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fronk10's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The story was enjoyable enough, but such a prominent voice from the narrator really threw me out of all the drama and immersion.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Transphobia, and Murder
wjb11's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape and Murder
Moderate: Homophobia
abby_can_read's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
📱
This wasn't a book for me. I really wanted to like it. I thought the summary was good and I kept trying to like it. I didn't connect with the characters or the plot.
This wasn't a book for me. I really wanted to like it. I thought the summary was good and I kept trying to like it. I didn't connect with the characters or the plot.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Death, Sexual content, and Transphobia
Minor: Racism, Slavery, and Death of parent
cosypuck's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Loved the tone, vibes and concept of this but as other people have mentioned, it felt like two plots crammed into one book and the romance wasn't overly believable.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Murder
Minor: Rape and Transphobia
the_vegan_bookworm's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.5
In many ways, this read like a sapphic story by someone who was uncomfortable with telling a sapphic story. The romance was poorly developed, the characters were flat and unlikeable as romantic leads, and the fade to black for sexual content was awkward to me.
I also felt really uncomfortable with the narrator being a person spying on the romantic leads throughout, including during intimate time between them.
With this said, it is a funny book and a good satire. If you go into it expecting that instead of a romance, you might like it more than I did.
I also felt really uncomfortable with the narrator being a person spying on the romantic leads throughout, including during intimate time between them.
With this said, it is a funny book and a good satire. If you go into it expecting that instead of a romance, you might like it more than I did.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Stalking, and Murder
Moderate: Gore and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexual content
kay_w's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
slow-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? It's complicated
3.75
A great book but the last third started slow and then began to feel rushed towards the end.
I loved the whole concept and execution of the narrator. Without it I don’t think I would’ve have enjoyed the book as much.
I’m very keen to read more of Alexis Hall’s books.
I loved the whole concept and execution of the narrator. Without it I don’t think I would’ve have enjoyed the book as much.
I’m very keen to read more of Alexis Hall’s books.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Cursing, Death, Misogyny, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Racism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, Stalking, Death of parent, and Classism
Minor: Child abuse, Rape, Sexism, Slavery, Excrement, Lesbophobia, Abandonment, Alcohol, and War
idesofjaim's review
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
This is my first foray into Alexis Hall's work so I went in without any expectations. I picked this out on Libby as a Pride month read and was drawn in by the artwork, which is stunning.
I feel just fine about this book. It was a fun listen, but not an exceptionally memorable story. The main romance didn't make sense to me; I ultimately could not tell you why Maelys and Georgianna came together other than proximity and convenience (well, other than Mae likely having a sort of "I can fix her" view of Georgianna). I also don't know Georgianna's motivation to help Maelys, other than her own experiences with a curse. The spice was... just fine. I've read better. And while I know that "f***" is not an unheard of word for the time period, Georgianna forcing Mae to say it didn't do anything for me. Maybe that's a personal thing; I do personally love the wordplay used in books set in the Regency era to mask the direct meaning of "yeah I wanna tap that."
The reveal of the one who cursed Maelys was also a bit anti-climactic, and it felt as though there should have been more drama around why that person was motivated to do it. After the reveal, it felt like the interactions Mae had with other individuals in society were meant to hint at a more convoluted plot against her, which unfortunately was not the case.
Overall, I think there were plenty of things laid out in the plot that could have flourished into something greater but were not used to their full potential. Which is odd, considering the length of this book; it's not as if there wasn't space to do it. While I did like Robin, the hobgoblin narrator, I do agree with others that a romance novel was not benefited by them being there. And you're either going to love or hate Miss Bickle. She grew on me, I won't lie.
I feel just fine about this book. It was a fun listen, but not an exceptionally memorable story. The main romance didn't make sense to me; I ultimately could not tell you why Maelys and Georgianna came together other than proximity and convenience (well, other than Mae likely having a sort of "I can fix her" view of Georgianna). I also don't know Georgianna's motivation to help Maelys, other than her own experiences with a curse. The spice was... just fine. I've read better. And while I know that "f***" is not an unheard of word for the time period, Georgianna forcing Mae to say it didn't do anything for me. Maybe that's a personal thing; I do personally love the wordplay used in books set in the Regency era to mask the direct meaning of "yeah I wanna tap that."
The reveal of the one who cursed Maelys was also a bit anti-climactic, and it felt as though there should have been more drama around why that person was motivated to do it. After the reveal, it felt like the interactions Mae had with other individuals in society were meant to hint at a more convoluted plot against her, which unfortunately was not the case.
Overall, I think there were plenty of things laid out in the plot that could have flourished into something greater but were not used to their full potential. Which is odd, considering the length of this book; it's not as if there wasn't space to do it. While I did like Robin, the hobgoblin narrator, I do agree with others that a romance novel was not benefited by them being there. And you're either going to love or hate Miss Bickle. She grew on me, I won't lie.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
garbage_mcsmutly's review
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-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? It's complicated
4.25
A delightful adventure of two young women's love, in a magical version of regency England that's full of witches and fairies and old gods and magic. I sometimes have trouble getting into sapphic romances but this one was a quick easy read that grabbed me right away. The narrative framing was great.
The whodunnit that we start with seemed very obvious, but then it turned out to not be the real focus of the story, so I was more okay with it having been obvious. The rest of the story was well done.
And Alexis Hall always treats the characters (especially the queer ones) with the respect and nuance they deserve, which I really appreciate.
The whodunnit that we start with seemed very obvious, but then it turned out to not be the real focus of the story, so I was more okay with it having been obvious. The rest of the story was well done.
And Alexis Hall always treats the characters (especially the queer ones) with the respect and nuance they deserve, which I really appreciate.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Sexual content, and Murder
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Gun violence, Racism, Blood, Kidnapping, and Classism
Minor: Rape, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Despite all the content warnings, this was a pretty easy, low-to-medium stakes read; nothing terribly traumatic to most readers.dragongirl271's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Death, Murder, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Racism and Death of parent
20sidedbi's review
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
slow-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? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death and Blood
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Transphobia, Violence, Kidnapping, and Murder
Minor: Racism, Sexual violence, and Classism