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rchulin1's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
wardenred's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
“A mate is . . .” The cicadas quiet. We can only hear the waves, gently lapping into the night. “Who you are meant for. Who is meant for you.”
“And this is a uniquely Were experience that differs from Human high schoolers writing lyrics on each other’s yearbooks before heading to separate colleges . . . how?”
It took me a hot minute to get used to the writing style, and then every time I came back to the book after a break in reading, there was a brief period of readjustment, as well. I wouldn’t call the prose bad by any means, just challenging to get into somehow. Still can’t quite put a finger on why—maybe it’s just an ESL thing on my part.
At the beginning, I was really fascinated by the sci-fi-ish spin on the typical urban fantasy races. However, alas, that worldbuilding began to gradually fall apart past the first few chapters. There were minor details I’d question even if the existence werewolves and vampires was vaguely explained by magic, but the attempt at a more science-y bend made them even more grating. For example, there’s a point in the book when it’s stated that, unlike vampires (sorry, Vampyres), the werewolves (sorry, Weres) don’t stand out to humans at all at a glance. Like, excuse me? They have green blood? They’ve been stated to blush green? They probably have green-tinted nails, mouths, conjunctivae etc? Sounds pretty damn noticeable to me. Though there’s also a scene late in the book that mentions a Were character’s lips being dark red after kissing, so idk what I’m supposed to think here. These details are small, but what with them clashing with how the worldbuilding was presented at the beginning, they kept taking me out of the narrative.
As for the story itself, I really, really liked the political plot. The bigger picture that led to Misery and Lowe’s arranged marriage, the inner struggles withing the Were community, how it all tied together with Serena’s disappearance, all of it was simply delicious. I loved every twist and reveal… up until maybe the final part where
The same theme continues with the romance, I guess: all cool up until a certain point. Misery herself was a great narrator whose sense of humor and reaction to trauma and abandonment I found pretty relatable. Lowe didn’t grip me that much, but he had his moments, and overall I liked the dynamic these two head and how their relationship progressed. But then we got to the obligatory third act break-up, which took the form o
Despite all my complaints, there were enough fun moments here to make me want to check out more of the author’s books. I also kind of hope for a sequel about Misery’s twin brother, because he’s easily my favorite character in this whole story, and he’s had such a cool arc despite only showing up on page a handful of times!
Graphic: Sexual content, Blood, and Abandonment
Moderate: Confinement, Violence, Medical content, and Kidnapping
jehansen127'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: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, and Murder
kreglow'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: Cursing, Death, Racism, Sexual content, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
xx_jade_xx's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Abandonment
Minor: Confinement, Medical content, and Grief
katelynnelawson's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Graphic: Blood and Kidnapping
Moderate: Medical content
girlmeetsbooks7'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: Blood
Moderate: Cursing, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Confinement, Medical content, and Car accident
barbarianmissy's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
I KNOW this is a vampire book BUT I’m weird about needles and IVs and stuff and since blood drinking was a big part of the romantic plot I was unfortunately literally heavily and embarrassingly gagging through a lot of their romantic scenes…. I wish this was a joke.
The story itself was quite fun though! I really enjoy Ali Hazelwood’s humour and her incredibly intelligent writing style! It was a good palette cleanser book and a good wee mystery!
FUN OVERALL BUT I GUESS IM NOT AS TEAM EDWARD AS I THOUGHT I WAS! DAMMIT ALL TO HELL!
Graphic: Child abuse, Cursing, Hate crime, Sexual content, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, and Death of parent
hayzey'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: Confinement, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Gaslighting, and War
Moderate: Bullying, Confinement, Death, Infertility, Infidelity, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death, Death, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
sheriffrockyraccoon's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Confinement and Medical content
Minor: Death, Mass/school shootings, Stalking, Car accident, and Death of parent
most of these warnings are still relatively minor and refer to the b plot which comes in like the last 50 pages or so