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after_i_finish_this_chapter'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? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Incest, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Self harm, Terminal illness, Child abuse, Gaslighting, and Sexual assault
hann_smc's review
Graphic: Sexual violence and Sexual assault
Moderate: Violence, Rape, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Child abuse
None of the abuse was romanticized - no one falls in love with their abuser / former abuser.elspethm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The background is that Darby comes to visit her grandfather in Ireland every summer and she meets Kellen, a quiet boy she sees in the woods when searching for fairies. Every year she meets up with him. One year they are jumping in the lake when they have a "supernatural" experience which connects them in a fairy tale way.
Meanwhile, Kellen has been abused by his guardian, Father Henry. Darby's mother is sick and she can't always come every summer. Then one year she reads online that Father Henry died in a fire, and his ward has likely died with him, but there is no real indication.
A few years later, Darby comes back for her grandfather's funeral with her abusive fiance. We find out she has been abused by people her father hangs around with, and was "saved" by the fiancé. As he is attacking her, Kellen comes back and saves her. (This is all the first 1/3 of the book!)
Also meanwhile, since Kellen is on the run, he has no birth certificate, and has been taken in by the Irish mafia. That leads into a long mafia story which Darby is dragged into.
Along with dealing with both of their previous abuses, they need to save themselves from the mafia. It sounds crazy, but it all works well together.
Both Kellen and Darby learn to be strong for each other and fight for themselves against their demons. There is a HEA and Kellen's back story is ultimately described, which is also sad, but compelling (dealing with the church, abuse, and church based maternity/"adoption" which wasn't really fought against until *1998*!)
There are a lot of trigger warnings, mostly because of their backstories and Kellen's mafia ties, but the romance is wonderful, and the supernatural / fairy tale portion of the story makes it even more special. I don't generally like mafia books and I definitely prefer not to read books about church/abuse, but I enjoyed this one.
Graphic: Blood, Cancer, Death, Child abuse, Death of parent, Rape, Gun violence, Car accident, Bullying, Alcohol, Pedophilia, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Incest, Police brutality, Sexual content, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Violence
aklovekorn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Murder, Car accident, Violence, Blood, Death, Gun violence, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Death of parent, Sexual assault, Alcoholism, Cancer, Fire/Fire injury, Pedophilia, Rape, Police brutality, and Trafficking
lillygabriella's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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
So Darby is awesome and I love her. And Kellan is great and should have all the good things, especially Darby. This is the best romance I have read so far this year.
Graphic: Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Murder, Pedophilia, Blood, Grief, and Child abuse
Minor: Kidnapping, Vomit, Cursing, Torture, Trafficking, Self harm, Car accident, Animal death, and Cancer
karina_dreamsinwords'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
4.0
“He’d found the strength to destroy the men who’d hurt us, and if that made him the Devil, then I would gladly burn in hell by his side.”
I quite enjoyed this gripping, hauntingly tragic, action packed story!
At the start of this book we follow Darby as a young girl when she forms an unlikely friendship with Kellen, a mute known as the devil’s son, during summer trips to see her grandfather on his sheep farm in Ireland. With each summer visit, the pair grow closer while searching the woods for fairies and finding solace in the others’ company. After a tragedy and years later, Darby returns to the Irish village engaged to another man & unsure of what feelings reuniting with her old friend will bring to light.
This story starts off a bit slower as we learn about the back story and what led to Darby & Kellen to form such a strong bond as children. There are some dark moments that happen to both MC’s as kids that are revealed as the story unfolds which was just heartbreaking to read. I have to say that there’s just something beautiful about seeing two pained souls find their way back to their first love🥹
I was rooting for Darby and Kellen the whole way through! They were respectful of each other & mutually understood that touch alone was sacred, especially given their traumas.
I also want to mention the Author’s note. It was fascinating to learn about the history behind this tale and I appreciate BB’s honesty in telling this story.
**Please be kind to yourself & check the content warnings before jumping in because this does cover some dark subject matter— mainly child abuse, SA, ptsd, & domestic violence.
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, and Gun violence
Minor: Suicide attempt and Adult/minor relationship
milesofkiles'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual assault, Gun violence, Violence, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Death of parent and Car accident
weelasswithabook'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
4.0
⭐ Mafia romance
⭐ Magical realism
⭐ Childhood friends to lovers
🌈 C-PTSD representation
Oh the struggles I've had rating this one. This might be the strangest combination of genres I've came across so far. The juxtaposition between the first and second half was so jarring that I felt I was reading two different books, or the same story but in two separate subgenres.
The first half of the book is set in the MMC and FMC's childhood and it very much fits into the gothicky, dark, magical realism, haunting subgenre of romance. The setting was absolute perfection, set in rural Ireland with Celtic mythology and Irish folklore being a great influence on the story. The first half of the book was more than worthy of 5 ⭐s
The second half of the book is a mafia romance (albeit there are still some threads of the magical realism in the second half although nowhere near as prominent). I felt like the mafia aspect fell a bit flat and the progression of Kellen's character could've been more successful in a different format than joining the mafia. It still worked, but with the opener of the story as it was, it felt sort of jarring to end up in the mafia world.
One thing I will say, is the character work itself in the book was great. Kellen had an abusive childhood, Darby had an abusive adulthood, so both had shared trauma that they helped each other heal from. This played out well throughout the course of the book, however again I think this could've been done more effectively without the mafia aspect and more focus on the two characters as opposed to splitting the time between the action and intricacies of a mafia plot and the character's healing.
The way Kellen's abusive childhood played out was upsetting to read, but I feel like the way he was as a character really summed up the sheer despair that comes with growing up in an abusive setting. At their initial meeting, he is mute and has never experienced any kindness whatsoever in his life and that ripped my heart to shreds. To see him begin to trust and form a friendship with Darby as children in this mystical setting was honestly one of the best parts of the book, it was just beautiful to see unfold.
I know that this probably sounds like a negative review, but I genuinely did enjoy this book, I merely found frustration in how the book had been put together. Combining mafia and magical realism/folklore seems like a huge risk, and tbh it paid off as a whole because the reviews I've read so far have been great. I just don't know that the combination worked 100% for me personally.
Graphic: Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Grief, Mental illness, Abandonment, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Blood, Confinement, Bullying, Cancer, Pedophilia, and Rape
Minor: Kidnapping, Medical content, Trafficking, Alcoholism, Addiction, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Gore, Alcohol, and Child death