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rachtmh's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Wickedly funny and very much a page turner. I barely wanted to put this book down!
The characters are brilliant, the plot is explosive, the representation is great, and the ending is pleasing.
You do need to be able to pay attention whilst reading to make the most of the ‘accent’ and language used in the writing/conversation.
I was pleased how the book turned out for most of the characters and didn’t feel like there were any loop holes or obvious loose threads.
Overall very funny and enjoyable.
The characters are brilliant, the plot is explosive, the representation is great, and the ending is pleasing.
You do need to be able to pay attention whilst reading to make the most of the ‘accent’ and language used in the writing/conversation.
I was pleased how the book turned out for most of the characters and didn’t feel like there were any loop holes or obvious loose threads.
Overall very funny and enjoyable.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Death, Drug use, Grief, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism
Minor: Cursing, Gun violence, Violence, Kidnapping, and Fire/Fire injury
Representation: Infertility, LGBTQIA+, mental and physical illness.basil_touche's review
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I'll just say right off the bat that I found this book extremely disappointing.
At first I was really into the victorian style of writing and a story involving magical female bodyguards with a sapphic romance on the side. But then the book dropped the bodyguarding aspect less than 100 pages into it and insteadfocuses on the characters starting a drug ring to catch a murderer. The blurb for this focused solely on the bodyguarding aspect and I wouldn't minded the change had it actually turned out to be anything interesting, but it just wasn't. I was expecting some deep governmental conspiracy that links in with the classism that the book features (I will give the book that it handles that well), not a narrative that doesn't really deliver anything.
Around five chapters focused on just the romance andthe building of the drug producing laboratory, it was a repetitive cycle of working on in the lab, luncheon, flirting and resting. It was just so dragged out and unnecessary. All this meant that the ending was extremely rushed and we aren't even given a motive for the antagonist. All the characters are rather one dimensional as well, that by the end of it I didn't care about any of them or if the romance between the protagonist and the rich half-troll clanner worked out in the end.
It's a real shame as I love the idea of a fantasy book set in a victorian setting with the period appropriate writing style but this book just did not fullfill anything for me. Waste of time.
At first I was really into the victorian style of writing and a story involving magical female bodyguards with a sapphic romance on the side. But then the book dropped the bodyguarding aspect less than 100 pages into it and instead
Around five chapters focused on just the romance and
It's a real shame as I love the idea of a fantasy book set in a victorian setting with the period appropriate writing style but this book just did not fullfill anything for me. Waste of time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, and Drug use
Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Death, Vomit, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Classism
Minor: Sexual content and Suicide
fayeferre's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
inspiring
reflective
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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Murder
laurel616's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
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? It's complicated
4.25
While it took me a moment to get into the writing/slang, after I did I really enjoyed it. There is a very creative magical system in play, but it often left me quite confused as to what people's actual powers were. Overall an enjoyable read that keep pretty good pacing throughout the entire story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Drug abuse, and Drug use
Moderate: Murder
Minor: Gore
pibbit's review
dark
lighthearted
medium-paced
- 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? Yes
3.25
I enjoyed the premise and plot as a whole (took me a little while to get into the writing style) but the pace felt uneven. Some bits dragged and the ending was wrapped up too quickly.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction and Drug use
mika_ha's review
adventurous
challenging
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
When english is not ur nativ langue it's hard to read in the beginning the characters have a heavy accent esp3in the beginning but it adds to there charm. Only thing I didn't like was the end the last chapters seemed rushed could've added a few more pages to keep the pace of the rest of the story. And give It a nice round ending
Content Warnings
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Alcohol
bobin's review
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Abandonment
Moderate: Suicide
lbelow's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
4.5
This is one of my favourite books. The prose seems overly flowery at first until you realize that it isn't how everyone talks/thinks, it's how Delly does. By then, you're well and truly hooked into a rollicking ride filled with romance, mystery, a little light crime, a broken mother-daughter relationship not too far to fix, and a whole cast of strong female characters. This is always a fun read!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Violence, Murder, and Alcohol
Minor: Sexual content
katrinepoetry's review
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Be prepared to be transported to an alternative world Victorian in style and with a dash of D&D thrown into the mix. The style writing style takes a little time to get used to, but once it is you will love it for its quirks and unique insults!
Meanwhile, the characters are rough, calculated and, most of all, lovable. It got a little bit of danger, a little bit of adventure, and a good dose of arguing. Not to mention a skeleton mouse which makes unpleasant gong sounds!
All in all, a fun fantasy story with twists and turns you'll not see coming.
Meanwhile, the characters are rough, calculated and, most of all, lovable. It got a little bit of danger, a little bit of adventure, and a good dose of arguing. Not to mention a skeleton mouse which makes unpleasant gong sounds!
All in all, a fun fantasy story with twists and turns you'll not see coming.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Violence, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
wishbea's review against another edition
The second I put this book down I realised I didn't care about the characters and I had no interest in what happens next in the story.
The chapter titles seem like they're trying to be funny but come across as pretentious. The author's commitment to the very unique narrative voice is impressive, but attempting to understanding Delly and all the made up slang made reading this book a chore. The pacing is dreadful too, which doesn't help.
The classism is done in an interesting way and the queernorm society was intriguing at least.
The chapter titles seem like they're trying to be funny but come across as pretentious. The author's commitment to the very unique narrative voice is impressive, but attempting to understanding Delly and all the made up slang made reading this book a chore. The pacing is dreadful too, which doesn't help.
The classism is done in an interesting way and the queernorm society was intriguing at least.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual content, Murder, and Classism