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dalenora's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I guess despite not really loving this book I was still incredibly protective of the Poppy, so I was still into it to some extent. I just don’t really want that kind of abuse in my fantasy novels, it’s not my cup of tea.
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, and War
mlachevre's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
cait'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
Moderate: Ableism, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
skillyillian'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
3.75
There's really not a whole lot of plot until like. Literally halfway through. It's mostly Poppy fawning over Hawke and fretting about all of her ✨ activities ✨ being discovered. After the first fight she's actuslly involved in, things pick up more.
Poppy is naive, as someone in her position would be, and someone her age. I'm sure we're all shocked to see another completely unnecessarily barely legal FMC 🙄 but anyway she's also a little bit not super smart all the time? Hawke's true identity was pretty clear once they started getting closer and it had to be literally spelled out for her to get it. Idk. She's still pretty badass tho, seeing her fight against and completely defy the bullshit purity culture she was forced into was really satisfying. Hell yeah, you go girl, get dicked down like you deserve 🙌🏻 and her revenge moment against someone evil was just chef's kiss, 10/10, give her more swords right this instant.
Hawke is great, the banter and flirting were 10/10 and the way he knew she could and would hold her own and let her do it was so hot.
Anyway despite this not feeling super plot heavy and somehow still taking a while to get going, it was an entertaining read and I'll definitely continue with the series. The smut was fun. The banter was great, #1 way to keep me reading is with witty, flirty, steamy banter. This was that thing. I'm excited to see poppy come into her own as someone not chained down by evil shitlords and a foul purity culture. 🙏🏻
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cursing and Medical content
heathersinkwell's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Despite that, I found Poppy annoying and the plot was predictable. I think I accurately predicted every major plot point at least 200 pages before it happened.
Graphic: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, and Death of parent
Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Blood
elylibri's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
Graphic: Child death, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
koerli's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Torture, and Blood
silver_lining_in_a_book's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Fear and bravery are often one and the same. It either makes you a warrior or a coward. The only difference is the person it resides inside.
This book has problems - serious problems. I am not entirely sure how the questionable relationship at the heart of this book could have been given the Best Romance award for 2020, just as I am also not entirely sure why I read it, but here we are: people love this book and I've read it, just barely.
I cannot say that this book is bad in the slightest; it was entertaining, the world it was set in was complex and interesting, Poppy was a very likeable character, and (once we got through half of the book) we got a lot of action - plot-wise and otherwise. However, this is where my issues stem from. This romance was cringy at best and abusive and manipulative at worst. I really started to hate Poppy when her emotions oscillated between love and hate, loyalty and betrayal. After being so blatantly lied to and used, I would not put up with any boy, no matter how pretty his eyes were and how nice he smelled. I'm sorry if that isn't romantic.
I am also so over the abused yet strong main character in YA / New Adult fantasy novels. Having as much power and spirit as Poppy did would be near impossible in the abusive environment she was in and, if she truly was as powerful as the novel suggests, surely she would have stood up for herself sooner. In addition to that, who can forget about the whole pure Maiden side plot (yes, side plot because - let's be honest - the smut is the main plot)? I am not a fan; constant discussions of "naughty" acts, being "inappropriate" and just sexual relationships, in general, do not a fantasy novel make, though they certainly make the word count.
Now, I know that my mediocre experience is an anomaly here. If a dark, dystopian fantasy with a huge emphasis on romance, death and all your typical tropes (vampires, werewolves, a mysterious dark prince from another land, etc.) sounds like a good time for you, this book is worth a shot. Armentrout's writing is very readable due to its almost stream-of-consciousness quality with a sprinkling of very quotable lines throughout is nothing to complain about. I may give her other series a shot for this reason; I just hope there will be no mention of "honeydew", that was a choice.
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Sexism, Kidnapping, and Grief
Minor: Confinement, Domestic abuse, and Toxic relationship
eleek0609'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
4.0
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
elbow1227's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Rape, and Slavery