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erika_winters's reviews
26 reviews
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Eddy Carmichael goes through a lot in this book—which is an understatement after you read this. She is strong, independent, resilient, talented, and determined. I loved how confident she is and is never easily swayed by those around her, except for Rhine Fontaine, who is immediately charming from the moment he finds Eddy in the desert. The complexity of his story pertains to passing as white, and that is something that doesn’t get discussed enough in history and fictional books, I feel. Jenkins’s decision to utilize something so socially complex made the story more interesting IMO.
Overall, if you’re interested in a romance set in the Wild West with the backdrop of the gold rush happening, along with a layered discussion of racism and systemic oppression in the US as it tried to reshape itself differently after Slavery, I recommend this book. I also thoroughly enjoyed the small town of Virginia City, Nevada with all the many lovely and interesting townspeople (the ones who aren’t racist; albeit these folks are historically and socially accurate) you meet along the way who made the story feel more real and complete.
Final thought: I wish it were more heavy on the romance element, but I understand what Jenkins was doing here (wanting to balance the historical placement of the story alongside the heated romance between Eddy & Rhine). Great character development throughout though and sets everything up for the next book quite well!
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery
Moderate: Blood, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexual content
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Homophobia
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Toxic relationship
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Medical content
Minor: Death of parent, Abandonment
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Murder
Moderate: Mental illness
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Mental illness
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Addiction, Body shaming, Drug use, Sexual content, Suicide
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Moderate: Grief, Death of parent
Minor: Sexual content
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Physical abuse, Blood, Grief, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Rape, Abortion
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
I really loved Sara Raasch’s choice to write about social issues like
This book will rip you apart and put you back together—creating little bits of joy one-by-one to create a foundation (iykyk). I can’t wait to read the second book with Kris as the narrator!
Moderate: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Grief, Abandonment
Minor: Death, Car accident
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Ilya and Shane might be my favorite fictional couple of all time because of their competitive battles with each other on and off the ice, along with their playful banter, all while trying to push away their feelings for each other—when they were most definitely there for a good portion of the hookups—for so long. Their romance was believable and slowly burned throughout every page, even if their sexual attraction was always there. I can’t wait to read the follow-up story involving these two characters (which is the sixth book in the series, so I have a few to tackle until I read about Ilya and Shane again). If you love hockey, and an author who really knows what she’s talking about when it comes to hockey, pick this book up! By far the best hockey romance I’ve read other than her other book (not in this series) called Time to Shine, which I HIGHLY recommend!
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Homophobia, Death of parent
Minor: Medical content, Injury/Injury detail
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Forced institutionalization
Minor: Body shaming, Abandonment, Colonisation