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A review by quotemeasonnet
A Strange and Stubborn Endurance by Foz Meadows
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
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ππππ’π§π : β β β .5
A Strange and Stubborn Endurance by @fozmeadows is a fantasy romance that dabbles in court politics, cultural prejudices, historical misogyny and queerphobia while overall maintaining its image as a story of self acceptance, healing and falling in love. It's clever how the author has blended both kinds of dimensions of the book fairly well.
In the political aspect we see the author truly giving us a lens to show how differences in cultures that sometimes seem so distant or insignificant to us truly manifest themselves in real world, and also showing us the journey of a queer person adapting from a homophobic set-up to a more open and accepting one, and indirectly through the fears of a gay man, also presents to us the injustice suffered by women in places of conservative mindsets.
In the mystery aspect we see the main characters trying to solve the riddle of an unidentified murderer running rampant in the city, posing a threat to the newly wed couple and the diplomatic peace between two courts.
In a romantic and more personal aspect, we see two strangers slowly fall in love with and learn about each other with a motive to create a healthy, respectful, caring and gentle relationship as Velasin heals from his trauma and finds his self worth.
As amazing as the base concepts were, what lacked for me was just that I found the book to be a bit overstretched at times even though all the incidents happened in a countable number of days, which just made me feel confused about if it was going too fast or too slow. Plus, in my subjective opinion I just would've wanted to see the main characters develop on a deeper level; the magic aspect too kind of left me feeling unimpressed so there was that. Though not highly struck by the story, it was still a worthwhile read!
ππππ’π§π : β β β .5
A Strange and Stubborn Endurance by @fozmeadows is a fantasy romance that dabbles in court politics, cultural prejudices, historical misogyny and queerphobia while overall maintaining its image as a story of self acceptance, healing and falling in love. It's clever how the author has blended both kinds of dimensions of the book fairly well.
In the political aspect we see the author truly giving us a lens to show how differences in cultures that sometimes seem so distant or insignificant to us truly manifest themselves in real world, and also showing us the journey of a queer person adapting from a homophobic set-up to a more open and accepting one, and indirectly through the fears of a gay man, also presents to us the injustice suffered by women in places of conservative mindsets.
In the mystery aspect we see the main characters trying to solve the riddle of an unidentified murderer running rampant in the city, posing a threat to the newly wed couple and the diplomatic peace between two courts.
In a romantic and more personal aspect, we see two strangers slowly fall in love with and learn about each other with a motive to create a healthy, respectful, caring and gentle relationship as Velasin heals from his trauma and finds his self worth.
As amazing as the base concepts were, what lacked for me was just that I found the book to be a bit overstretched at times even though all the incidents happened in a countable number of days, which just made me feel confused about if it was going too fast or too slow. Plus, in my subjective opinion I just would've wanted to see the main characters develop on a deeper level; the magic aspect too kind of left me feeling unimpressed so there was that. Though not highly struck by the story, it was still a worthwhile read!