The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! đ
emily_mh'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
3.25
Rep: sapphic MC, lesbian (word not used even though there were opportunities to use it, and words like aromantic and asexual exist) MC, aroace MC
Moderate: Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Grief, Medical content, Ableism, Blood, Child death, Death, Murder, Violence, Child abuse, and Death of parent
Minor: Vomit, Alcohol, Gun violence, Classism, and Pregnancy
Moderate: imprisonment, loss of a loved one, fainting Minor: sick loved one, blackmail, theft, capital punishment, child birthmxbluet18'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? No
5.0
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I initially picked this up because I knew it has an asexual character in it, but it quickly became that I was invested in the characters (some more than others though) and I just had to finish it to find out where the story was going.
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I read Fire Becomes Her last year and found myself loving the writing style and characters in that one, and had had Tarnished on my TBR for a while so I made it a priority when I managed to get hold of it. I've also used the book to talk about an important point in an essay I'm working on about asexuality in the written media.
~
For me, having asexual representation, and aromantic asexual representation is something I love to see in the books I read, especially if the ideas or the feelings portrayed are a depiction I can relate to or sympathise with. Suffice it to say, I loved the representation in the book, I loved the characters (or those I was supposed to love anyway), I loved the character arcs, and the plot was rich and delicate.
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Death of parent, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Ableism, Classism, Medical content, Pregnancy, and Grief
punkrobots's review
- 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: Abandonment, Ableism, Classism, Death of parent, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Emotional abuse
iksme's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Child death and Ableism
Moderate: Pregnancy
readingelli's review
- 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
I thought the plot was good, I liked the twists and the character development.Â
Graphic: Medical trauma, Violence, Death, Child death, and Medical content
Moderate: Violence and Ableism
Minor: Sexual content
dari'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
4.0
Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Medical content
Moderate: Child death and Death of parent
meganlilyflower's review
3.5
The Good:
- Ace/aro rep: especially in moments of that characters POV when we are observing the romantic couple in the story.Â
- The queer couple are not the focus of the story but it doesnât feel like instalove either. They arenât just suddenly a couple, instead we get them becoming friends who trust each other while we the reader know that they have an observable connection and are attracted to each other. I love that one is clearly gay and one seems to be bi!
- The sci-fi elements: the clock tech especially was super cool to me. Some steampunk aesthetic without some of the steampunk tropes and without going all in on the style.Â
- I felt there was a lot of missed opportunity for those clock hearts to be the heart of the story. It felt like we forgot about the clock heart component and Nathanielâs ânever having maintenanceâ when that couldâve been usedÂ
- The climax felt rushed to me. Maybe it was because my last read was adult and almost 500 pages but I felt this couldâve been longer and given me more mundane interactions within the manor that added world building and gave us more tender moments with our queer couple
- The queer couple isnât the center of the story and I wish theyâd come into focus more often. It just was happening in the background (literally as we got the thought in the back of characters minds) The set up had some enemies to lovers potential and I wouldâve liked the see that pushed harder and followed through.Â
Graphic: Child abuse and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Physical abuse
Minor: Ableism and Medical content