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dreamypageturner's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Pedophilia, Gun violence, Medical trauma, Domestic abuse, Death, Sexual violence, Rape, Murder, Child death, Misogyny, Gore, Cursing, Confinement, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Body horror, Blood, Pregnancy, Bullying, Violence, Incest, Grief, Sexual harassment, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Abortion, Addiction, Alcoholism, Forced institutionalization, Sexism, Torture, Self harm, Car accident, and Drug abuse
Minor: Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, and Trafficking
naama22's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Rape, Murder, Religious bigotry, and Child abuse
cheesy_reads'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
5.0
Graphic: Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Murder, Violence, and 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
after_i_finish_this_chapter's review
- 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
elspethm's review
- 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
weelasswithabook'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
⭐ 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