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bookishmel's review
Moderate: Suicide, Grief, Drug use, Xenophobia, Violence, Sexism, Racism, Mental illness, Death, and Murder
marleywrites's review
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Death, Drug use, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Murder, and Racism
noellelovesbooks's review against another edition
4.0
This book has been on my radar for a bit, and as book two was recently released I knew it was time to dive in. Right off the bat, I knew Shuttleworth was an author who cared about their readers. At the very front under “Author’s Notes,” they discuss the heavy topics that will be covered in the book along with content warnings.
I’m always so excited when an author ensured content warnings are listed within their book or on their website. As someone who’s used reading as an escape for years [woohoo childhood trauma 😅], it’s important that I avoid certain subjects or at least have ample warning to prepare myself, emotionally, ahead of reading. Any author, or publisher, that puts that little bit of effort to list potential content warnings will always have a special place in my heart.
Nausicaa, formerly known as Alecto, is a fallen fury. Taking vengeance into her own hands and exacted revenge on those responsible for hurting her dearest sister so badly that her sister ended her own life, she had no regrets. Nausicaa now spends her immortal life finding new ways to annoy and anger the Fae.
Arlo the daughter of a Fae mother and a human father is determined to find her place in the world. Never fully fitting in with the Fae, as so far she’s shown very little ability in magic, she’s struggled to find where her strength lies and where her future will take her.
Vehan, the prince of Seelie Summer, has had questions for the last few years so when things start happening he’s set on finally finding answers and solving the mystery that’s haunted him.
Aurelian, Vehan’s retainer and steward in training, is determined to protect the prince at all costs…even if that cost is creating distance between the two. Hiding a huge secret is hard but Aurelian will do whatever it takes to protect the prince physically, mentally, and emotionally.
We also get to see the inner thoughts of someone who despises the ruling Fae and is set on a path to destroy them… but I don’t feel like writing about them. 😋
I enjoyed seeing pieces fall into place and forces joined though we definitely don’t get every question answered in this book. Shuttleworth has set up quite a few questions that I’m thinking will be elaborated on and answered within book two. I didn’t quite get the found family trope I was hoping to get within this book, as all four characters I talked about aren’t super close yet, but I’m hoping that we’ll see friendships and relationships continue to grow in book two which will give that overall found family feeling.
Overall getting to know all the characters, except the one I refuse to write about 😤, was so much fun and I look forward to seeing where book two takes us. If you’re looking for a fantasy where most of the characters are still finding themselves and finding their inner strength, I recommend giving this book a go!
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Violence, Grief, Child death, Murder, Blood, and Death
Moderate: Ableism, Abandonment, Child abuse, and Racism
Minor: Suicide, Trafficking, and Sexual harassment
jennamcclendon's review
- 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
4.75
I heard this book was like a queer ACOTAR and that immediately intrigued me, and I’ve been wanting to read it for quite a while. Turns out it was everything I was hoping for and more. It definitely did feel a little like ACOTAR, but also a little bit of The Cruel Prince (from what I remember from that book). But God, I loved this book. I couldn’t put it down when I really got into it.
Moderate: Blood, Gore, Stalking, Suicide, Child death, and Violence
Minor: Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Racism, Trafficking, Body horror, and Drug use
taras's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
About the characters:
Arlo - my second favourite character, I loved her personality from the start, her insecurities, her fear, she was relatable and I just got her. I loved that she had so many POV chapters.
Nausicaä/Alecto - my absolute favourite! I adored everything about her from the start. Her pain, her revenge, her anger, depression, sarcasm and humour, just everything about her made me love her more and more. I do like the name Alecto more than Nausicaä, and it's easier to pronounce too. I just wish she got more chapters from her POV, hopefully that will happen in the next book!
Vehan - I liked him, felt like there wasn't that much about his character but at times he was interesting and charming.
Aurelian - probably my least favourite character. He had his moments where I liked him but the majority of the time I was just kind of bored with him. I felt like his 4 chapters of POV were pointless and should've been given to Nausicaä instead.
Lethe & the wild hunt- I loved Lethe so much my third favourite, he was so interesting and mysterious! Everything about him made me love him so much. I don't even care if he's a villain (or maybe he's not) but I just loved him along with the rest of the wild hunt, all of them were so interesting too. I hope I get to know more about the others in the next book.
Celadon - my precious spoiled prince, I want more of him in the next book, hopefully he also gets a POV, because he's perfect!
Riadne - THAT ENDING MADE ME LOVE HER?! I LOVE TWISTED AND EVIL WOMEN!
Urielle, Megaera, Luck - I NEED MORE OF THEM I LOVED THEM!
Hero - he was okay, I liked him at first, he got very annoying towards the end but I guess that's what greed does to you, along with jealousy.
The only thing that really bothered me about this book was the lack of racial diversity, since it's set in Toronto and someone in the story even said, the city is very diverse yet the majority of the characters were white?? Just makes no sense. I hope in the next book it'll be more diverse!
Because of that I give this a 4.5 star rating, instead of 5.
Graphic: Child death, Body horror, Death, and Racism
Moderate: Blood and Murder
Minor: Suicide
traeumenvonbuechern's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Grief, Blood, Gore, and Child death
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic relationship, and Gun violence
Minor: Drug use, Body horror, Stalking, Suicide, and Racism
hannahwhiteyy's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Child death, Grief, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Gun violence
Moderate: Mental illness, Drug use, Drug abuse, Addiction, Alcohol, Trafficking, Stalking, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, and Racism
thecourtofreading's review
- 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
4.5
"heroes went through so much hardship. heroes were the stuff of tragedies."
Graphic: Child death, Violence, and Death
Moderate: Drug use, Gore, and Blood
Minor: Gun violence, Body horror, Racism, and Emotional abuse
trilby's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Minor: Blood, Gore, Child death, Drug use, Grief, Trafficking, Stalking, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Racism, and Violence
alibader'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? Yes
3.25
The only aspect that saved this book and makes me want to pick up the sequel is the characters, I thought they were very entertaining to read about and the romantic buildup was well written.
Graphic: Blood, Death, Drug use, Stalking, Trafficking, Violence, and Child death
Moderate: Grief and Gun violence
Minor: Body horror, Medical content, Murder, Racism, Suicide, and Vomit