Reviews tagging 'Injury/Injury detail'

Of Blood and Aether by Harper Hawthorne

3 reviews

thebooseller's review

Go to review page

dark emotional mysterious tense 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? Yes

3.75

An intriguing start to what will allegedly be a 5-book series, with magic, found/chosen family, neurospicy characters, and delightful (if delayed) spice

With a good editor (and copyeditor—yes, those are two different jobs), this book has a lot of potential

🔥: slow
🌶 : 2.75 out of 5
📚: Book 1 of an incomplete series

The magic system is complex but not unbearably so, and the characters are endearing as hell. My biggest gripes were that the book felt under-edited and poorly copyedited. The FMC/MMC's arc could benefit from substantive editing, and I flagged dozens (if not more) of technical errors.

I can appreciate a good slow burn, but this one felt too slow. I don't think it's a pacing issue because the author times and landed her plot points well. I just think a good chunk of the "burn" could be pared down to leave more room for their romantic feelings to evolve. That would have made the ending even more devastating.

As it is, though, I'm disappointed that I have to wait for book 2.* Kieran better show the fuck up for Arken after
pulling his little "hurt her for her own good" bullshit
. And his anger at her for
not telling him about her multi-arcana abilities
landed flat considering the fact that he's been concealing—and continues to hide—his entire history. It's not as if Arken knows
the full prophecy, even if she suspects what she does know is about her, or that she has a counterpart in it
. Kieran's rage is misdirected, even if the misdirection is an obvious plot point to cloud his judgment and to make him feel justified in his efforts to stay away from her. It would have felt more earned if he'd shared more with Arken. Instead of driving her away now that he has the full picture, he should be communicating with her to figure out how to move forward together.

Read if you:
🗡 are looking for (undiagnosed) autistic/neurodivergent** rep
🗡 love a shadow daddy
🗡 are looking for disability rep (a partially blind MC)
🗡 like interesting magic systems and magic-school stories
🗡 enjoy D/S dynamics

Beware:
🚩moderate on-page child abuse
🚩 child abduction
🚩 child abandonment
🚩 miscommunication trope
🚩 blood magic (no blood drinking/sharing)
🚩 Dom/Sub scenes with shadow bondage


*I work in book publishing, so I know the waiting game and why it exists well. Book 1 only came out in April 2024!

**I make no claims of the author's intent regarding neurodivergent representation. Arken just read autistic to me, and it was nice to be able to relate to her.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

art_books_chemistry's review

Go to review page

dark emotional tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I was 0.2 seconds away from throwing my kindle across the room at least 3 times during this book. 
If that isn't enough of a rave review for you, I guess you can keep reading. 

The tension in this book ruined me. There's a wonderful plot but every time Kieran and Arken start verbally sparring with each other, you completely forget about it for a few painfully angsty moments. The main plot point is not a secret from you as the reader and it's one of the most heart-wrenching and wonderful parts of the book as you see their friendship unfold. The last chapter made me heartsick and I almost screamed when I realized we were leaving off this point at such a pivotal moment in the plot. 

I'll leave off the flowery prose for a second and real talk of the rest of the novel. I appreciate how much thought Hawthorne has already put into her world building which was thorough in the beginning while still being engaging. She also clearly has developed her side characters well, although I'd like to see more depth in Sienna in book 2. Unlike some adult fantasy authors, I think Hawthorne did a good job of balancing the spice content with the plot and integrating it into the story logically; even if the slow burn absolutely unalived me. 

I absolutely recommend Of Blood and Aether for anymore that enjoys darker romantasy in a well built fantasy world. 

Thank you The NerdFam for the gifted ARC! 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

katvou's review

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional funny lighthearted mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️,5 / 🌶️🌶️🌶️

“Little Conduit”
“You know that you’re the exception to most of my rules. And I’m lucky to have you around.”

The world-building was well-written and quite intense. I enjoyed it but might not be a great fit for everyone.

I enjoyed the slow-burn friends-to-lovers relationship between the MMC, Kieran, and the FMC, Arken. I loved the tension and banter, as well as their written correspondence.

I liked the side characters and how they both added depth to the story and helped to move the plot forward. I would love to learn more about them.

The pacing was quite slow, especially at the beginning, but it got faster towards the end. I enjoyed the magical training and the magic system.

There are lots of questions left unanswered, and some plotlines could have been explored a bit more, but hopefully, those will be addressed in the coming book.

Overall, it's an interesting and well-written story. I'm definitely going to check out the next book in the series.


I received an ARC of this book and I am voluntarily leaving a review. Receiving ARC didn’t affect my opinion of the book.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings