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A review by pencilled_robin
Winter's Orbit by Everina Maxwell
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
This book felt very... fanfic-y, I guess is the best way to describe it? I can't pin down what exactly makes me feel that way but yeah. (And to be clear, I love fanfiction and I read a lot of it, but this book reminded me of all my least favourite tropes.)
It started off interesting, but devolved into endless rehashing of the same dynamics. Kiem starts to fall for Jainan, but pulls back. Jainan blames himself for being inadequate. Jainan starts to open up, but pulls back. Kiem blames himself for not giving him space to mourn. Over and over again, with an incredible amount of angst and self-loathing each time.
Their lack of communication irritated me so much - I spent a lot of time thinking "Oh my god, just talk to each other already!" When they finally got together, it was so sudden and the cycle had dragged on so long that I just didn't care anymore.
The book also spent a lot of time emphasising Jainan's abused-ness, in a way that felt like trauma porn. Almost everything we see about him is related either to that or his romance with Kiem, and as a consequence his character feels underdeveloped.
Aaaargh. Unbelievably frustrating book.
It started off interesting, but devolved into endless rehashing of the same dynamics. Kiem starts to fall for Jainan, but pulls back. Jainan blames himself for being inadequate. Jainan starts to open up, but pulls back. Kiem blames himself for not giving him space to mourn. Over and over again, with an incredible amount of angst and self-loathing each time.
Their lack of communication irritated me so much - I spent a lot of time thinking "Oh my god, just talk to each other already!" When they finally got together, it was so sudden and the cycle had dragged on so long that I just didn't care anymore.
The book also spent a lot of time emphasising Jainan's abused-ness, in a way that felt like trauma porn. Almost everything we see about him is related either to that or his romance with Kiem, and as a consequence his character feels underdeveloped.
Aaaargh. Unbelievably frustrating book.