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A review by k_cao_xai
The Lily and the Crown by Roslyn Sinclair
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I’m here for the lesbian gardeners in space.
Character Impressions:
Ariana “Ari” Geiker
Ari is a botanist on Nahtal Station who’s naïve and reserved, but underneath her timid exterior is a brilliant woman who cares about life. You learn early on why she prefers plants to people and it makes sense why she would rather avoid them as much as possible, but seeing her grow out of her shell as the story progresses made me want to root for her to take on the world.
Assistant
You’re probably going to figure out early on who Assistant really is and that’s probably the point cause it’s Ari who’s clueless. The story is entirely from Ari’s perspective so Assistant remains mysterious and cold for most of the story, even her real name isn’t known until near the end.
However, her cold and standoffish demeanor softens at how kind Ari is towards her. The more time she spends with Ari, the more we get to see other sides of Assistant; her morals, hints of her past, her ambitions and dreams.
Ari is a botanist on Nahtal Station who’s naïve and reserved, but underneath her timid exterior is a brilliant woman who cares about life. You learn early on why she prefers plants to people and it makes sense why she would rather avoid them as much as possible, but seeing her grow out of her shell as the story progresses made me want to root for her to take on the world.
Assistant
You’re probably going to figure out early on who Assistant really is and that’s probably the point cause it’s Ari who’s clueless. The story is entirely from Ari’s perspective so Assistant remains mysterious and cold for most of the story, even her real name isn’t known until near the end.
However, her cold and standoffish demeanor softens at how kind Ari is towards her. The more time she spends with Ari, the more we get to see other sides of Assistant; her morals, hints of her past, her ambitions and dreams.
Minor Characters:
Lord Geiker: Stationmaster of Nahtal Station. Ari’s father. He’s not in the story much, but when he is, you know the guy’s all business. People respect him and they’re respectful towards Ari because of him.
Story Impressions:
I absolutely love that the main story was just these two women bonding over plants while a far-distant war waged in the background. Assistant slowly opening up due to Ari and Ari becoming more social because of Assistant was an experience.
I’ve only got three gripes with the story though.
1) Assistant should have had to work way harder to get Ari’s love back, because the way she left Ari was just heartbreaking. Ari didn’t even get the chance to voice how hurt she was, but the moment Assistant touched Ari, Ari just forgot the heartache and forgave her. Come on, let Assistant prove her love for Ari without using sex.
2) I would have liked the epilogue chapter to be from Assistant’s POV instead of some Kazir diplomat dude I don’t care about.
And 3) In the epilogue, I kind of wished Ari didn’t go back to her old anti-social, focus-on-plants-only mindset. I liked that her botany projects were now for something greater, but it would have been nice to see what changed about her. She did make some friends at the station, like with Dr. Eylen, and she doesn’t have to become a social butterfly, but I think it would have shown her growth if she had been with Assistant when Assistant met with the Kazir leader, just to show how different Ari is compared to the beginning when she always avoided those types of meetings. And then, of course, she can go back to her plants.
But it’s really just me nitpicking.
Also, Cranli deserved better.
On a positive note, the story is low angst and drama free, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t any emotional bits. There were two scenes that made me bawl my eyes.The scene where Assistant left Ari without a word and when Ari broke down saying her father didn’t want her. Oh, my heart! Which is what I love about the author’s writing. It never feels jarring when the emotion transitions from one to a hundred.
I’ve only got three gripes with the story though.
2) I would have liked the epilogue chapter to be from Assistant’s POV instead of some Kazir diplomat dude I don’t care about.
And 3) In the epilogue, I kind of wished Ari didn’t go back to her old anti-social, focus-on-plants-only mindset. I liked that her botany projects were now for something greater, but it would have been nice to see what changed about her. She did make some friends at the station, like with Dr. Eylen, and she doesn’t have to become a social butterfly, but I think it would have shown her growth if she had been with Assistant when Assistant met with the Kazir leader, just to show how different Ari is compared to the beginning when she always avoided those types of meetings. And then, of course, she can go back to her plants.
But it’s really just me nitpicking.
Also, Cranli deserved better.
On a positive note, the story is low angst and drama free, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t any emotional bits. There were two scenes that made me bawl my eyes.
Highlights:
- Highlight 1: The audiobook. Come on, you cannot not buy it when it’s narrated by the brilliantly talented Angela Dawe.
- Highlight 2: Steamy and well written sex scenes.
- Highlight 3: Mysterious love interest with a secret identity.
- Highlight 4: Cinnamon roll heroine.
- Highlight 5: Love interest returning to get the girl.
- Highlight 6: Main leads are together for 90% of the story.
- Highlight 7: Beautiful cover art.
My Personal Tags About the Book:
- Justice for Cranli
- Explicit sex scenes
- Age gap romance
- Lesbians in space
- Grumpy/sunshine pairing
- Little to no drama
- Happily-ever-after