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adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
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
This book is solid, yes in a good way. While it didn’t totally knock it out of the park for me - this book has its issues - it’s a solid YA without feeling childish.
Does it lack some world building? Yes, but I have a feeling a lot of that is to come in the next book. There’s a lot we don’t know about why this war started. Is it a spurned lovers thing or something else? This world also generally isn’t that complex right now. It’s a world set in the equivalent of Earth’s 1940s (which some tweaks). Their tech isn’t fancy, their world isn’t fancy, and the magic isn’t their doing.
The romance is very YA in nature where they kinda do a quick enemies to lovers deal, or others have said - you’ve got mail. Does that make it bad? IMO no, we know the characters have about 5-6 months history with each other already. There is already some attraction there as well. It wasn’t this totally unexplained whirlwind.
All-in-all, I thought it was a solid read. Does it fall into some YA “issues”? Sure, but overall I thought they were navigated decently to not make me constantly eye roll or want to step away. I’ll be excited for the sequel to see what happens to our MC’s.
Does it lack some world building? Yes, but I have a feeling a lot of that is to come in the next book. There’s a lot we don’t know about why this war started. Is it a spurned lovers thing or something else? This world also generally isn’t that complex right now. It’s a world set in the equivalent of Earth’s 1940s (which some tweaks). Their tech isn’t fancy, their world isn’t fancy, and the magic isn’t their doing.
The romance is very YA in nature where they kinda do a quick enemies to lovers deal, or others have said - you’ve got mail. Does that make it bad? IMO no, we know the characters have about 5-6 months history with each other already. There is already some attraction there as well. It wasn’t this totally unexplained whirlwind.
All-in-all, I thought it was a solid read. Does it fall into some YA “issues”? Sure, but overall I thought they were navigated decently to not make me constantly eye roll or want to step away. I’ll be excited for the sequel to see what happens to our MC’s.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Gun violence, Medical trauma, War
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
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
I like the world of this book, but the story is… odd. It’s so obviously meant to be the first book in a series that it accomplished almost nothing except a light rivals-to-arguably-too-intense-and-largely-emotionally-immature-lovers. I’m going to wait for reviews to read the upcoming second book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Blood, Death of parent, War
Review pending St. Martin's Press boycott.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, War
Moderate: Gore, Blood, Grief, Alcohol
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
Meh. I got bored a few two many times. I wanted to pursue the story of lieutenant lark and the sycamore platoon.
This felt a mix of ww1 and Violet Evergarden.
This felt a mix of ww1 and Violet Evergarden.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War
Moderate: Gore, Blood, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexual content
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: War
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child death, Gore, Suicide, Violence, Vomit, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexual content
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Magic letters and typewriters, a war with gods involved, chosen family, and really fun world building Rivals to lovers plotline there's tons to love in this book
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Vomit, War
Moderate: Suicide
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, War
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
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
Any words I can find to describe this book would be an understatement. To put it simply, this was a beautiful and emotional book that reminded me why I love historical fantasy. I found the plot endearing. It could be considered predictable, but I think the best written stories are where you know inevitably what will happen, but watch it play out anyways.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Violence, War
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
“A girl who writes letters to her missing brother, and the boy who reads them.”
Thus we have the first thoughts of this beautiful novel. The tale is set in a world where two gods who were previously defeated by mortals are awake and at war with each other.
At the beginning this is a distant war not changing the day to day life of the city of Oath. Iris (our leading lady) is fighting her good looking but arrogant rival Kitt for a position at the local paper, caring for her alcoholic mother and worrying about the whereabouts of her solider brother.
When her secret letters to her brother disappear and then suddenly are magically answered by another man everything begins to change.
I adored this book. The 1940’s type era with some magical occurrences (not your wizard and wands type) that are sprinkled throughout daily life. The use of letter writing adds such a beautiful romantic use of words to create bonds and really adds to the beauty of the book.
It was also important that war was not romanticised in this book. The descriptions of trench warfare and invasions was realistic and brutal and added a fantastic juxtaposition to Iris’s personal life.
This would be a great book for those wanting to have a little dip into fantasy while still similar to a 1940’s war romance. But oh it is so much more than that simple explanation.
Thus we have the first thoughts of this beautiful novel. The tale is set in a world where two gods who were previously defeated by mortals are awake and at war with each other.
At the beginning this is a distant war not changing the day to day life of the city of Oath. Iris (our leading lady) is fighting her good looking but arrogant rival Kitt for a position at the local paper, caring for her alcoholic mother and worrying about the whereabouts of her solider brother.
When her secret letters to her brother disappear and then suddenly are magically answered by another man everything begins to change.
I adored this book. The 1940’s type era with some magical occurrences (not your wizard and wands type) that are sprinkled throughout daily life. The use of letter writing adds such a beautiful romantic use of words to create bonds and really adds to the beauty of the book.
It was also important that war was not romanticised in this book. The descriptions of trench warfare and invasions was realistic and brutal and added a fantastic juxtaposition to Iris’s personal life.
This would be a great book for those wanting to have a little dip into fantasy while still similar to a 1940’s war romance. But oh it is so much more than that simple explanation.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Death of parent, War