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tragedies's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- 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
Hands down, this is my favorite book from the Stariel universe. I’ve loved Marius and Rakken since the beginning, so it’s no surprise that I ended up head over heels for this spinoff. We already saw the makings of their love story in the original series, but here, our resident anxiety-ridden botanist and bisexual disaster faerie prince finally take center stage. I love everything from the bickering that borders on flirting, their lovestruck and seemingly hopeless pining, the vulnerable conversations, and the soft intimate moments they share when one feels a little broken and bogged down by the weight of the world. All of this as the pair try to solve a murder. Though honestly, the only crime in this book was the lack of an epilogue. The ending was criminally short. I would’ve done anything just to get a glimpse of Marius and Rakken’s life together. Fingers crossed there would be a sequel or a follow-up story someday. Until then, I’ll be rereading this until the story’s tattooed in my brain.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Homophobia, Kidnapping, and Murder
itsnotalakeitsanocean's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
As a disclaimer I have not read the rest of the Stariel series as I was informed this book could be read as a standalone. To an extent I agree, but I do think I was missing some context for certain things but that was purely my fault for jumping in here. Also some of the content warnings I included reflected what the author put in the content warning included in the book.
I really enjoyed this book and genuinely got kind of sad when it ended (which is rare for me) because I grew to like the characters a lot. I think my only complaints were:
I really enjoyed this book and genuinely got kind of sad when it ended (which is rare for me) because I grew to like the characters a lot. I think my only complaints were:
- It was set up to be a murder mystery with the main pair solving a crime. Though they did do it, I think a lot of the plot meandered away from the murder mystery and I would have liked to have seen them do more investigative work because it was really fun seeing the magical world being explored that way. Like a lot of people I also found the murderer to be a bit predictable.
- I think the jump from terse-working-relationship-with-an-old-flame-that-spurned-me to friends with benefits was a bit steep, though I do think the journey from friends with benefits to lovers was a lot more nuanced and better plotted out.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Drug use, Blood, Trafficking, Stalking, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Homophobia, Sexual assault, and Toxic relationship
baroo92's review
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
I ADORED this. AJ Lancaster does such a great job with emotional tension between characters, and how bonds grow over time despite some characters' best efforts to avoid them. Everything about their relationship was so tasty, I really struggled to put the book down!!
This book is definitely ~spicy~ but I appreciate that not every single sex scene has to be written out. There are two clearly explicit sex scenes, but the rest of the time it's clearly explained that they've become fuckbuddies without the reader having to watch every second. I found that nice- it felt a little less voyeuristic to watch every single second. It also helped explain the steam between them- if they're fucking regularly, it makes sense that it comes up as a topic of conversation regularly. Sometimes spicy books have characters uncomfortably FIXATED on the physical, but in this instance there was an excellent balance between taking important things seriously and also undressing each other with their eyes in between. I also LOVED that they had admiration for each other outside of just being hot- they're both big ol' nerds, and I sometimes got more thrills from the characters talking about things they're passionate about than I did from the sex! Lancaster does such a great job building genuine relationships between all of their characters.
The only reason I take a SLIVER of a point off this book is that I was a little dissatisfied with the reveal of the murderer- it felt like hints were dropped SUPER HARD on one character, and then the reveal after not really relating to them at all felt a little meh. The drama after the reveal was still intense, but I was really hoping for a bigger shock/betrayal moment. I was also hoping for a little more on Marius' development of his powers- would love if Lancaster continues in this world/with these characters solving fae/mortal crimes in the future and exploring both Rake and Marius' magical skills together! I also would've liked a little more payoff on Thistlefel- I want to see more of what that loaf can do!
This book is definitely ~spicy~ but I appreciate that not every single sex scene has to be written out. There are two clearly explicit sex scenes, but the rest of the time it's clearly explained that they've become fuckbuddies without the reader having to watch every second. I found that nice- it felt a little less voyeuristic to watch every single second. It also helped explain the steam between them- if they're fucking regularly, it makes sense that it comes up as a topic of conversation regularly. Sometimes spicy books have characters uncomfortably FIXATED on the physical, but in this instance there was an excellent balance between taking important things seriously and also undressing each other with their eyes in between. I also LOVED that they had admiration for each other outside of just being hot- they're both big ol' nerds, and I sometimes got more thrills from the characters talking about things they're passionate about than I did from the sex! Lancaster does such a great job building genuine relationships between all of their characters.
The only reason I take a SLIVER of a point off this book is that I was a little dissatisfied with the reveal of the murderer- it felt like hints were dropped SUPER HARD on one character, and then the reveal after not really relating to them at all felt a little meh. The drama after the reveal was still intense, but I was really hoping for a bigger shock/betrayal moment. I was also hoping for a little more on Marius' development of his powers- would love if Lancaster continues in this world/with these characters solving fae/mortal crimes in the future and exploring both Rake and Marius' magical skills together! I also would've liked a little more payoff on Thistlefel- I want to see more of what that loaf can do!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder
Minor: Sexual assault and Toxic relationship
There is mention of a character's past sexual assault under the influence, and Lancaster does a really great job navigating that emotional wound with a character that is still very visibly sexually active. I LOVED the way they navigated that emotional hurdle together.