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takarakei's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- 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
2.0
Who cares? like literally there is not enough world building or character development for me to give a crap about this story. All the secondary characters are barely mentioned let alone given any actual substance. The MC Wren is bi, ok, but we don't get enough detail of her prior relationship with Una (sp? idk audiobook) for it to actually mean much? I guess in the end it's more like enemies to lovers/close proximity once she arrives at the estate to take care of Hal. I wasn't even really into their romance either. The main mystery is like 'solved' almost too early, and then the end of the story drags on. It's just a lot of like gore and medical horror strung together into kind of a fantasy (really more court politics) lackluster romance.
The ending is super unbelievable, like all of a sudden at the last second Wren is able to convince the Queen to just stop siding with Lowry?? just like that? even though she tried before...
2.5/5 🌶️
2.5/5 🌶️
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content, Medical trauma, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death, Sexual content, Torture, and Violence
Minor: Animal cruelty
sexual content very mild, pretty much closed door. animal testing mentioned briefly.girlonbooks's review
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
🌨️🌨️🌨️🌨️ Four Stars (as rated in the snow clouds in this splendidly wintery read)
Niece to the queen herself, Wren Southerland might as well be a nobody. Sequestered in the Abbey from a very young age, Wren fought to establish her worth with her exceptional (and magical) healing abilities. Having worked her way up to Lieutenant in the Queen’s army, all Wren wants in the whole world is to be recognized for her value; to be told she matters. But when one moment of misplaced compassion leaves her at the mercy of an enemy spy – compromising her entire mission – Wren risks losing everything she’s spent years worked for. Getting back in the Queen’s good graces will require a bigger gamble than she’s ever taken before, and necessitate allying herself with the very enemy she’s sworn to defeat.
Niece to the queen herself, Wren Southerland might as well be a nobody. Sequestered in the Abbey from a very young age, Wren fought to establish her worth with her exceptional (and magical) healing abilities. Having worked her way up to Lieutenant in the Queen’s army, all Wren wants in the whole world is to be recognized for her value; to be told she matters. But when one moment of misplaced compassion leaves her at the mercy of an enemy spy – compromising her entire mission – Wren risks losing everything she’s spent years worked for. Getting back in the Queen’s good graces will require a bigger gamble than she’s ever taken before, and necessitate allying herself with the very enemy she’s sworn to defeat.
“Maybe the only difference between a monster and a hero was the colour of a soldier’s uniform”
This book really grew on me. I loved the narration from the start (Kathleen McInerney deserves her own genre of the word talented) but I took a minute to connect with the story. Once things get going, though, and the mystery “intensifies,” so to speak, I was officially in it for the long haul. Just something to keep in mind if you’re on the fence about DNFing within the first 50 pages.
✨ Read this book because: you want a cozy winter read with some mystery, the tiniest bit of sexual tension and a lot of politically motivated backstabbing.
✨ Content warnings for this book: descriptive medical stuff, graphic medical trauma, gore, blood, death, death of a parent, murder, poisoning, body horror, war, violence
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Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body horror, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, and War
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