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ixris's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- 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
4.75
I. Can't. Stop. Thinking. Of. This. Book!!!
A counterfeiting ring, hurt/comfort until the cows come home, a richly built fantasy world, a tetchy ex lover, a courtly romance, third gender and neopronouns, a dedicated warrior monk class taking up most of the character roster, queers everywhere ... I love so many things about this book!
Will be reading again. Clear fandom roots but not overwhelmingly or aggressively so. Freaking read this book.
A counterfeiting ring, hurt/comfort until the cows come home, a richly built fantasy world, a tetchy ex lover, a courtly romance, third gender and neopronouns, a dedicated warrior monk class taking up most of the character roster, queers everywhere ... I love so many things about this book!
Will be reading again. Clear fandom roots but not overwhelmingly or aggressively so. Freaking read this book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Drug use, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, and Alcohol
Light spice, slow burn, enemies to lovers, did I mention queer secondary world renaissance-ish fantasy????katievallin's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cursing, Death, and Medical content
Minor: Grief and Pregnancy
kurumipanda's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Death, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Grief, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death
cheye13's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
This was an excellent read in that it delivered exactly as I expected it to, with a little extra flavor thrown in. The world-building and background character development was impressively thorough, given the main crux (romance) of the story. I particularly loved how this specific story managed the "why don't they simply get together" hurdle by essentially making the characters simply too busy – felt oddly true to life despite the kidnapping/assassination attempts. This story also expertly lays the ground for a romance series, subtly and perfectly setting up the next main character.
While I found no faults in this book for my own reading tastes, I can see where it may fall short for others. This is not a surprising book in the slightest – though the political/criminal investigation is paced to persist through the full novel, it is set up pretty straightforwardly from the start. The romance progression is also fully predictable, and while it didn't deliver any gut-punch style emotion, I thoroughly enjoyed being swept through the journey. Finally, while the slow burn tension is off the charts, some may find the release/resolution of that tension unequal to the anticipation (i.e. it's pretty low on the spice).
But I don't look for any of these elements in my fantasy romance. I enjoy predictability and the satisfaction of the characters finally catching up to my detached perspective; I was awash in the natural flow and growth of the leads' relationship; and I love me a closed-door or mild heat level. In fact, given the building tension throughout the book, I would've felt like there was no closure if there weren't at least a vague on-page Scene™, so this book skipped past that pitfall as well. A complete joy to read. Hope there's more to this series in the future!
While I found no faults in this book for my own reading tastes, I can see where it may fall short for others. This is not a surprising book in the slightest – though the political/criminal investigation is paced to persist through the full novel, it is set up pretty straightforwardly from the start. The romance progression is also fully predictable, and while it didn't deliver any gut-punch style emotion, I thoroughly enjoyed being swept through the journey. Finally, while the slow burn tension is off the charts, some may find the release/resolution of that tension unequal to the anticipation (i.e. it's pretty low on the spice).
But I don't look for any of these elements in my fantasy romance. I enjoy predictability and the satisfaction of the characters finally catching up to my detached perspective; I was awash in the natural flow and growth of the leads' relationship; and I love me a closed-door or mild heat level. In fact, given the building tension throughout the book, I would've felt like there was no closure if there weren't at least a vague on-page Scene™, so this book skipped past that pitfall as well. A complete joy to read. Hope there's more to this series in the future!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death and Sexual content
Minor: Torture and Alcohol
mirandyli's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
This is a super queer book that has so much queer representation, including characters that are asexual, pansexual, demisexual, trans, using neopronouns... I have truly never read a book with this much queer representation. The fantasy elements have capitalistic imperial undertones, but if you ignore that it's overall a decent read. Very slow at times.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Drug use, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
amy_in_the_city's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- 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
I'll admit I struggled a bit to get into this book for the first 100 pages or so, but once I was in, I was IN. The main couple had me kicking my feet rooting for them. I loved all the characters in this book and thought they were wonderfully developed. They could have made Tadek a villain or dreadfully boring, as the romance genre tends to do with exes, but they made him so fun while still giving him depth and complexity. I like his friendship with Kadou, and I can't wait to read his book! I want to be Commander Eozena when I grow up, and Zeliha was an awesome badass ruler.
The romance in this was such a delicious, angsty, slow burn. Evemer was so stoic and reserved, which made it all the more fun to see him fall so hard for Kadou. I appreciated the anxiety representation with Kadou and that it didn't make him any less of a badass. He still defended Evemer whenever needed, and I loved seeing a prince also defend his bodyguard. A big theme in their relationship is reciprocity, and I love when couples feel like a real partnership.
There was enough action to keep the plot fun and exciting, but I do wish the villain wasn't so obvious from the start. Also, while this was a fantasy, the fantasy elements are used very sparingly. The ending felt a little bit rushed, and I do wish we got to see a bit more of Kadou and Evemer together as a happy couple. My overwhelming love for the romance and the characters overrides any of these quibbles though, and I know this is a book I'll come back to for rereads.
The romance in this was such a delicious, angsty, slow burn. Evemer was so stoic and reserved, which made it all the more fun to see him fall so hard for Kadou. I appreciated the anxiety representation with Kadou and that it didn't make him any less of a badass. He still defended Evemer whenever needed, and I loved seeing a prince also defend his bodyguard. A big theme in their relationship is reciprocity, and I love when couples feel like a real partnership.
There was enough action to keep the plot fun and exciting, but I do wish the villain wasn't so obvious from the start. Also, while this was a fantasy, the fantasy elements are used very sparingly. The ending felt a little bit rushed, and I do wish we got to see a bit more of Kadou and Evemer together as a happy couple. My overwhelming love for the romance and the characters overrides any of these quibbles though, and I know this is a book I'll come back to for rereads.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death, Gore, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit
Minor: Drug use, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Classism
cinnamonandpancakes's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
- 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
3.75
I am unsure if this book would rate higher if I'd read it as a physical book. I kept picking it up and putting it down, which I don't think helped. This book needs to be read all in one go.
I loved Kadou and Evemer, especially Evemer, and their romance. It was very sexy and compelling. And Tadek was a lot of fun. But I found a lot of the other characters less interesting. Siranos, in particular, seemed to change personality depending on what the narrative needed him to be and that made his plotline quite unsatisfying in my opinion.
The world building was amazing, however, and I loved the focus on material culture. It felt very much like a world that people lived in.
I loved Kadou and Evemer, especially Evemer, and their romance. It was very sexy and compelling. And Tadek was a lot of fun. But I found a lot of the other characters less interesting. Siranos, in particular, seemed to change personality depending on what the narrative needed him to be and that made his plotline quite unsatisfying in my opinion.
The world building was amazing, however, and I loved the focus on material culture. It felt very much like a world that people lived in.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Kidnapping, and Alcohol
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
jayjayre's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
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
4.5
I was pleasantly surprised by the book as a random pick from the library, I'd recommend this for a character-focused dive into an interesting, queer, mild fantasy world.
I found the small magic system to be well-integrated into the world of the story, and as a bonus, it was suitably plot-relevant. I appreciated the inclusion of queer characters and the diversity of gender, especially because it was simply a facet of the characters rather than a focus of the plot. I love fantasy worlds that don't transplant bigotry/systems of oppression from our world, this setting has a woman ruling, people can marry any gender, and there is a common pronoun used for some (nonbinary) characters, and that is all in the background.
I loved the characters in this book. I worried I wouldn't like several of them to start, but they grew on me, and a character I found very annoying upon first introduction ended up being my favorite by the end. I think this book would be even better on a second read, with the knowledge of where the characters' development leads coloring my perspective.
This book is not a good book to skim for action/adventure/mystery. The plot is a bit plodding with a predictable mystery and antagonists that are not well-developed. Thankfully, that is a relatively small part of the book, mostly sidelined for the very enjoyable character-heavy focus. It was rewarding to get to know the main characters, reveal their flaws, and see them grow to understand each other while they better themselves and their relationships.
(My rating is increased compared to my personal enjoyment of the book, as it's not my ideal subgenre. I don't detract stars for things aimed at a different target audience.)
I found the small magic system to be well-integrated into the world of the story, and as a bonus, it was suitably plot-relevant. I appreciated the inclusion of queer characters and the diversity of gender, especially because it was simply a facet of the characters rather than a focus of the plot. I love fantasy worlds that don't transplant bigotry/systems of oppression from our world, this setting has a woman ruling, people can marry any gender, and there is a common pronoun used for some (nonbinary) characters, and that is all in the background.
I loved the characters in this book. I worried I wouldn't like several of them to start, but they grew on me, and a character I found very annoying upon first introduction ended up being my favorite by the end. I think this book would be even better on a second read, with the knowledge of where the characters' development leads coloring my perspective.
This book is not a good book to skim for action/adventure/mystery. The plot is a bit plodding with a predictable mystery and antagonists that are not well-developed. Thankfully, that is a relatively small part of the book, mostly sidelined for the very enjoyable character-heavy focus. It was rewarding to get to know the main characters, reveal their flaws, and see them grow to understand each other while they better themselves and their relationships.
(My rating is increased compared to my personal enjoyment of the book, as it's not my ideal subgenre. I don't detract stars for things aimed at a different target audience.)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Mental illness
Minor: Eating disorder, Kidnapping, Grief, and Alcohol
eidal's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Violence and Kidnapping
Minor: Pregnancy and Alcohol
keresian's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
- 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
Okay listen - LISTEN. I stayed up til 2am to finish this. I was hooked. There's so much simmering behind the scenes with world building. The plot is phenomenal. The brilliant way Rowland has woven in gender and sexuality, love and familial bond. I love this book and this world - this is a tough one to beat for favourite of the year.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug use, Blood, and Alcohol
Minor: Sexual content, Violence, and Death of parent