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rya_'s review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
2.5
If you ignore the first 200 pages and the blurb (it really spoils things), this is a solid book!
Beautiful writing and a very compelling emotional story. I’m just sad I had to wade through so much unnecessary stuff to get there.
Also PLEASE check out the damn content warnings
Beautiful writing and a very compelling emotional story. I’m just sad I had to wade through so much unnecessary stuff to get there.
Also PLEASE check out the damn content warnings
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
thewileyseven's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
I feel complicated in this rating--I really loved the book and, especially once I got to part II, I could hardly put it down! But I also have some major qualms. The uneven pacing left a lot to be desired for me. I understand why Part I was paced the way it was (considering the impacts of binding on Emmett's mind--I kept wondering why he spent so much time just staring off into space. Now I know! , but ultimately Parts I and II both dragged in places for me.
I also agree with another review I read regarding the treatment of women in this book. All completely sidelined, used as plot devices, killed off to further men's emotional development, and worse. Rough! Again, I can understand why, with commentaries on gender violence, historic sexism, and more, but I dunno. The main characters' complicity in this was a bummer.
Part II, however, sang for me. Beautiful, aching, blossoming. And the system of binding is a splendid magic. Overall, I think this was 100% worth the read for me. But there are just pieces that grated at me a little too much to go unsaid.
I also agree with another review I read regarding the treatment of women in this book. All completely sidelined, used as plot devices, killed off to further men's emotional development, and worse. Rough! Again, I can understand why, with commentaries on gender violence, historic sexism, and more, but I dunno. The main characters' complicity in this was a bummer.
Part II, however, sang for me. Beautiful, aching, blossoming. And the system of binding is a splendid magic. Overall, I think this was 100% worth the read for me. But there are just pieces that grated at me a little too much to go unsaid.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Outing, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment
katy_bee's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-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? It's complicated
5.0
A reread for me as it was this month's book club pick. I lived it the first time around and I wondered if it would lube up to memory. Actually it has, I feel swept up in Emmett and Lucian's story, the ways in which they're trapped, make mistakes, try and be authentic, let people down and ultimately find a way through. The world building around book binding is consistent and well drawn (although if magic worlds simply aren't your thing, this might feel a bit much in places). The background characters are also interesting. Women are mostly victims in the narrative and in particular they're victims of sexual violence- so heed the content warnings - but for me that felt in keeping with the world and narrative. I would have liked to see some light at the end of the tunnel for some of those characters whose trauma seemed perhaps diminished by the fact that their stories simply end when Emmett and Lucian's story is tied up but they're the main characters so perhaps unsurprising.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Incest, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Vomit, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
samgerv's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.0
Long story short, it was a cute romance with fantasy elements, interesting twists and such. But it was just way too slow, my eyes kept wondering, I couldn't focus.
I started it as an audio book but I would just stop listening cause it was not able to keep my attention. I had to get the physical copy of the book and basically forced myself to get through it.
I liked the story overall but it was too slow for me, and although a lot of thing happened, at the same time there was so little action or movement to the story
I started it as an audio book but I would just stop listening cause it was not able to keep my attention. I had to get the physical copy of the book and basically forced myself to get through it.
I liked the story overall but it was too slow for me, and although a lot of thing happened, at the same time there was so little action or movement to the story
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Rape
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 cruelty, Animal death, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, and Murder
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: Domestic abuse and Homophobia
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: Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Vomit, Outing, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Child death, Incest, Pedophilia, and Classism
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: Homophobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Sexual content, Suicide, Violence, Vomit, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
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: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Pedophilia, and Murder
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: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Homophobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Vomit, Dementia, Outing, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Classism