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A review by the_real_shawna_v
By The Orchid And The Owl by Mariah Montoya
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
3.0
I was upset enough about a scene in this book that I had to read a couple of palate cleansers before coming back to review it. The troubling scene involved sexual violence, a scene which “replays” (though as a memory and in an abbreviated form) at a later time in the book. It was graphic and shockingly violent, especially considering the players involved in the imagination-contrived scene.
In my opinion, the same result could have been achieved in a dozen different ways that did not involve one character perpetrating SA against another character, and an editor or sensitivity reader should have suggested alternatives.
I did enjoy the overall plot, characters, and the world building, but based on that one scene (and revisiting it with the promise of revisiting it AGAIN in future books in the series), I cannot blindly recommend this book.
If I enjoy a book well enough to finish it, it gets an automatic 3.0 stars, as I DNF a LOT of books. This would have likely been a 4.0 for me if not for that scene.
A more detailed content warning is in my further information below, but it does contain slight spoilers.
In my opinion, the same result could have been achieved in a dozen different ways that did not involve one character perpetrating SA against another character, and an editor or sensitivity reader should have suggested alternatives.
I did enjoy the overall plot, characters, and the world building, but based on that one scene (and revisiting it with the promise of revisiting it AGAIN in future books in the series), I cannot blindly recommend this book.
If I enjoy a book well enough to finish it, it gets an automatic 3.0 stars, as I DNF a LOT of books. This would have likely been a 4.0 for me if not for that scene.
A more detailed content warning is in my further information below, but it does contain slight spoilers.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault and Sexual content
SEXUAL VIOLENCE WARNING: The scene in question is a false memory created by the FMC’s love interest, but involves him using his magical gift to create a false memory of (graphic) sexual violence perpetrated *by him* (the love interest) against the FMC. The reason he gave for creating that false memory from his off-the-cuff imagination brings his own character/sexual predator-ness into question for me as a reader. Bringing it back near the end of the book only solidified my disgust that he would even imagine such a thing about the person he supposedly loves. So many other false memories of his supposed betrayal could have served the same purpose with less risk of triggering victims of SA or alienating readers. An editor or sensitivity reader should have suggested an alternative.