ariabones's review
4.0
“Don’t you d-dare say you’re ugly or stupid or w-worthless. Don’t you dare! Y-you’re a giant because an ordinary man’s body is t-too small for what you are.”
Have you ever read a book that consumed your body and soul, that you found yourself up at 3 am trying to finish it? This standalone fantasy romance book follows Brute. He’s insanely tall, a giant among men and very ugly. His father was a murdered thief and his mother committed suicide. With his family's reputation and his unusual features, he is mistreated, abused and constantly told of how worthless he is. Reading him suffer at the hands of other people was so painful. Reading him believe all those awful words was worse.
An opportunity gets him away from his life and into the palace where he is given a comfortable life with the job of looking after one of the prisoners in the Brown Tower. The man has been convicted as a witch and as a traitor and is living as a shell of a man, experiencing haunting nightmares of the future. This man is Gray Leynham. Brute offers a simple kindness to the broken man and this kindness, simple human decency, is strange to him. When asked why, Brute answers:
“I don’t know. It doesn’t… it doesn’t cost me anything to do these things, does it? And I’ve never really had the chance before to—well, I don’t know.”
This is a story about love, about friendship, about forgiveness. It’s about learning your worth and recognizing that no matter your physical appearances or mistakes you’ve made in the past, you deserve respect, you deserve kindness, you deserve love.
anya_doesntmatter's review
4.0
Small spoilers:
This is one of those which you'll fall in love with the characters despite the storyline being pretty thin. There's also very little sex in the story and the little bit written requires you to use your imagination. This is def. a Cinderfella feel good story. Overall I enjoyed this story andthe voice the author assumed in order to tell it.
This is one of those which you'll fall in love with the characters despite the storyline being pretty thin. There's also very little sex in the story and the little bit written requires you to use your imagination. This is def. a Cinderfella feel good story. Overall I enjoyed this story andthe voice the author assumed in order to tell it.
tinkcourtney's review
5.0
Just wonderful!
This was great - I loved Brute/Aric, a simple man with no ego and a kind heart. There’s a moment that for me pretty much defines the book, where he says he’s not a hero, he just does what he sees needs to be done, and the other responds with “that’s what a hero is.”
The love story is sweet and gradual and deep. I was having a hard time envisioning how everything could work out, but I was satisfied with the resolution (and even had happy tears at one point - yeah, I’m a sap).
This was great - I loved Brute/Aric, a simple man with no ego and a kind heart. There’s a moment that for me pretty much defines the book, where he says he’s not a hero, he just does what he sees needs to be done, and the other responds with “that’s what a hero is.”
The love story is sweet and gradual and deep. I was having a hard time envisioning how everything could work out, but I was satisfied with the resolution (and even had happy tears at one point - yeah, I’m a sap).
brimmsy's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
ezichinny's review
3.0
It was a nice story about a one armed giant and a blind man who found hope and strength in each other. It was enjoyable and written well. I enjoyed both MCs and felt sympathy for their plight. I was hoping for something more moving at the end, but I guess I will settle for the MCs "meditating".
see_sadie_read's review
3.0
3.5
I thought this book was ok, but ultimately a bit of a disappointment. This is partly because I went in really expecting to love it and ended up just liking it, which is fine, really. Normally that would be enough, but when you have especially high hopes, ok feels far worse than it is.
There were several things I didn't like about the book, but let me start by saying how much I did like Brute, Gray and the characters of the palace. Plus, I loved that the main characters are a bit older, both physically disabled (one a maimed, ugly, giant and the other blind, stuttering, and emaciated) and this is a really sweet read. I liked the book, but the following things were an issue for me.
I was uncomfortable with the power dynamic in a romance between a prisoner and a guard. Yes, the prisoner is the one who initiates the relationship. Brute is not supposed to have taken advantage of Gray in any way. You can tell that from the text. But I was still never comfortable with it. There are too many ways it could go wrong and too many ways that Gray's psychological state surely were effected. I just couldn't be comfortable with it.
The book is slow. It takes a long time for Brute to even meet Gray, and then a long time for anything to progress between them, and even once it does, there's still a lot of book left. Because of this it did seem to drag at times.
I couldn't buy how Brute's life went from being so horrible in his village to being all hearts and rainbows as soon as he moved to the palace. Was there really not one kind person in his whole previous 27 years? Was there really not one jerk he encountered in the city? It was too stark a difference and honestly just felt clumsily done.
Lastly, everything was too easy. For over a year Brute and Gray were never once interrupted, never once caught doing anything they shouldn't. Then there is the whole last adventure, which I won't spoil, but it's all too easy. Until, in the end, a happily ever after is just dropped in their lap without their even pursuing it. People suddenly let old hurts go and forgive each other before running off into the sunset.
All in all, a sweet read that I'm glad to have spent time with, but not the home run I had hoped for.
I thought this book was ok, but ultimately a bit of a disappointment. This is partly because I went in really expecting to love it and ended up just liking it, which is fine, really. Normally that would be enough, but when you have especially high hopes, ok feels far worse than it is.
There were several things I didn't like about the book, but let me start by saying how much I did like Brute, Gray and the characters of the palace. Plus, I loved that the main characters are a bit older, both physically disabled (one a maimed, ugly, giant and the other blind, stuttering, and emaciated) and this is a really sweet read. I liked the book, but the following things were an issue for me.
I was uncomfortable with the power dynamic in a romance between a prisoner and a guard. Yes, the prisoner is the one who initiates the relationship. Brute is not supposed to have taken advantage of Gray in any way. You can tell that from the text. But I was still never comfortable with it. There are too many ways it could go wrong and too many ways that Gray's psychological state surely were effected. I just couldn't be comfortable with it.
The book is slow. It takes a long time for Brute to even meet Gray, and then a long time for anything to progress between them, and even once it does, there's still a lot of book left. Because of this it did seem to drag at times.
I couldn't buy how Brute's life went from being so horrible in his village to being all hearts and rainbows as soon as he moved to the palace. Was there really not one kind person in his whole previous 27 years? Was there really not one jerk he encountered in the city? It was too stark a difference and honestly just felt clumsily done.
Lastly, everything was too easy. For over a year Brute and Gray were never once interrupted, never once caught doing anything they shouldn't. Then there is the whole last adventure, which I won't spoil, but it's all too easy. Until, in the end, a happily ever after is just dropped in their lap without their even pursuing it. People suddenly let old hurts go and forgive each other before running off into the sunset.
All in all, a sweet read that I'm glad to have spent time with, but not the home run I had hoped for.
carmenreadsromance's review
5.0
So freaking good. If you love a good gentle giant that the world calls monster, who has an endless supply of kindness in him even as people underestimate and treat him poorly, you’ll probably love this book too.
stornierung's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5