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A review by talknerdybookblog
Under a Northern Sky by L.L. Meyer
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Representation: POC main character, Gay supporting characters, Nonverbal side character, Achillean side relationship
Note: This book delves extensively into r@pe culture, which includes the Hero's ignorance of its pervasiveness in the town he governs.
I found it incredibly frustrating that the Hero's double standard when it came to victims of r@pe was never addressed:
The Hero arrests the man who beat and attempted to r@pe the Heroine (the 2nd time) and allows the criminal to officially challenge him (in a fight to the death) which restores the r@pists honour as a warrior.
Yet, later in the book, the Hero recounts that he challenged and then killed his father because he discovered his father ordered one of his soldiers to r@pe Gray (a man). This was his father's ploy to mentally break his son's only competition to be the next ruler. When the Hero discovers his father's soldier in the act, he immediately kills him and rescues Gray.
So, I'm curious: why does Gray's r@pist get an unhonourable death, yet the Heroine's attempted r@pist gets an honourable one?
Safety Rating: Safe with Exceptions
• No cheating
• Does have brief OW drama
- In the Hero's first POV he remarks on a tavern servant's lips and remarks how he'd like to hook up with her. But this thought is dropped and never revisited ( plus this OW is in a relationship with someone else in the book).
- Hero also remarks that he would've married a separate woman (she's in charge of nursing the Heroine back to health) if she hadn't gotten pregnant by an OM. As a result, he describes his relationship with this OW as weird (i.e., lots left unsaid). But that random thought is as far as the drama goes.
• Does have brief OM drama
- Hero is jealous of any man the Heroine smiles at / is kind to until they solidify their relationship
- Hero is very jealous to learn that the Heroine isn't a virgin and refuses to so much as hear her ex-lover's name
• Does have the Hero pushing the Heroine away
• No separation
Possible Triggers: Yes
• PTSD
• Murder of Heroine's family recounted
• Mutilation of the Heroine recounted (she was burned repeatedly with a boiling hot knife)
• Attempted r@pe of the Heroine (twice)
• R@pe of side character recounted
• Physical assault
• Whipping of the Heroine
• Misogyny
• Death of an infant recounted
• Grief
• Knife violence
• War
• Intimate partner violence recounted (between Hero's parents)
• Hero killed his father
• Imprisonment
• Confinement
• Starvation
Ending:HEA
Note: This book delves extensively into r@pe culture, which includes the Hero's ignorance of its pervasiveness in the town he governs.
I found it incredibly frustrating that the Hero's double standard when it came to victims of r@pe was never addressed:
The Hero arrests the man who beat and attempted to r@pe the Heroine (the 2nd time) and allows the criminal to officially challenge him (in a fight to the death) which restores the r@pists honour as a warrior.
Yet, later in the book, the Hero recounts that he challenged and then killed his father because he discovered his father ordered one of his soldiers to r@pe Gray (a man). This was his father's ploy to mentally break his son's only competition to be the next ruler. When the Hero discovers his father's soldier in the act, he immediately kills him and rescues Gray.
So, I'm curious: why does Gray's r@pist get an unhonourable death, yet the Heroine's attempted r@pist gets an honourable one?
Safety Rating: Safe with Exceptions
• No cheating
• Does have brief OW drama
- In the Hero's first POV he remarks on a tavern servant's lips and remarks how he'd like to hook up with her. But this thought is dropped and never revisited ( plus this OW is in a relationship with someone else in the book).
- Hero also remarks that he would've married a separate woman (she's in charge of nursing the Heroine back to health) if she hadn't gotten pregnant by an OM. As a result, he describes his relationship with this OW as weird (i.e., lots left unsaid). But that random thought is as far as the drama goes.
• Does have brief OM drama
- Hero is jealous of any man the Heroine smiles at / is kind to until they solidify their relationship
- Hero is very jealous to learn that the Heroine isn't a virgin and refuses to so much as hear her ex-lover's name
• Does have the Hero pushing the Heroine away
• No separation
Possible Triggers: Yes
• PTSD
• Murder of Heroine's family recounted
• Mutilation of the Heroine recounted (she was burned repeatedly with a boiling hot knife)
• Attempted r@pe of the Heroine (twice)
• R@pe of side character recounted
• Physical assault
• Whipping of the Heroine
• Misogyny
• Death of an infant recounted
• Grief
• Knife violence
• War
• Intimate partner violence recounted (between Hero's parents)
• Hero killed his father
• Imprisonment
• Confinement
• Starvation
Ending: