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booksthatburn's review
This has a particular blend of modernity and faery which I tend to not like generally but didn't realize this was going to be.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Death, and War
Minor: Violence, Terminal illness, Mental illness, and Blood
thewildmageslibrary's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
4.0
Read: March 2021
I didn't expect to read this in about a day, but here we are. XD Was a little confusing at first, but I soon got sucked into Eidolonia and Merrick's and Larkin's stories. This gave off some Sleeping Beauty vibes, but if the dragon came back to life after waking the princess and they had to defeat it together. I loved the cultural/time clash between Merrick and Larkin and seeing so many fae. Also, hello casual non-binary rep ❤️ and a character with my name!
CW: non-consensual magic, death, drugging, imprisonment, grief
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Confinement and Death
lennie_reads's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.0
Thanks to NetGalley and Central Avenue Publishing for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This story is basically an adult, queer, sleeping beauty set on a magical island in the pacific ocean.
The island of Eidolonia is set in the real world but because of magic it scrambles satellites and boats are often pushed off course so it hasn't been discovered by the world.
I really liked this idea because the pacific is so vast that there very easily could be an island out there with magical beings on it. (In my head anyway)
Around 300 years prior, the fae agreed to let humans stay on the island, they could marry whoever they wanted and go by whatever gender they wanted. The humans on the island also began to develop magical powers of their own from the proximity of the fae.
After a while there was a war between fae and humans, and to gain peace, Prince Larkin was sacrificed and put into a permanent magical slumber.
We theb travel to 2020 where we meet Merrick, a descendant of the witch who put Larkin under the spell and who doesn't really know what he's doing with his life. And after finding some of his ancestors magical trinkets he accidentally wakes Prince Larkin up.
However this also means he awakens the fearsome Ula Kana, a fae set on destroying the humans.
Larkin and Merrick form and unlikely friendship, challenge the corrupt government and then head out on a quest to the fae realm to try and save the island.
There is dual POVs in this book but I have to admit they weren't quite different enough because I often couldn't tell who was speaking.
It's a gritty, self sacrificing and realistic fantasy tale with a unique set up.
Merrick's family and friends were brilliant and the romance was a wonderful slow burn. However it definitely has a bittersweet ending which I found a bit depressing. Maybe because it was a bit too realistic I'm not sure.
That being said I still really enjoyed it and will most likely read it again!
The book has queer rep, non binary rep and deals with trauma, ptsd, depression and more.
CW: death, ptsd, depression
This story is basically an adult, queer, sleeping beauty set on a magical island in the pacific ocean.
The island of Eidolonia is set in the real world but because of magic it scrambles satellites and boats are often pushed off course so it hasn't been discovered by the world.
I really liked this idea because the pacific is so vast that there very easily could be an island out there with magical beings on it. (In my head anyway)
Around 300 years prior, the fae agreed to let humans stay on the island, they could marry whoever they wanted and go by whatever gender they wanted. The humans on the island also began to develop magical powers of their own from the proximity of the fae.
After a while there was a war between fae and humans, and to gain peace, Prince Larkin was sacrificed and put into a permanent magical slumber.
We theb travel to 2020 where we meet Merrick, a descendant of the witch who put Larkin under the spell and who doesn't really know what he's doing with his life. And after finding some of his ancestors magical trinkets he accidentally wakes Prince Larkin up.
However this also means he awakens the fearsome Ula Kana, a fae set on destroying the humans.
Larkin and Merrick form and unlikely friendship, challenge the corrupt government and then head out on a quest to the fae realm to try and save the island.
There is dual POVs in this book but I have to admit they weren't quite different enough because I often couldn't tell who was speaking.
It's a gritty, self sacrificing and realistic fantasy tale with a unique set up.
Merrick's family and friends were brilliant and the romance was a wonderful slow burn. However it definitely has a bittersweet ending which I found a bit depressing. Maybe because it was a bit too realistic I'm not sure.
That being said I still really enjoyed it and will most likely read it again!
The book has queer rep, non binary rep and deals with trauma, ptsd, depression and more.
CW: death, ptsd, depression
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Blood, Grief, and Mental illness
More...