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Graphic: Confinement, Gore, Sexual content, Violence, Blood
Moderate: Physical abuse, Death of parent
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Gore, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment
Minor: Child death, Infidelity, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Medical content, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, War
Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Blood, Death of parent
Graphic: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Blood, Murder
Moderate: Grief, Death of parent
Fear and bravery are often one and the same. It either makes you a warrior or a coward. The only difference is the person it resides inside.
This book has problems - serious problems. I am not entirely sure how the questionable relationship at the heart of this book could have been given the Best Romance award for 2020, just as I am also not entirely sure why I read it, but here we are: people love this book and I've read it, just barely.
I cannot say that this book is bad in the slightest; it was entertaining, the world it was set in was complex and interesting, Poppy was a very likeable character, and (once we got through half of the book) we got a lot of action - plot-wise and otherwise. However, this is where my issues stem from. This romance was cringy at best and abusive and manipulative at worst. I really started to hate Poppy when her emotions oscillated between love and hate, loyalty and betrayal. After being so blatantly lied to and used, I would not put up with any boy, no matter how pretty his eyes were and how nice he smelled. I'm sorry if that isn't romantic.
I am also so over the abused yet strong main character in YA / New Adult fantasy novels. Having as much power and spirit as Poppy did would be near impossible in the abusive environment she was in and, if she truly was as powerful as the novel suggests, surely she would have stood up for herself sooner. In addition to that, who can forget about the whole pure Maiden side plot (yes, side plot because - let's be honest - the smut is the main plot)? I am not a fan; constant discussions of "naughty" acts, being "inappropriate" and just sexual relationships, in general, do not a fantasy novel make, though they certainly make the word count.
Now, I know that my mediocre experience is an anomaly here. If a dark, dystopian fantasy with a huge emphasis on romance, death and all your typical tropes (vampires, werewolves, a mysterious dark prince from another land, etc.) sounds like a good time for you, this book is worth a shot. Armentrout's writing is very readable due to its almost stream-of-consciousness quality with a sprinkling of very quotable lines throughout is nothing to complain about. I may give her other series a shot for this reason; I just hope there will be no mention of "honeydew", that was a choice.
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder
Moderate: Sexism, Kidnapping, Grief
Minor: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship
I looooove slow burn and descriptive writing. Really the only negative on this for me is that I could see the plot twist coming, but that wasn't a huge deal to me.
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, War, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Torture, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Pregnancy
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail
Graphic: Sexual content, Violence
Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Gore, Torture, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, War, Classism
Graphic: Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Moderate: Confinement, Torture, Kidnapping, Sexual harassment
Minor: Death of parent