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A review by nose_in_a_book
The Kraken's Sacrifice by Katee Robert
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
🌶️ 🌶️ 🌶️
Of all the books in this series so far, my feelings on this one are the most complicated. Both of the main characters are deeply flawed from trauma. I do think this book handles the way trauma manifests in our actions beautifully. The driving actions have layers to them which is part of why my feelings are complicated. While I wouldn't want changes to how the characters act from a storytelling perspective, it made it really hard for me to actually want the two of these characters to end up together.
The MMC may not have a malicious bone in his body but that doesn't change the fact that his actions for the first half of the story are abusive. That's not to say that characters can't work through unintentional harm but I didn't feel like the book held him accountable for just how fucked up what he did was, regardless of intention. It was hidden behind empathy for why he acted that way and the fact that they clearly had healthy communication by the epilogue.
I suppose I wanted consequences. I wanted the same protection that Briar got in Dragon's Bride to be applied here and it felt deeply unfair that it wasn't. Briar is a stereotypical damsel, described as soft and deeply kind, while Catalina is decidedly not those things. She's self-destructive, loud, and hyper-independent but she honestly needed someone standing up for her (i.e. her demon guardians) more than Briar. At least Briar knew what happened to her was wrong and spent the book advocating for herself. Catalina is so used to being abused that she doesn't even bother anymore. She deserved to be ripped away from Thane and then have him prove he was worthy of her.
All in all, the romance was less successful for me but the character studies were beautiful.
Of all the books in this series so far, my feelings on this one are the most complicated. Both of the main characters are deeply flawed from trauma. I do think this book handles the way trauma manifests in our actions beautifully. The driving actions have layers to them which is part of why my feelings are complicated. While I wouldn't want changes to how the characters act from a storytelling perspective, it made it really hard for me to actually want the two of these characters to end up together.
The MMC may not have a malicious bone in his body but that doesn't change the fact that his actions for the first half of the story are abusive. That's not to say that characters can't work through unintentional harm but I didn't feel like the book held him accountable for just how fucked up what he did was, regardless of intention. It was hidden behind empathy for why he acted that way and the fact that they clearly had healthy communication by the epilogue.
I suppose I wanted consequences. I wanted the same protection that Briar got in Dragon's Bride to be applied here and it felt deeply unfair that it wasn't.
All in all, the romance was less successful for me but the character studies were beautiful.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Grief, and Abandonment
Moderate: Toxic relationship
Minor: Child abuse