mustreadsapphic 's review for:

A Body Not Her Own by Eileen Farren

5.0

adventurous dark hopeful inspiring tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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Thanks so much to the author, Eileen Farren, for the free ARC copy.

All thoughts/opinions in this review are my own.

✨ Sapphic Adult Fantasy

✨ Third Person

✨ 3/5 Spice Level

✨ Unique Magic System

✨ First in a Series

> micro-tropes and content warnings after review

I am somewhat at a loss for words (in a good way). I was extremely excited to read A Body Not Her Own since a lot of the themes resonated with me. Swore wielding FMC? Yes, please! Feminine rage? Give it to me. I love reading books with strong FMCs. 

I really enjoyed the main character, Enid. I appreciated her strength and her strong sense of justice. While there were times I found myself begging Enid not to do the thing she was about to do, I was able to understand where she was coming from and her motivations. Was it always the right choice? Probably not. However her heart was always in it and being able to understand where she was coming from made these choices less frustrating. I really just wanted her to succeed and have all the good things.

The teamwork between the main characters and side characters was great to see. There are so many lovable characters within this book. At a certain point, the characters split off into several groups and the chapters start to switch between each of these story arcs which I quite liked. I was flipping pages wanting to find out what happened next and felt very invested.

I love the romance between Enid and Locke. It starts as a one night stand, and of course feelings start to grow. But the flirtation between them is great, and I love their dynamic. There is absolutely a touch her and die theme, but at the same time there is this dynamic of them working together and helping each other (as opposed to the damsel in distress dynamic). I thought this dynamic was refreshing and made for a very enjoyable romance.

On a fundamental level, the writing is solid. This is Eileen’s debut novel, but it is clear she knows what she’s doing and is well versed in writing. The pacing of the story worked well for me, especially since there will be a second book.

I don’t want to spoil anything, but I will say when I finished A Body Not Her Own I immediately had to tell everyone about it. I felt so strongly that I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it, and I am looking forward to the second book to see where the story goes. I cannot wait to see what Eileen does next on this and other projects in the future. I highly recommend A Body Not Her Own if you’re a fan of fantasy, strong (sword wielding) FMCs, feminine rage, and unique magic systems.

(beware potential spoilers below)

Micro-tropes

✨ Hair washing

✨ A bodyguard just trying her best despite her client

✨ jealousy/possessiveness

✨ “Look at me”

✨ “So eager”

Content Warnings
(may not be all inclusive)

de*th, graphic violence, mild g*re, t*rture, m*rder, violence against children, s*xually explicit material, d*smembering, d*semboweling, su*cide/ideation, PTSD/trauma