imaginationindex's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
- Enemies-to-Lovers paired with a marriage of convenience with a sprinkling of sharing-one-bed and “that’s my wife”… 🙌🏻
- I loved the two secs of witches, Dames Rouges and Dames Blanches. I’m curious to learn more about the Blood Magic as well as
Spoiler
how Reid was able to do magic when we should have been dying 😅 - Ansel, you sweet boy! Coco, what a badass! I like how we flipped the script on traditional gender roles
- This is a perfect example of new adult stories; our characters are adults who can make their own decisions and swear.
- While the fantasy world was a total vibe, there are some moments where the religion aspect of the anti-witch stance gets to be a bit much. That might just be me but the Archbishop needed to relax 95% of the book
- I noticed a lot of re-explaining and telling. I get that we had the dual POV and catch up might have been needed, but I thought it was clearly shown so we could have saved ourselves a few pages.
- Genuine question, when were we? The France inspired world was cool but we had swords and monarchy, but full theatres and working bathrooms
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Vomit, Religious bigotry, Cursing, and Death of parent
fornaxjatt's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
BUT
If you carry on through, the story becomes incredible. I fell in love with both of the leads. Both characters developments through the book. The slow bloom romance is written perfectly. I'm writing this review a few months after I read the book and I've read many since but my mind always seems to come back to this.
Moderate: Religious bigotry
smuttymcbookface's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The characters themselves were well-written, both nuanced and flawed, and we were clearly able to see their struggles and trials as they developed into more understanding versions of themselves.
The only reason I've not given this 5* was that I found it to be a little too simplistic/YA at times, with some plots neatly lining up with one another, or ridiculously convenient plans (such as Coco being part of the infirmary and just happening to be able to take ownership of Lou).
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Violence, Xenophobia, and Misogyny
Moderate: Animal death and Sexual content
Minor: Death of parent
melissafelicia's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Blood, Religious bigotry, Abandonment, Sexism, and Violence
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, and Death of parent
Minor: Child death
zia_c's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
The plot is good but it's kinda confusing for me. There's no time reference and not much detail about the world. I don't even know the mmc's age.. lol.
Either way, I enjoyed reading it. The ending wasn't satisfactory nor was the 3rd part of the book but anyway. I'm rating this book on fmc alone.
It's been a very long time since I've found a fmc with a spine and a impressive mouth( not like that).
I don't know if I'll continue the series. I've got what I wanted and I can kinda see where the story's going so imma put in down for now. Reason is the YA writing style. The writing is beautiful and engaging, no doubt, but I still kinda not completely connect with it.
The story is good and I think those who enjoy YA will really like it.
Graphic: Sexism, Violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, and Vomit
Moderate: Sexual content and Infidelity
tragicdramatic23's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Religious bigotry
zoepagereader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Violence, Gore, Misogyny, Torture, Body horror, Murder, Religious bigotry, Cursing, Death, Grief, and War
Minor: Abandonment
zias's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Religious bigotry
Moderate: Violence and Blood
Minor: Sexual content
cosmicpasta's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.75
This sure was a book I finished. I waited a few days after actually finishing to write this so I dont have the same level of anger and try to be as fair as possible. Lots of others have said what I dont like in their reviews so I'm going to keep this brief.
This is book largely feels like a debut novel that was rushed in the editing or suggestions were largely ignored. The pacing was inconsistent as was the tone, with poorly placed humor in between scenes that should've been more serious. Especially the use if the annoying bar song characters kept using in the worst times. Theme wise, it is incredibly white feminist who recently was told she needed to be more intersectional but doesn't know how. So any feminist ideas that don't conform to white cishet women is played poorly
Spoiler
such as the use of "they are only female if they can have babies" or the catalyst of the story being "women fake sexual assult".Character wise, the main characters were really lacking for me. Lou is constantly called smart and clever but majority of the book I found myself yelling because she was constantly making the stupid choice. Reid was slightly better but he still fell flat when it came to connecting clear dots. Not to mention their relationship did not click for me because while I love enemies to lovers, there is a difference between "different sides fall in love" and
Spoiler
one love interest is part of a group that has a history of killing minorities and children, both you read in detail.All in all, it was a messy, disjointed time that ended up being more aggravating in the end than enjoyable for me.
Graphic: Death, Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Kidnapping, Violence, Blood, Body horror, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body shaming
bookcheshirecat's review against another edition
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
1.0
Graphic: Sexual content, Murder, Death, Sexism, Misogyny, Violence, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Confinement, Child abuse, Toxic relationship, and Self harm
Minor: Sexual assault, Acephobia/Arophobia, Suicide, and Sexual harassment