c_lizziebeth's review against another edition
dark
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
The text itself is so all over the place: mature and literary and trying to be poetic and then trashy and plain and funny and YA. It was a wonderful concept and a wild read, to me
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia
Moderate: Sexual content, Sexual assault, and Rape
Minor: Grief, Violence, and Vomit
maggie1903's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
This books was an absolutely fantastic read. Note that part one is difficult to get through and the main character is unlikeable for the start of the book, but I promise if you piwer through it is well worth is.
Content Warnings
Minor: Vomit, Trafficking, Sexual harassment, Homophobia, Sexual violence, Rape, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, and Sexual assault
reverie_and_books's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- 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
3.0
Emmett Farmer has potential to become what people call a Binder. With this profession, he would be able to bind people’s memories into books, making them forget parts of their own history. Well, a gift like this could be useful for all sorts of reasons, good or bad, right?
This story has a huge emphasis on a lgbtq+ romance, is tinged in bits of magic and placed in a gothic/victorian setting. It’s written in gentle prose and contains some issues that prompt several content warnings. The scenes are autumnal or wintery and Collins leads the reader into them well. The story is divided into three parts and told from two points of view.
So far, so good. But I was expecting a lot less romance and a lot more political or social storylines. The ending was a bit too quick, partly too neat, partly too frayed. I did like Emmett and enjoyed the promising first part of the story. It lost me a bit later on when it got darker, but not necessarily deeper. Some of the scenic descriptions were too monotonous to me and the craft of binding had much more potential to be explored. I wished Collins had put more focus onto that, because I quite liked her prose and the setting.
If you’re looking for an atmospheric romance story (and I’d say that part is strong) this might be a good choice for you. If you’ve been eyeing this and expected romance to be just a smaller part of the plot - well, now you know it isn’t.
All that being said: I liked being in this story and turned the pages quickly. I had just hoped for a bit more of something else.
This story has a huge emphasis on a lgbtq+ romance, is tinged in bits of magic and placed in a gothic/victorian setting. It’s written in gentle prose and contains some issues that prompt several content warnings. The scenes are autumnal or wintery and Collins leads the reader into them well. The story is divided into three parts and told from two points of view.
So far, so good. But I was expecting a lot less romance and a lot more political or social storylines. The ending was a bit too quick, partly too neat, partly too frayed. I did like Emmett and enjoyed the promising first part of the story. It lost me a bit later on when it got darker, but not necessarily deeper. Some of the scenic descriptions were too monotonous to me and the craft of binding had much more potential to be explored. I wished Collins had put more focus onto that, because I quite liked her prose and the setting.
If you’re looking for an atmospheric romance story (and I’d say that part is strong) this might be a good choice for you. If you’ve been eyeing this and expected romance to be just a smaller part of the plot - well, now you know it isn’t.
All that being said: I liked being in this story and turned the pages quickly. I had just hoped for a bit more of something else.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty
Moderate: Homophobia and Domestic abuse
natalie_b's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The book took a turn I didn't expect but I did appreciate. It was a little dark and I would recommend looking at triggers. But the romance got me smiling and kicking my feet while reading.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia and Sexual assault
Moderate: Abandonment
coffee_and_wool's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Outing, Suicide, Sexual violence, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Animal cruelty, Homophobia, Vomit, Domestic abuse, Rape, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Child death, Classism, Incest, and Pedophilia
sannesbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-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
2.75
This book was darker than I thought. Would recommemd to check trigger warnings before reading. This book was very atmospheric and perfect for autumn/winter. This book is also heavy on the (gay) romance side, so you might like this if you are into those romantacy stories.
I was so excited about the premise of this book! Unfortunately, i ended skim reading a large portion of this book, especially the last part. It was just too slow and I didn't care anymore. I also didn't know this would be so romance heavy. It doesn't say clearly in the synopsis. However, I do enjoy some romantacies and part 2 was cute, but overall this was not the book for me.
I was so excited about the premise of this book! Unfortunately, i ended skim reading a large portion of this book, especially the last part. It was just too slow and I didn't care anymore. I also didn't know this would be so romance heavy. It doesn't say clearly in the synopsis. However, I do enjoy some romantacies and part 2 was cute, but overall this was not the book for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual harassment, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Violence, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Vomit, Murder, Sexual content, Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, Suicide, Animal cruelty, and Violence
areen's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape, Gaslighting, Suicide, Homophobia, and Sexual assault
stellabombella's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Pedophilia, Murder, Child abuse, Animal cruelty, Emotional abuse, and Homophobia
august_ambrosia's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
ooooh boy. first review of 2023! i loved this book and will talk about why i debated on whether to give 5 stars later on, but if you’re wondering whether to read it or not i highly recommend it! it took me about 5 hours to read in total and i don't regret a moment!
collins’ whimsical (but grounded when necessary) style of writing builds suspense and prompts you to ask questions while also not losing a wonderful storytelling vibe… great descriptions and well rounded characters galore! collins writes emotion perfectly, and when the characters feel shocked or frightened, you do too. oh, and joyful.
i’ve seen some comments saying they didn’t like it because it was “depressing” and i just thought that was a little… privileged? juvenile? that’s the point. a well written book makes you think, ask questions, and reflect on your own biases and privilege.
debated with giving this 5 stars and i may still change my mind on a future read, but for now it’s a 5 :) thought it had a slow(ish) start that ended up making sense and i don’t like ambiguous endings a huge amount, but that's a me problem.
(spoilers here)
just as a last note: collins wrote the queer romance so beautifully. i had been silently rooting for emmett and lucian since their introduction and the little moments all meant so much to me. this book will forever have a treasured place in my heart purely because of them.
but yes, overall this book was a treasure and i'm so glad i picked it up :)
collins’ whimsical (but grounded when necessary) style of writing builds suspense and prompts you to ask questions while also not losing a wonderful storytelling vibe… great descriptions and well rounded characters galore! collins writes emotion perfectly, and when the characters feel shocked or frightened, you do too. oh, and joyful.
i’ve seen some comments saying they didn’t like it because it was “depressing” and i just thought that was a little… privileged? juvenile? that’s the point. a well written book makes you think, ask questions, and reflect on your own biases and privilege.
debated with giving this 5 stars and i may still change my mind on a future read, but for now it’s a 5 :) thought it had a slow(ish) start that ended up making sense and i don’t like ambiguous endings a huge amount, but that's a me problem.
(spoilers here)
Spoiler
the worldbuilding around the concept of binding was wonderfully done, with the mystery surrounding it initially turning to wonder as we see seredith guard her secrets with her life, but also being able to see the prejudice and horror of losing memories later on. one of my favourite parts of it was when the first woman to be bound didn't even know who her father was, because the memories associated with him were too painful. that early glimpse into the power of a binding was so interesting and subtle, i only noticed on a second read. i also loved how a binding wouldn't let you hear anything about it afterwards! loved the double-edged sword nature of binding in general, how it could be used to regale people with stories you no longer need as you were close to dying anyway, or in the more horrifying and frankly, disgusting way that people in power had twisted it into forcing people to be bound to forget things like rapes so as to give individuals the power to push themselves on others multiple times. or the heartbreaking way emmett was bound to forget being gay… i have to admit i cried a little reading that. i am VERY glad there was a way to reverse binding; and the line “memories want to burn” gave me chills.just as a last note: collins wrote the queer romance so beautifully. i had been silently rooting for emmett and lucian since their introduction and the little moments all meant so much to me. this book will forever have a treasured place in my heart purely because of them.
but yes, overall this book was a treasure and i'm so glad i picked it up :)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Violence, Outing, Sexual content, Kidnapping, and Animal death
Moderate: Abandonment, Addiction, and Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Vomit and Violence
hanahf's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- 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
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape and Suicide
Moderate: Homophobia