xbeka56x's review against another edition
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Animal death, Murder, Animal cruelty, Rape, Sexual assault, and Suicide
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
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
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
fe_aye's review against another edition
dark
informative
reflective
slow-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
2.0
This book had an interesting premise and did do something interesting. However I found the writing style to be very dull. I managed to finish the book so at least it’s enough to keep you reading.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Classism, Cursing, Death, Sexual harassment, Animal death, Confinement, Dementia, Homophobia, Outing, Rape, Sexual assault, Animal cruelty, Sexual content, and Vomit
oogtube's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-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
2.5
Had a great first part, the buildup in the beginning location was everyone I wanted about a magic bookbinding apprentice- then It kinda moved onto the romance and it all went downhill. It focused FAR too much on the romance and near nothing on the concepts carefully built in the beginning and even kinda- abandoned the beginning tone in a heartless and sudden way that left you not feeling the emotional weight it really should have given.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abortion, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Suicide, Alcoholism, Gaslighting, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Kidnapping, and Vomit
ellahoward_'s review against another edition
dark
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This had potential and great premise but it just felt bleak and dark, compared to how it has been advertised. I did enjoy it and think the 3 acts were well written it just seemed a little unfinished and the ending underwhelming.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Physical abuse, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Child abuse
Minor: Homophobia
tacoshark's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I absolutely adored this. I listened to it and the reader was wonderful, but mostly it’s just so well plotted and the characters unfold and develop in this slow, mysterious way that’s ultimately incredibly satisfying. You don’t have any idea what’s going on for the first half of the book, but it’s not really disorienting because the main character, Emmett, doesn’t either. The gradual unfolding of the story and the secret at the center of it is so beautifully done.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Animal death, Suicide, and Animal cruelty
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Suicidal thoughts
aimee's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
lighthearted
reflective
slow-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
3.0
The book has an interesting concept, and some parts were quite enjoyable, but it wasn’t at all what I thought or hoped it would be. The ending was a little disappointing and the whole concept of binding etc. doesn’t form as big a part of the novel as you’d believe from the blurb.
There were a few big things that happened or were hinted at and then left completely unanswered, and the first 150 pages are very slow and difficult to get through.
The writing itself was pretty decent, and I think the second part of the story worked really well and was interesting. It was alright but I wouldn’t go out of my way to recommend it to anyone.
There were a few big things that happened or were hinted at and then left completely unanswered, and the first 150 pages are very slow and difficult to get through.
Spoiler
Also I found it a bit unbelievable that Emmett appears to be literally the only person who has no idea what binding and books actually are for most of the novel, and there were many points where he was on the verge of finding out or being told and then was distracted for some implausible reason or felt suddenly that he couldn’t ask, which just added to the sense that it was unbelievable.The writing itself was pretty decent, and I think the second part of the story worked really well and was interesting. It was alright but I wouldn’t go out of my way to recommend it to anyone.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Sexual content, Rape, Sexual assault, Animal cruelty, and Suicide
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Murder