efsimpkin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I loved the glance of the epilogue we had and wish that would become a sequel, just to see how all the characters continue after the events of the book, but idk I feel like the marketing and cute cover and blurb completely missold me on this
Graphic: Alcoholism, Violence, and War
Moderate: Blood and Alcoholism
ezwolf'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? It's complicated
5.0
Gwen was incredibly relatable for me and her and Bridget's relationship was my favorite in the book, but I enjoyed Arthur point of view and his relationship with Gabriel too. Gwen and Gabriel's sibling relationship was also great, I liked how much they were there for each other.
This is the third or fourth book I've read this year that's included periods and it's such a little thing but I can't really remember reading any books growing up that normalized periods in any regard, let alone in a historical (fantasy-ish?) kind of book.
Thank you to NetGalley for making this available in exchange for an honest review!
Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Death, Alcoholism, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Vomit, Death of parent, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: War, Misogyny, and Outing
Minor: Misogyny, Child abuse, and Physical abuse
grets_reads'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: Death of parent
Moderate: Violence, Alcohol, Alcoholism, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Vomit, Blood, and Sexual content
bubbles_ishere'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
3.75
I would have preferred further introspection from the characters before acting, but for people who like to read books where things "happen", this is a good choice.
The book very much feels like a romance that decides half way through that other plot events are more relevant and then decides to change genre.
Spoiler for how plot/character focused the book was during certain events:
Spoiler
At first it felt like the book would focus further on the interpersonal relationships of the characters. In the beginning, a lot of time was spent on the characters panicking over being in situations. The first kisses of the couples got portrayed, after which the characters had to face various challenges to come to terms with their feelings. However, when it came to actually getting into a relationship or showing the conversations needed for that to happen the author skipped forward and just told the audience that the couples were now in functioning relationships, caused by a major plot event.Personally, I would've preferred to see how the characters got to where they are, instead of being told that the threat of death made them realise their priorities and then see them kiss.
I really liked how the characters developed and got more loveable to the reader; their actions seemed to make sense in the context of their character, and the development of their actions made sense.
The romance itself felt a bit rushed to me, but it is still enjoyable, if somewhat frustrating because it doesn't go very in-depth and fails to resolve or address certain topics.
The book mentions a few tidbits that fans of Arthurian legends will recognise, which I thought was very nice.
All in all an enjoyable read, in my opinion this book would've been 5/5 stars had it been 200 pages longer and actually explored the relationships and worldbuilding further. But then again I really like high-fantasy and worldbuilding.
Graphic: Homophobia, Alcoholism, Death, Violence, Death of parent, and Lesbophobia
Moderate: Outing, Sexism, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Classism, Drug use, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Kidnapping, Suicidal thoughts, and Religious bigotry
shaipanda'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
Spoiler
The only issue I had with this book is that there were a few details that were mentioned (especially regarding Merlin and Morgana which were never explained or really brought into the story. With the way they were being written about, I thought they were going to end up being shapeshifters or some significant part of the story but then that never really came to fruition.Graphic: War, Violence, and Death of parent
Moderate: Child abuse, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Homophobia, Blood, and Sexism
Minor: Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, and Grief
dhritigupta's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: War and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Blood
Minor: Alcoholism
bunterobstkorb's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Death of parent and Violence
Moderate: Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, and Sexism
albon'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? No
3.5
Moderate: Murder and Death of parent
Minor: Alcoholism, Blood, and Homophobia
seren's review
- 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
Graphic: War, Death of parent, Alcoholism, Death, Alcohol, Lesbophobia, and Sexism
emily_mh's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Moderate: Cursing, Physical abuse, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Death, Violence, Murder, Medical content, Alcohol, War, Homophobia, and Vomit
Minor: Sexual content, Sexism, Excrement, Ableism, Chronic illness, Transphobia, Sexual harassment, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Animal cruelty, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Incest, Animal death, and Infidelity
Moderate: internalised homophobia Minor: gambling, menstruation, fainting