lucrezi's review against another edition
4.0
Basically it’s like, what if there was a world where males were so few that they would get their own harems, but it actually takes the premise seriously. This matriarchal society is actually very terrifying for the lesser sex in the book, the men. Wen Spencer truly considered the effects that a scarcity of males would have on society: treating boys as commodities, incest in the form of sons sleeping with their mothers to beget more boys, cribs (state-sanctioned “brothels” where women can sleep with drugged, imprisoned men to become pregnant), female prostitutes presenting themselves more masculine to attract clients, etc. A good chunk of the plot went to political schemes based on a historical war too. Really good world-building that didn’t feel like an info dump.
The romances (plural) were very whirlwind, but I expected that since this is a standalone and, well, these heterosexual characters don’t really have options and opportunities to meet well-adjusted, intelligent, beautiful members of the opposite sex, so it wasn’t a huge deal. Though, I think I’d have liked the main characters to have a little more personality.
The romances (plural) were very whirlwind, but I expected that since this is a standalone and, well, these heterosexual characters don’t really have options and opportunities to meet well-adjusted, intelligent, beautiful members of the opposite sex, so it wasn’t a huge deal. Though, I think I’d have liked the main characters to have a little more personality.
s_teichman's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
finalefile's review against another edition
4.0
I'm giving this book 4 stars because I enjoyed it and would read it again, but it left me with a lot of confusion and questions!
- Why was the audiobook narrated by a man when most of the characters were women? And why did he use so many different accents for people from within the same country? Also, I thought the voice he used for Jerin made him come off as a "stupid country boy" when we soon find out he's actually much more than that. I just found the whole narration to be annoying.
- The worldbuilding was not strong enough. It seemed like a combination of a medieval world with a Wild West/cowboy world, and I was never really sure how I should be imagining it. Details of characters' appearances were often not revealed until long after they'd been introduced. I imagined the characters dressed similarly to how they'd look in a typical story (such as women with long hair and wearing dresses) and then it would mention a princess wearing trousers or a family of women who had short hair, and I was left to wonder if that applied to all women in the story or not, and why I hadn't been told sooner. (I partially blame this on the audiobook cover, which is much different than the print book cover.) I was also confused about the state of science/medicine - some things seemed pretty advanced, while others weren't.
- How did this society come about? Why are there so many more women than men? Was it always this way or are men just genetically dying out over time? I assume that the men in this world are still generally bigger/stronger than women, yet the women are still the ones doing all the "manly" jobs, like soldiers for example. I know this story is built on reverse sexism, but some details like this seemed rather absurd. As far as I could tell, all the men in this society were either carefully guarded husbands, or prostitutes. That's less freedom than women have in real life, even in a lot of oppressive real-world societies!
- Would a society run by women really be as violent as one run by men? There are several mentions of a man who was raped and killed by female criminals...that just does not seem realistic to me. I'm also not a fan of rape in stories to begin with, and here it didn't even seem to have a point beyond showing "in this world, women are just like men! Women can be bad too!"
- I was not happy about Ren's "seduction" of Jaren. His consent was very dubious. I also didn't expect it to be "love at first foreplay" when it started off with such a rapey feel. Again, it seemed like an example of "Women are so powerful in this society that they can get away with raping men." Why not... y'know...write about a world where rape doesn't happen in the first place???
- The fact that large groups of siblings sharing a spouse is the norm in this society - I could handle this until I thought about it affecting myself (having to share a spouse with my own siblings) and...ewwwwwwwww, gross. It would have been interesting to hear different points of view from characters who were interested in different relationship dynamics than the normal polygyny.
- This is very random, but when the secret passageway in the husband's quarters was first mentioned, I was hoping that the missing princess Hallie would be hiding out in there, like Bruno in the movie Encanto.
- Why was the audiobook narrated by a man when most of the characters were women? And why did he use so many different accents for people from within the same country? Also, I thought the voice he used for Jerin made him come off as a "stupid country boy" when we soon find out he's actually much more than that. I just found the whole narration to be annoying.
- The worldbuilding was not strong enough. It seemed like a combination of a medieval world with a Wild West/cowboy world, and I was never really sure how I should be imagining it. Details of characters' appearances were often not revealed until long after they'd been introduced. I imagined the characters dressed similarly to how they'd look in a typical story (such as women with long hair and wearing dresses) and then it would mention a princess wearing trousers or a family of women who had short hair, and I was left to wonder if that applied to all women in the story or not, and why I hadn't been told sooner. (I partially blame this on the audiobook cover, which is much different than the print book cover.) I was also confused about the state of science/medicine - some things seemed pretty advanced, while others weren't.
- How did this society come about? Why are there so many more women than men? Was it always this way or are men just genetically dying out over time? I assume that the men in this world are still generally bigger/stronger than women, yet the women are still the ones doing all the "manly" jobs, like soldiers for example. I know this story is built on reverse sexism, but some details like this seemed rather absurd. As far as I could tell, all the men in this society were either carefully guarded husbands, or prostitutes. That's less freedom than women have in real life, even in a lot of oppressive real-world societies!
- Would a society run by women really be as violent as one run by men? There are several mentions of a man who was raped and killed by female criminals...that just does not seem realistic to me. I'm also not a fan of rape in stories to begin with, and here it didn't even seem to have a point beyond showing "in this world, women are just like men! Women can be bad too!"
Spoiler
- I was not happy about Ren's "seduction" of Jaren. His consent was very dubious. I also didn't expect it to be "love at first foreplay" when it started off with such a rapey feel. Again, it seemed like an example of "Women are so powerful in this society that they can get away with raping men." Why not... y'know...write about a world where rape doesn't happen in the first place???
- The fact that large groups of siblings sharing a spouse is the norm in this society - I could handle this until I thought about it affecting myself (having to share a spouse with my own siblings) and...ewwwwwwwww, gross. It would have been interesting to hear different points of view from characters who were interested in different relationship dynamics than the normal polygyny.
- This is very random, but when the secret passageway in the husband's quarters was first mentioned, I was hoping that the missing princess Hallie would be hiding out in there, like Bruno in the movie Encanto.
marci_travels's review against another edition
5.0
There is a meme on social media right now that shows a library bookend with the categories of "Inspirational, Fantasy, Westerns." This is that book.
In a world vaguely resembling the old American West, women outnumber men 9 to 1, and gender roles are reversed to protect those limited resources. As a man with three younger brothers and seventeen sisters, Jerin Whistler knows his value -- or thinks he does. Just a few months shy of his sixteenth birthday, he will soon be traded or sold to gain enough of a price for his family of sisters and mothers to buy a husband for his sisters, or enough coin to invest in their farms and businesses.
Maybe because the Barbie movie just came out a few weeks ago, or because of my own time and headspace, but I found this story to be a delicious commentary of women who bear the brunt of hard work, yet are treated as the delicate sex, a tongue in cheek gotcha of old time Westerns, a side swipe at young adult harem/love triangles, and a send up of virginal romances. Stay with me, my friends, because it works, truly it works!
Wen Spencer has the ability to write so well and build her world so convincingly, we completely suspend our disbelief as we gallop along with a rescue of a princess, a beautiful farm boy destined for greater things, nefarious kidnappings, royal shenanigans, traitors, shy kisses, and a rousing happily ever after for more than a few characters.
I read this book in one sitting - it is not long or complicated, but there are more than a few moments where scenes in the book could be ripped from today's headlines and social media. Not bad for a book written in 2005. Laugh out loud funny, with a few icks for good measure. Spencer wants to make sure you know who the villains are and paints them as some real nasties.
Good luck in finding a copy. Our big box friends are not playing nice with this one. I was able to snag a copy from Pangobooks.com.
In a world vaguely resembling the old American West, women outnumber men 9 to 1, and gender roles are reversed to protect those limited resources. As a man with three younger brothers and seventeen sisters, Jerin Whistler knows his value -- or thinks he does. Just a few months shy of his sixteenth birthday, he will soon be traded or sold to gain enough of a price for his family of sisters and mothers to buy a husband for his sisters, or enough coin to invest in their farms and businesses.
Maybe because the Barbie movie just came out a few weeks ago, or because of my own time and headspace, but I found this story to be a delicious commentary of women who bear the brunt of hard work, yet are treated as the delicate sex, a tongue in cheek gotcha of old time Westerns, a side swipe at young adult harem/love triangles, and a send up of virginal romances. Stay with me, my friends, because it works, truly it works!
Wen Spencer has the ability to write so well and build her world so convincingly, we completely suspend our disbelief as we gallop along with a rescue of a princess, a beautiful farm boy destined for greater things, nefarious kidnappings, royal shenanigans, traitors, shy kisses, and a rousing happily ever after for more than a few characters.
I read this book in one sitting - it is not long or complicated, but there are more than a few moments where scenes in the book could be ripped from today's headlines and social media. Not bad for a book written in 2005. Laugh out loud funny, with a few icks for good measure. Spencer wants to make sure you know who the villains are and paints them as some real nasties.
Good luck in finding a copy. Our big box friends are not playing nice with this one. I was able to snag a copy from Pangobooks.com.
lynnwrh's review against another edition
5.0
I loved the twist on the traditional romance. Makes you think about society's gender roles and how much is nature vs. nurture.
thrakaboom's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
I couldn't put it down.
liverlylives's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this book. If Jarin had been a woman, I would’ve rolled my eyes at the misogynistic writing, and then considered it another feminist loss in literature. But Wen Spencer is a genius and this book really emphasizes just how deep our prejudices run. The reversed gender roles made me uncomfortable the whole time, and it was wonderfully refreshing.
patsycathcart's review against another edition
3.0
Read this for a popsugar prompt. It was definitely a no patriarchal society book, but I didn’t care for it. I just couldn’t wrap my brain around it.