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slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Not for me. Ignoring the actual romance and plot for now, I mainly got this because I wanted a modern retelling of an Arthurian tale and this is not it; it just uses the names of characters and places and nothing else from the legends, so I was disappointed.
Regarding the actual content, it's not really my thing. I thought Tristan acted way too differently with Isolde compared to Mark that he didn't feel like the same character. That he also takes on a more dom/sadist role with Isolde when he's a sub/masochist with Mark also feels like heteronormativity seeping into a bi romance, if that makes sense. The novel also feels like a really long prologue, setting up for the actual poly romance because Isolde and Mark don't actually meet in the novel until the very end and Tristan doesn't get to spend time in the company of both. I'd say it's a love triangle, but it's not even really a love triangle because of that, and more like a set-up for a love triangle (to become a poly?). I will say, it probably gives a lot of space and time to flesh out the foundation for the actual meat of the romance, so I can't really say it's a bad thing.
That said, I didn't dislike the entire book; I did think Tristan helping Isolde through her nightmares was nice and the non-sex scenes with Mark also helped flesh out their relationship. Again, I just think this is not my book because I'm not that into sex.
Regarding the actual content, it's not really my thing. I thought Tristan acted way too differently with Isolde compared to Mark that he didn't feel like the same character. That he also takes on a more dom/sadist role with Isolde when he's a sub/masochist with Mark also feels like heteronormativity seeping into a bi romance, if that makes sense. The novel also feels like a really long prologue, setting up for the actual poly romance because Isolde and Mark don't actually meet in the novel until the very end and Tristan doesn't get to spend time in the company of both. I'd say it's a love triangle, but it's not even really a love triangle because of that, and more like a set-up for a love triangle (to become a poly?). I will say, it probably gives a lot of space and time to flesh out the foundation for the actual meat of the romance, so I can't really say it's a bad thing.
That said, I didn't dislike the entire book; I did think Tristan helping Isolde through her nightmares was nice and the non-sex scenes with Mark also helped flesh out their relationship. Again, I just think this is not my book because I'm not that into sex.