no plot for the first three quarters of the book (which I actually loved, as a big fan of 'no plot just vibes' books) and then a lot of action and drama crammed into a final act that was drawn out far too long. At times the dialogue felt a bit clunky and there were some jarring POV switches, which I'm attributing to this being a debut.
I also wish the early mediaeval setting had been explored a little more in depth. It was really just scenery for the most part and could have been set at any time pre-18th century given how little detail there is. There wasn't even a mention of the plague!
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Violence, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, and Grief
Moderate: Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, and Animal death
Minor: Xenophobia, Death of parent, Homophobia, and Animal cruelty