Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

Initiation by Alethea Faust

2 reviews

galleytrot's review against another edition

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  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

FIRST READ: Jan 2024 
SECOND READ: Apr 2024
FORMAT: Digital, Audio

ENTERTAINMENT VALUE: 4.75 / 5⭐ 
TECHNICAL / PRODUCTION: 4 / 5⭐ 
FINAL – OVERALL: 4.5 / 5⭐ 

In this book, Dominai finally arrives at the wizard’s towers after it was suggested he might have some magical aptitude, leaving behind a life that could no longer guarantee his security. Methods of casting magic are far more carnal than he ever would have guessed, and he is taken under wing by several of the Crux’s more experienced casters to help him find the schools of magic he would most like to earn his mastery in. One of their castings give him a vision of a missing wizard of the tower, confirming her to be alive and held captive and sparking a rescue mission for her and the others who have since gone missing. 

This book is entirely aware of exactly what it is at all times, from cover to cover; it’s right there, in the name of the series. I wasn’t confident going in that it would amount to anything more than pure erotica, but it actually surprised me. I won’t claim that the plot is necessarily all that clever, but it is surprising and entertaining right to the end. I was worried for the first handful of chapters, because our main character is very much a blank slate who isn’t even given so much as a physical description until way later, just being yanked around from one encounter to the next by people who are just immediately enamoured with him. Eventually we get to know more about him, once we’re done being inundated by the setting and rules of this world. 

If you want to poke and prod, the whole premise is a bit silly and might not hold up to very much scrutiny; but if you’re willing to put that aside for some sex-positive, diverse, and kinky fun, then this book has it in spades. As far as representation of kink goes, I have only one complaint: Dominai is thrown into every encounter without any real conversation to explicitly tell him what he’s agreeing to. He is endlessly curious and willing, and he is always given the freedom to stop at any given moment, but by-and-large his consent is uninformed more often than not. 

All that aside, I had an extremely good time reading this book and I’m raring to go for the next ones in the series. 

This book has representation for pansexuals, polyamory, and intersex individuals. Multiple characters are non-white, and several others are sentient, non-human fantasy races. 

The following elaborates on my content warnings. These may be interpreted as spoilers, but I do not go into deep detail.
This book contains:
past injury (broken arm, healed poorly); past parent death (illness); alcohol use; mentions of animal deaths (for protection and for food); kidnapping, confinement; consensual piercing; physically and mentally harmful past violation of trust; weapon violence (weaponized magic, blades, bow and arrows); mentions of rape, sexual assault, abuses, brutality; racial prejudice (against a fantasy race); mention of past colonization; blood, burns, injuries; drugging/sedation; death; and, vomiting.
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kelisabeth's review

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challenging emotional inspiring fast-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

4.5

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