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mallorypen's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
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
3.25
This was an enjoyable read for what it was, and the sweetness of Harper Fox writing a character in love is always delightful. I also enjoyed a break from mysticism with Fox’s writing, and her efforts into a somewhat gothic novel played well. The jungle house, the hunting trophies, the boy so innocently naive and utterly debauched at the same time … my horror mounted along with Frank’s as he kept learning each new layer of abuse.
I liked Frank as a character - his disability wasn’t miraculously cured, or forgotten in any of the physical activities in the book, but he also had more to him than just a man with a war wound. Fox always writes her ex soldiers with sympathy and understanding, and Frank was no exception. He was a noble character but aware of his own faults, and I was cheering for him the entire time.
That said, there were some parts of this novel that didn’t rub me the right way. Gracie’s transformation from wild innocent boy to grown man with principles and true love took … just over two weeks? After a lifetime of being coddled and physically and emotionally abused by every adult in his life aside from serving staff? The development of the relationship and strength of feeling was wildly unrealistic to me. I could have used another two chapters detailing maybe several months where Gracie actually acts as his upbringing intended and THEN softens and learns there is a person he can trust in Frank.
The whole arc with Cyril was … something. I like him as a foil for Frank to show what money can do to a person (which Frank notes himself) as well as demonstrating that the wounds one takes home from war aren’t all physical, like Frank’s was. Having Cyril commit suicide and leave Frank his fortune felt like a cheap and convenient waste of Cyril’s life, and suicide being used as a plot device always squicks me just a little.
Martin and Rose kick ass, through. And Manning should have his own entire novel.
I liked Frank as a character - his disability wasn’t miraculously cured, or forgotten in any of the physical activities in the book, but he also had more to him than just a man with a war wound. Fox always writes her ex soldiers with sympathy and understanding, and Frank was no exception. He was a noble character but aware of his own faults, and I was cheering for him the entire time.
That said, there were some parts of this novel that didn’t rub me the right way. Gracie’s transformation from wild innocent boy to grown man with principles and true love took … just over two weeks? After a lifetime of being coddled and
Martin and Rose kick ass, through. And Manning should have his own entire novel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse and Sexual content
Moderate: Suicide, Sexual violence, and Rape
militantlyromantic's review
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
4.5
It's single POV, and our POV character is Frank, who's just barely making it on tutors wages after being seriously injured in action in India. Frank's understanding of colonialism is complicated. He's well aware the people he was fighting were people, just the same as him, and has the PTSD to show for it, and he's equally sure England shouldn't have come in and taken their resources/effed around with them. He's also not sure it's possible for the colonial powers that be to just go back to where they came from and leave the rest of the world alone at this point. It's an interesting (likely anachronistic, although my awareness of the levels of discussion of imperial spread in Edwardian England is almost none, so, who knows) perspective.
In any case, he has a lifelong friend, also gay, whose life he saved in action, thereby receiving the serious injury. Said friend has surprisingly inherited, but the money is tied up for the moment and is living beyond his means in a state of drunken Depression. In this state, said friend somewhat accidentally procures Frank a private tutoring job.
The private tutoring job is for Viscount Gracewater, an adult still living with his father, and this is one of those "something is clearly wrong the moment you walk in the house" situations, you're just not entirely clear what is wrong.
The Viscount, "Gracie", immediately takes to Frank. Gracie is curious about the world around him, he seems childlike in many ways, and perhaps as though he has some type of learning disability, maybe dyslexia.
The book is a slow burn with a lot of subtle darkness under the surface and then, occasionally, that darkness will just burst out of the narrative in ways that are very unnerving. Each time, though, it forces Gracie to grow some, to settle into himself and learn to stand on his own two feet.
This book is a mass of content warnings, including rape (not between the main characters), child abuse, and suicide, among others. But Fox handles the topics deftly and compassionately, and nothing feels dismissive. This is a case where the HEA is both earned and feels almost just, for lack of a better word.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Violence, and Homophobia
Moderate: Rape, Suicide, and Child abuse
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