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
Spoiler
while I was kind of into the way the book explored organized religion and how harmful it can be when it’s used as a mechanism of control, I found the emphasis placed on the main characters virginity/purity to be incredibly uncomfortable, and it undermined any social commentary the book might have had. The way the male main character had what amounted to a fetish for her “purity” just really gave me the ick. I also really took issue with the end of the book and “Hawk’s” behavior. I had been anticipating some conflict when she finally found out the truth, expecting it to follow the same kind of trope where once she understands his motives she is able to forgive him, but with this book I found his behavior totally unacceptable. He didn’t even seem remorseful for hurting her as deeply as he had, and it seemed like he was almost gleeful to be completely shattering her reality. For how much the book focused on the way agency had been taken away from her, and the way Cas himself went out of his way to deconstruct her captivity and make her realize she deserved freedom, it was shocking to me that he turned around and inflicted the exact same trauma on her. He touched her without her consent, refused to listen when she said no, and completely tormented her. It’s just something I cannot excuse or get behind, and as far as I’m concerned he is the villain of the novel for that behavior. I have a feeling they’re going to completely overlook that abuse in future books in favor of continuing the romance, and I just cannot get behind a male love interest who treats the female mc like that. He was totally irredeemable whether they have “chemistry” or not.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: Sexual harassment, War, Sexual violence, Emotional abuse, and Domestic abuse
nicole222222'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
5.0
Graphic: War and Sexual harassment
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: Body shaming, Bullying, Gore, Medical content, Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual harassment, Stalking, Murder, Physical abuse, Abandonment, Ableism, Sexual assault, Classism, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Gaslighting, Sexual content, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Torture, War, Child abuse, Child death, and Slavery
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.
Spoiler
my big ick with him was when poppy found out all his secrets and she was clearly distraught and having a whole entire menty b and he just kept hitting on her and telling her they'd fuck again and all that stuff. WHILE she was realizing he'd been the direct or indirect cause of all of the deaths of the people close to her. And he was like "yeah they're all dead but you'll let me tap that again later" like ... Dude that's gross. Yikes, the insensitivity 😐 but that was it, ig?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: Blood, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Death, Misogyny, Murder, Sexual harassment, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, and Violence
Moderate: Cursing and Medical content
katbsc's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Torture, Child abuse, Sexual harassment, Rape, Sexual violence, Gore, and Religious bigotry
gabrielle_reads_a_lot's review
4.0
Graphic: Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Violence
tguccione'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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Physical abuse and Blood
Moderate: Death of parent, Violence, Confinement, Murder, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual harassment, Death, and Kidnapping
wiley_coyote5'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
3.0
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Sexism, and Sexual content
Moderate: Torture, Toxic friendship, War, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Alcohol and Self harm
The relationship in this book is the classic possessive, 'touch her and you die' that is sexy in books and terrible IRL. The main character is abused physically and emotionallysierraaa02'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? Yes
4.5
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, and Physical abuse
sapphicbookdragon's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Graphic: Physical abuse
Moderate: Confinement, Gaslighting, Murder, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Blood and Sexual harassment