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A review by xxivo
Winter's Orbit by Everina Maxwell
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
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
5.0
This book. It literally changed my life. In a good way don't worry. But it made me see much of my life in a different light.
*Personal life ramble warning*
So, if you check the trigger warnings on this book it says "someone healing from an abusive relationship." And honestly, I didn't think that would ever pose a problem for me to read this and I kinda forgot about it. But oh boy I was wrong. The first chapter from Jainan's POV already made me feel so deeply connected to him. His thoughts are my thoughts, a 1 on 1 perfect copy. Continuing the book though, I started to realize that his thoughts, aren't really that healthy. It became painful to see him struggle so much because of those kind of behavior patterns that dictate my own life so much too.
At that point I went searching through some reviews to see if it would get worse. I couldn't really take much more of his pain and wanted it to be over. Then I stumbled upon the trigger warnings again. And it shocked me. "If this is how it looks when someone comes out of an abusive situation. Does that mean that I did too?" I have known for a long while my relationship with my parents is highly troubled, but I would have never called it abuse. Seeing this written so factually in reviews was a shock to me, and made me cry really hard.
Then continuing the book we got some more flashbacks from the old situation. The book quite obviously makes you hate the abuser (as it should), and so I did too. But when I went back to my own parents a few days later, it was even a bigger shock to see the abusers behavioral patterns repeated in my mum. In the book I very much saw that it is not okay for someone to behave like that, but in my own life, I did always excuse it. And this book thus made me realize that I very much should stop doing that.
I am going to look for therapy, that for sure. But I am not going to accept my family treating me like that anymore.
About the book itself, it was wonderfully written. It was a joy to see Jainan grow and be loved by Kiem. The book starts with a simple problem that just keeps on growing and growing until it becomes something a lot bigger. I enjoyed how more and more people became involved and it got messier by the page.
Kiem was such a great character to have a POV of. It is just great to see him being social and caring for Jainan and basically showing kindness for everyone he meets.
When I got to the later parts of the book where Jainan is getting healthier I loved the book so so much. It made me feel so good to see him thrive and be confident. It gave me so much inspiration. And I thank the book for making me feel like that.
When I was done with the book I very much was not finished with Kiem and Jainan yet, so I went straight to AO3 to fill my soul with more love between them. It was great.
*Personal life ramble warning*
So, if you check the trigger warnings on this book it says "someone healing from an abusive relationship." And honestly, I didn't think that would ever pose a problem for me to read this and I kinda forgot about it. But oh boy I was wrong. The first chapter from Jainan's POV already made me feel so deeply connected to him. His thoughts are my thoughts, a 1 on 1 perfect copy. Continuing the book though, I started to realize that his thoughts, aren't really that healthy. It became painful to see him struggle so much because of those kind of behavior patterns that dictate my own life so much too.
At that point I went searching through some reviews to see if it would get worse. I couldn't really take much more of his pain and wanted it to be over. Then I stumbled upon the trigger warnings again. And it shocked me. "If this is how it looks when someone comes out of an abusive situation. Does that mean that I did too?" I have known for a long while my relationship with my parents is highly troubled, but I would have never called it abuse. Seeing this written so factually in reviews was a shock to me, and made me cry really hard.
Then continuing the book we got some more flashbacks from the old situation. The book quite obviously makes you hate the abuser (as it should), and so I did too. But when I went back to my own parents a few days later, it was even a bigger shock to see the abusers behavioral patterns repeated in my mum. In the book I very much saw that it is not okay for someone to behave like that, but in my own life, I did always excuse it. And this book thus made me realize that I very much should stop doing that.
I am going to look for therapy, that for sure. But I am not going to accept my family treating me like that anymore.
About the book itself, it was wonderfully written. It was a joy to see Jainan grow and be loved by Kiem. The book starts with a simple problem that just keeps on growing and growing until it becomes something a lot bigger. I enjoyed how more and more people became involved and it got messier by the page.
Kiem was such a great character to have a POV of. It is just great to see him being social and caring for Jainan and basically showing kindness for everyone he meets.
When I was done with the book I very much was not finished with Kiem and Jainan yet, so I went straight to AO3 to fill my soul with more love between them. It was great.