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lbelow's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
4.5
This is one of my favourite books. The prose seems overly flowery at first until you realize that it isn't how everyone talks/thinks, it's how Delly does. By then, you're well and truly hooked into a rollicking ride filled with romance, mystery, a little light crime, a broken mother-daughter relationship not too far to fix, and a whole cast of strong female characters. This is always a fun read!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Murder, Cursing, Drug use, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Death, Alcohol, Child death, and Addiction
Minor: Sexual content
the_lesbrarian's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Drug abuse, and Addiction
Moderate: Suicide, Death, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Child abuse, and Grief
Minor: Classism and Animal death
lim's review against another edition
I wanted to love this but... How could a story with magic, murder plots, and badass queer women be that boring? I went into it expecting a fun (or at least interesting) historical fantasy with a sapphic bodyguard romance, but every page was a struggle to get through. The weird made-up words and old-timey speech the MC used made it unbearable. Around 30%, I realized how much more I had left and just couldn't do it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death
Moderate: Classism, Drug abuse, Gore, Addiction, Animal death, and Murder
Minor: Sexual content
willowd's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
(Note: I haven't read the first book!)
Is this book amazing? No. But was it fun? Certainly.
A bit heavy on the accents, so if that bothers you, skip it. I recommend listening over reading this story, due to the accent & grammar. If you're a non-native speaker, some of Delly's made up words might be more challenging. I found the dialogue very enjoyable to listen to. Oh also - the chapter titles are delightful.
I found the second half a bit drawn out - but I truly warmed up to the old lady and her mouse. The pacing of the second half could have been tweaked, or used another twist.
Now, somehow my book club thought this was marketed as sapphic (Idk where, because I didn't see anything like that? I dunno, I didn't look super hard!) and I want to be clear that it's not. The main character is clearly bi/pan. The main couple is two ladies, but there is sexual content that is not sapphic, and there is no wlw sexual content. However, the sexual encounters the MC has before are fairly glossed over, and honestly, as someone who doesn't love romance novels, was fine by me. I've read too many books with sudden love nonsense! With everything else going on, it sounded too exhausting for a romp.
I think this author has promise, especially in the realm of audiobook. Maybe even a play? I look forward to her next work, and hope that it gets marketed accurately!
Is this book amazing? No. But was it fun? Certainly.
A bit heavy on the accents, so if that bothers you, skip it. I recommend listening over reading this story, due to the accent & grammar. If you're a non-native speaker, some of Delly's made up words might be more challenging. I found the dialogue very enjoyable to listen to. Oh also - the chapter titles are delightful.
I found the second half a bit drawn out - but I truly warmed up to the old lady and her mouse. The pacing of the second half could have been tweaked, or used another twist.
Now, somehow my book club thought this was marketed as sapphic (Idk where, because I didn't see anything like that? I dunno, I didn't look super hard!) and I want to be clear that it's not. The main character is clearly bi/pan. The main couple is two ladies, but there is sexual content that is not sapphic, and there is no wlw sexual content. However, the sexual encounters the MC has before are fairly glossed over, and honestly, as someone who doesn't love romance novels, was fine by me. I've read too many books with sudden love nonsense! With everything else going on, it sounded too exhausting for a romp.
I think this author has promise, especially in the realm of audiobook. Maybe even a play? I look forward to her next work, and hope that it gets marketed accurately!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Animal death, Murder, and Drug use
Moderate: Abandonment, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Forced institutionalization, and Alcoholism
Minor: Sexual content
hinoki's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- 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? Yes
4.0
I really liked the "voice" of this book, although it took some time getting into.
I liked the world and the magic system. They didn't get to into depth, but for me, that's a good thing.
I wish the other characters (beside the MC) felt more "real." This could have been a great ensemble cast, but none of the other characters really stood out, including the love interest.
I can predict that a lot of other reviewers didn't like this book because of the romance, but I feel like this isn't a /romance/ book. It's more of an adventure book where there is a romance.
I liked the world and the magic system. They didn't get to into depth, but for me, that's a good thing.
I wish the other characters (beside the MC) felt more "real." This could have been a great ensemble cast, but none of the other characters really stood out, including the love interest.
I can predict that a lot of other reviewers didn't like this book because of the romance, but I feel like this isn't a /romance/ book. It's more of an adventure book where there is a romance.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Drug abuse and Addiction
kleebo's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death and Addiction
ptaradactyl's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
fast-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? No
3.5
It was an interesting and fun adventure, although very uneven between the romance and the mystery and action. But the dialect and speaking style was just not my thing. I was very tired of hearing about “gulls” till it was done
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism and Addiction
cozyscones's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, Abandonment, Drug use, Child death, and Addiction
Moderate: Suicide, Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, and Cursing
relin's review against another edition
I really enjoyed the characters but struggled with the pacing and writing style around this point where I noticed I was setting it down frequently. Picking it back up again got harder each time, but I had to read the ending to see what happened. I did skip ahead so I could have that conclusion even though I was missing some key parts.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content, Child death, Drug abuse, Suicide, and Violence
Moderate: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, Animal death, Blood, Gun violence, Gaslighting, Addiction, Abandonment, Child abuse, Toxic friendship, and Classism
Minor: Fire/Fire injury
There is also attemptedjupiter_01's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-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
4.0
I loved the silliness of this world! There was always something new and exciting to read about. I appreciated the author's creativeness a lot. However, this was also a drawback in a sense: there was basically a secondary language with little explanation offered, and while funny, when combined with very wordy sentences, it took me a long time to finish this book, even though the plot moved rather quick!
Lovely, charming characters, even when they were infuriating. The way the author approached sexuality was pleasantly surprising. There was a healthy dose of sweet romance between the mains with a touch of heat. They were smitten with each other from the beginning! I adored the ending—so fitting of Winn and Delly!
Lovely, charming characters, even when they were infuriating. The way the author approached sexuality was pleasantly surprising. There was a healthy dose of sweet romance between the mains with a touch of heat. They were smitten with each other from the beginning! I adored the ending—so fitting of Winn and Delly!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction
Moderate: Violence and Slavery
Minor: Suicide