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belle13'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
4.0
Amount of spice: š„š„š„
Explicitness: š¶ļøš¶ļø
I was completely unprepared for how heartbreaking this would be. Please for the love of god check the content warnings for this one. If I had known before going into it how sad and intense it would be I probably wouldnāt have read it but Iām glad I did because the writing was fantastic. The setting is also so vivid and beautiful, I really felt like I had been transported to Ireland.
I wouldnāt class this specifically as a āromanceā not in the traditional sense at least because it almost worried me that they were together given they had so much trauma and being together triggered a lot of their PTSD responses. I wouldnāt say it was āromanticā until right at the very end simply because they were dealing with so much and it felt like it was more about how they overcame their own trauma and worked through their grief than it was about them being a couple.
It was beautiful and emotional and Iām glad it all worked out in the end for them. If it hadnāt I would have lost plot because those poor kids could not catch a break! I would recommend giving it a read but read the CWs first and know that it is not a mafia romance. There are mafia aspects to it but donāt go into it expecting a dark mafia romance.
Graphic: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Rape
unicornofthesea's review against another edition
3.75
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual content
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Gun violence, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Car accident, Trafficking, Rape, Child abuse, and Violence
Minor: Bullying, Classism, Forced institutionalization, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Cancer
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 fiancƩ. 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
vicktorea'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
3.5
PLEASE CHECK THE CWs/TWS for this before reading - I believe the author provides them on her website!
okay we're doing one of these breakdown reviews today:
what I liked
-the male narration was chef's kiss, simply bc of the accent - droolfest š¤¤
-came with CW (this is kinda bare minimum now - like this should be something authors provide automatically - but I liked that the author provided a website for people to go to if they wanted to check in-depth CWs so as to not potentially spoil the plot for others who don't need CWs. i also liked that she provided helplines for those who may need them).
-the overall plot/setting - I feel like the author did a good job setting the tone and atmosphere, esp with the Irish setting. I can't quite explain what I'm trying to say but I liked the vibes I was getting. The plot also shed light upon some very serious and sad issues. It was a bit difficult and times listening to what happened to the characters in the past but it felt like care and attention was put into this, which I appreciated.
-i loved the MMC. damaged to the bone but I also loved that the author wrote him as emotional as he was. he openly cried at times and that feels like such a rare occurrence so I appreciated it - it really humanized him and I liked feeling the vulnerability from him.
-the epilogue (surprisingly) - thank GOD there was no dreaded (for me) pregnancy trope!!! it actually showed the two characters doing their best to heal from their traumas and not just magically living happily ever after.
- the bitchass (ex) bf was done and dusted fairly early on!! i was nervous i'd have to sit through several chapters of his nonsense before he was finally taken out
what I didn't like
- the fmc at times - she was always calling herself useless and worthless and while I get where those feelings were coming from she'd say this about herself for situations out of her control. i also didn't like her narration - it sounded too juvenile but the narrator did a great job at the Irish accents (I couldn't tell which accent [American vs Irish] was her real accent).
- the pacing - it was a bit off for me. there's a time jump and the MMC and FMC are reunited fairly quickly and it's just them together for a while trying to navigate what to do with their lives.
overall, a good read! i didn't love it but def enjoyed aspects of it! excited to try Praying For Rain by this author next!
Graphic: Sexual violence, Child abuse, Murder, and Rape
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Adult/minor relationship, Panic attacks/disorders, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, Pedophilia, and Grief
Minor: Kidnapping
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
ā Mafia romance
ā Magical realism
ā Childhood friends to lovers
š 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 ās
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