Scan barcode
alexandrabelze's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Confinement, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Drug use, and Blood
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Pedophilia, Alcohol, and War
cielosiluminado's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Confinement, Rape, Sexual content, and Slavery
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, and Violence
Minor: Animal death, Incest, and War
divine529's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
This follows our main protagonist, Damen, a prince from Akielos whose father was killed and his half-brother sent him off to be a slave in a neighboring kingdom. His master is the cruel and cold prince of Vere, Laurent. What follows is a story of cruelty, survival, pain, political intrigue and cultural clashes.
As I said above, I wasn't a huge fan of this book. I really enjoyed my time with it because of the plot and the politics. The characters aren't that loveable and I feel like we really don't know much about them by the end of the book. Plus the things Laurent put Damen through? That's a kind of trauma that doesn't sit right with me for any kind of relationship they form, even if it were to be resolved later.
The amount of rape, CSA and torture is a lot and was really rough for me to read.
Some people have said this is a sort of gay GoT and I can sort of see what they mean.
All in all, I didn't love this, but it's intriguing enough for me to want to continue on. Definitely "book candy" for me.
Graphic: Confinement, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Biphobia, Body horror, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Toxic relationship, Blood, Acephobia/Arophobia, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Animal death, Death, Incest, Infidelity, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and War
madscientistcat's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Confinement, Rape, Slavery, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Animal death, Pedophilia, and Torture
Minor: War
nikki_saulnier's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Confinement, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Slavery
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Incest, Pedophilia, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
megmei's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
And yet, even with all of that, this managed to be a very boring 300 pages. If I wasn’t stuck at home with Covid, I probably would have DNF’d this.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Xenophobia, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
milfmarner's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Kidnapping and War
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Incest, Pedophilia, and Death of parent
samnotwise's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Confinement, Rape, Sexual assault, and Slavery
Moderate: Death, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, and Death of parent
Minor: Animal death, Child abuse, Murder, and War
issyharvey's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Trafficking, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Incest, Miscarriage, Torture, Abortion, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and War
onthesamepage's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
There is absolutely no whiff of romance in this first book, which is good, because I don't think the story allows for it yet. But the character dynamics are fantastic. Laurent is definitely the most fascinating of the two, because he is more inscrutable. Some of his interactions with Nicaise show genuine compassion. It's also clear that he doesn't hate everyone from Akielos and is, in fact, capable of being kind to the slaves, even as he is a complete bastard to Damen. I think Damen is a naïve idiot, and I say this with love, because I don't buy for a second that Laurent doesn't know exactly who he is, and has known from the beginning, which would also explain why his behavior towards Damen is different compared to how he usually behaves.
I'm definitely invested in them at this point, and I can't wait to see all the ways in which they'll grow.
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, and Torture
Moderate: Child abuse and Drug use
Minor: Animal death