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adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
This story was fairly light, but had such a fun and silly premise, I couldn't help but pick it up despite my bad track record for not enjoying straight romantasy books. But finally, finally, finally, I found one that I actually liked!
I really enjoyed the main characters, who were fun as individuals and as a couple. I enjoyed several aspects about their relationships with other characters, particularly the fact that Bianca had a romantic history with someone else. So often, romance stories start and end with one "first sight" love interest, which so rarely mirrors the real world. I also liked that the old fling was a lady--even though the end couple was between a man and a woman, the world doesn't adhere to boring heteronormativity.
Bianca was a fun heroine who expressed herself better with swords than with words. I really appreciated the mystery around her disability as well, particularly since the author shares it with her. It's always nice to see disabilities portrayed in fantasy worlds, and honestly makes them way more realistic.
Aric was also such a fresh breath of air as the love interest. In all the popular romantasies of today, the men are always these sultry, broad-chested shadow magicians with dark hair, husky voices, and tragic backstories. Aric is none of those things--he's honestly just a book nerd whose wife beats up people on his behalf, and I love that for him. His strength comes from his intelligence, and it's no less important to the overall story.
If I had one qualm, it was during a particular scene in the bookwhere Bianca and Aric are admitting their love to one another, and Bianca says something like "I've always loved you." Like no the hell you haven't, girl. You hated his guts until about 30 pages ago. If the realization had been that, in spite of their rocky start, she'd found love for him over time, that messaging might have left a stronger impact, especially considering how many other tropes were turned inside-out through the story . Despite this, I'm very glad I picked up this book. I probably compared this book with other romantasies too much in this review, but, genuinely, all I could think about while reading was that I wished more romantasies were like this one.
I really enjoyed the main characters, who were fun as individuals and as a couple. I enjoyed several aspects about their relationships with other characters, particularly the fact that Bianca had a romantic history with someone else. So often, romance stories start and end with one "first sight" love interest, which so rarely mirrors the real world. I also liked that the old fling was a lady--even though the end couple was between a man and a woman, the world doesn't adhere to boring heteronormativity.
Bianca was a fun heroine who expressed herself better with swords than with words. I really appreciated the mystery around her disability as well, particularly since the author shares it with her. It's always nice to see disabilities portrayed in fantasy worlds, and honestly makes them way more realistic.
Aric was also such a fresh breath of air as the love interest. In all the popular romantasies of today, the men are always these sultry, broad-chested shadow magicians with dark hair, husky voices, and tragic backstories. Aric is none of those things--he's honestly just a book nerd whose wife beats up people on his behalf, and I love that for him. His strength comes from his intelligence, and it's no less important to the overall story.
If I had one qualm, it was during a particular scene in the book