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sanderson_25's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
sad
medium-paced
- 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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Self harm
sharon_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
I really enjoyed this book. First fantasy book I’ve read since the middle of 2024 and it held up. The romance was sweet and I loved seeing Talen and Gemma come together. But I did find there was a lot of back and fourth with their romance that could have been cut out for the sake of time.
As much as I loved our Gemma, once I hit 75%, the referencing to the panic, her pain, etc got to be a little much and didn’t need to be repeated EVERY chapter. It was never expanded on, and it always the same explanations. I know there is much more at play, but saying the amount of times she wakes up to pain, and it being the same old ordinary pain of everyday life is not needed all the time.
As for the fantasy, the world is super interesting. I was curious to learn more as I started reading, and as we dove deeper, I was interested but also felt like things weren’t being explained? Despite enjoying the side plots, I felt it took away from the main story and where the book was going. In the last 15%, stopping in the middle of our conclusion and final reveal, to have this side plot be brought forward again was a tad bit annoying and I don’t think it was needed since I felt like our characters could have come together as a team without it, and it would have been more powerful?
I’m still excited for the next book, even though I’m not sure where they are going to go from here. But I look forward to reading.
As much as I loved our Gemma, once I hit 75%, the referencing to the panic, her pain, etc got to be a little much and didn’t need to be repeated EVERY chapter. It was never expanded on, and it always the same explanations. I know there is much more at play, but saying the amount of times she wakes up to pain, and it being the same old ordinary pain of everyday life is not needed all the time.
As for the fantasy, the world is super interesting. I was curious to learn more as I started reading, and as we dove deeper, I was interested but also felt like things weren’t being explained? Despite enjoying the side plots, I felt it took away from the main story and where the book was going. In the last 15%, stopping in the middle of our conclusion and final reveal, to have this side plot be brought forward again was a tad bit annoying and I don’t think it was needed since I felt like our characters could have come together as a team without it, and it would have been more powerful?
I’m still excited for the next book, even though I’m not sure where they are going to go from here. But I look forward to reading.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide
vixairy's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence
cehanzen's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, and Sexual content
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Body shaming
sailorlune's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
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
5.0
We love to see representation! Our FMC has chronic pain and panic attacks and unaliving ideations, and she’s also a badass!! Girly doesn’t have magic, in fact, magic hurts her and makes her sick, but her whole damn family does. One night at a ball, she meets a new potential ally of her father who is dead set on killing a rival family, the Basks. This stranger, Talan, is the most beautiful man she’s ever seen, and they embark to solve a mystery, stealing all of her focus away from the rest of the world. Many secrets and lies get revealed and the sisters are off on a trek to hopefully save Talan and the rest of the realms from someone very powerful. This has left a lot of questions to explore in the next books and has also wrapped Imogen’s story pretty well for now, but I’m excited to dig into Farrin’s brain space! I hope they collectively punch their dad in the face tho.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Chronic illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, and Suicidal thoughts
alexandcats14's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- 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
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Self harm and Suicidal thoughts
izzyreadswhilequilting's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Chronic illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Gaslighting, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
issiwerro's review against another edition
dark
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? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, and Murder
emeraldrina's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I enjoyed this book way more than I thought I would. At first Gemma is a very unloveable character, but as you learn more about her and her family you begin to sympathize with her. I’m not completely sold on her character development though - the switch from selfish to self-sacrificing was a bit abrupt. But her pain and panic attacks and self-harm were more believably dealt with.
I really enjoyed the world building and magic system. The mystery about the family heritage is interesting enough to make me want to read more. Although I figured out both “twists” before they were revealed, there were enough questions about them that the reveals were still intriguing.
The romance was the weakest part for me. Especially given the twist, it makes little sense to me how they fell in love so fast. And there are several points where Gemma is way too instantly forgiving. It felt like there was conflict stirred up then rapidly waved aside. Talan is also a bit bland, weirdly. He should be the most flawed and contradictory character, but instead he’s just whatever Gemma needs him to be. More real flaws and conflict would’ve made the romance more believable and interesting.
I really enjoyed the world building and magic system. The mystery about the family heritage is interesting enough to make me want to read more. Although I figured out both “twists” before they were revealed, there were enough questions about them that the reveals were still intriguing.
The romance was the weakest part for me. Especially given the twist, it makes little sense to me how they fell in love so fast. And there are several points where Gemma is way too instantly forgiving. It felt like there was conflict stirred up then rapidly waved aside. Talan is also a bit bland, weirdly. He should be the most flawed and contradictory character, but instead he’s just whatever Gemma needs him to be. More real flaws and conflict would’ve made the romance more believable and interesting.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, and Violence
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment
skippyapple's review against another edition
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm and Suicidal thoughts