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adventurous
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:
Yes
I absolutely loved every single thing about this book! The setting, the conflict, the CHARACTERS! Paedyn and Kai are just *chef’s kiss*! I can’t believe I have to wait until the summer for book 2, but I’m going to have to reread this very soon! Thank you Lauren Roberts for creating this world and characters that I just love to bits. I mean could Kai be any dreamier? *swoon*
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I feel like this book is what I’ve wanted every other fantasy romance novel to be. This was the perfect way to end my 2023. It had some of the best tropes in romantasy and it did all of those tropes so well!
Kai and Paedyn were honestly cute with each other! I really felt the romance between them, with them having the perfect chemistry. They honestly have the most chemistry of any couple I’ve read in a fantasy novel in a very long time.
I really liked how complex both Paedyn and Kai were. I really liked how much their stories and their personalities mirrored each other. They both do what they believe needs being done to survive in their world. I also thought Kai’s inner turmoil about being a monster was really interesting to see, because assassins in fantasy novels often are fine with being villainess, but not the reluctant villain that is Kai.
Also, can we talk about how impressive this is as a debut novel?! This book was 500 pages, but they were very necessary 500 pages that actually flew by. It was very well written and I’m so excited to read more books from her in the future.
There were a few times that it felt a little too much like other popular series I’ve read, but I think that Lauren Roberts had a unique enough spin on those common tropes that this book felt unique in its own way.
I am so incredibly excited for Reckless, especially after that cliffhanger! I’m counting down the days until I can read more of Kai and Paedyn!
Thank you to NetGalley, Simon & Schuester, and Lauren Roberts for providing me access to this book.
Kai and Paedyn were honestly cute with each other! I really felt the romance between them, with them having the perfect chemistry. They honestly have the most chemistry of any couple I’ve read in a fantasy novel in a very long time.
I really liked how complex both Paedyn and Kai were. I really liked how much their stories and their personalities mirrored each other. They both do what they believe needs being done to survive in their world. I also thought Kai’s inner turmoil about being a monster was really interesting to see, because assassins in fantasy novels often are fine with being villainess, but not the reluctant villain that is Kai.
Also, can we talk about how impressive this is as a debut novel?! This book was 500 pages, but they were very necessary 500 pages that actually flew by. It was very well written and I’m so excited to read more books from her in the future.
There were a few times that it felt a little too much like other popular series I’ve read, but I think that Lauren Roberts had a unique enough spin on those common tropes that this book felt unique in its own way.
I am so incredibly excited for Reckless, especially after that cliffhanger! I’m counting down the days until I can read more of Kai and Paedyn!
Thank you to NetGalley, Simon & Schuester, and Lauren Roberts for providing me access to this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Genocide, Grief, Abandonment
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
WOW. THIS WAS ABSOLUTELY PERFECT.
AND THE ENDING-
I waited for this book for over a year, ever since I saw Lauren talking about it for the first time. my expectations were really high and this was even better than what I was expecting. I loved this so much. I NEED BOOK TWO RN.
this is now one of my favourite books of all time. I loved the writing style, the characters, the world building... everything.
Kai is DEFINITELY in my book boyfriends list. I just love him with all my heart. (this is actually the second Kai I fall in love with lmao). I want him to be real so badddd. my standards because of Kai 📈
I loved the relationships between the characters, they were so cute.
Kai and Paedyn are the absolute cutest and I'm really intrigued about what's going to happen in the next book after that ending 😩
the author said that this book is kind of a mix of Red Queen and The Hunger Games. I've never read Red Queen (but it is on my tbr) but I did read The Hunger Games and I can definitely see the similarities (in a good way and not a copy paste way) with that book.
I highly HIGHLY recommended this book.
AND THE ENDING-
I waited for this book for over a year, ever since I saw Lauren talking about it for the first time. my expectations were really high and this was even better than what I was expecting. I loved this so much. I NEED BOOK TWO RN.
this is now one of my favourite books of all time. I loved the writing style, the characters, the world building... everything.
Kai is DEFINITELY in my book boyfriends list. I just love him with all my heart. (this is actually the second Kai I fall in love with lmao). I want him to be real so badddd. my standards because of Kai 📈
I loved the relationships between the characters, they were so cute.
Kai and Paedyn are the absolute cutest and I'm really intrigued about what's going to happen in the next book after that ending 😩
the author said that this book is kind of a mix of Red Queen and The Hunger Games. I've never read Red Queen (but it is on my tbr) but I did read The Hunger Games and I can definitely see the similarities (in a good way and not a copy paste way) with that book.
I highly HIGHLY recommended this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Gore
Minor: Child abuse