Reviews with content warning for Violence - Kushiel's Dart

This has long been on my TBR, and I have almost picked it up so many times, but it's a chonky one, and that's always a bit intimidating. But a recent overseas trip, with lots of travel time, felt like the perfect opportunity to start a book like this. I'd have lots of time and, since it's such a tome, I wouldn't have to pack as many other books. Plus, I was able to get the audiobook from my library, so I'd have flexibility in reading style vibes. Perfect.

In the land of Terre d'Ange, nothing is more important than beauty, and the people that live there follow one rule above all others" love as thou wilt. Into this land is born Phèdre nó Delaunay, unique even in this land of beautiful things for the scarlet mote in her left eye, marking her as one blessed by Kushiel, chosen to always experience pain and please together as one. Phèdre's benefactor chooses to train her not just in the arts of, essentially, sex work (the way it could be, if it were properly monitored and protected as a legitmate job by policy and public opinion, but I digress), but also in the intimacies of courtly intrigue, political machination, interpesonal relationships and psychology, and general public policy/global studies/langauges. This dual role of courtesan and spy thrusts Phèdre into a complex and dangerous world of power-grabbing and violence, in which she is betrayed gravely and experiences much beyond her original duties. But honor of her benefactor and love of her country goad her ever further into drama and danger, while her connection grows ever stronger with one (a *celibate* priest-warrior named Joscelin) oath-sworn to protect her.

Whoa. This was some real old school classic fantasy writing vibes, with the high formal language and unnecessarily high-handed ways of saying basic things. I mean, it's absolutely as long as it is because of that writing style. Although, to be fair, the complexity of the political machinations and personal motivations for power/influence and interpersonal relationship drama (which, if I'm honest, I definitely did not follow all of) were *chef's kiss.* And while a simpler writing style could have conveyed just as much complexity, the slightly overblown style added a lot to the vibes of the novel. It is for sure a style not everyone will be into, nor be able to tolerate for the length of the book, so do be cognizant of that. Another writing note, the foreshadowing was...heavy...as in: not subtle and a lot of it. That probably grated on me more than the style of the writing, if I'm honest. Mostly just, I want readers to know what kind of book they're picking up, as this is a situation where incorrect expectations can ruin the experience.

And speaking more to that experience. As I said, the complexity of the world-building and characters was spectacular, deep and detailed. There is a very clearly recognizable parallel to many of the nations and histories of our own (Western) world, and those inspirations and shades did help a bit, as the many elements of the story grew in scope and intricacy. There are many classic, for a reason, epic fantasy tropes included in this novel and I was really here for them. It took me until about forty percent of the way in to really feel caught up in things (pretty standard for world-building of this extent), but it happened. And then all the alliances and betrayals, slow burn opposites relationship, journeys/quests, loyalties formed and fought for, the magical entraption of best friends (and let me take a moment here to say I did really like this side plot of Hyacinthe's) the final major battle, and the surprise inheritances from dead benefactors - all the cornerstone fantasy tropes were there as they should be.

And there were some bonus things as well that I really loved. The way pleasure, in all its forms and variations, with consent on all levels because of the widespread social acceptance and its connection to worship and godliness, is fascinating. And wonderful. And I loved it. It feels akin to what Le Guin’s Left Hand of Darkness does with gender, as far as the casual reality of how it’s incorporated into the world-building and storytelling. On that note, specific to Phèdre's specific experience with the conflation of pain and pleasure, content warning for pain and injury, both wanted (due to Kushiel's Dart) and unwanted (because it's fantasy and that's a trope too...). Andddddd at the two thirds mark, when we finally got the long-awaited encounter between Phèdre and Joscelin, which everyone see coming from a mile away because that's how these things work - I was here for it. Though it would have been easier (and wanted!) for more sexual interaction on the part of our MC and her emotional love after that, I’m happy with how it played out true to their characters. It's that love it-hate it kind of tension that makes reading such a visceral experience.

Well. I wasn't sure for a while if this was going to be"for me" or not. But, y’all, the hardcore epic fantasy nerd still lives within me. I don't regret a single minute of my thirty hours with the audiobook. And though I think it'll be a hot minute before I read further (if I ever do, because I may have convinced myself that the ending of this first book is just...the end), if you're feeling some classic, bombastic, high political intrigue, sex-positive (at least within the central cultural belief system of the book) female-hero/MC epic fantasy, this one will hit the spot.

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jonezzzing's review against another edition

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Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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hazelgirl21's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional slow-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? No

3.5

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bookynerd's review

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adventurous challenging dark medium-paced

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

4.25

Listen. This book is a political masterpiece. I loved every second of it. I only marked it down because there were a lot of terms that were made for this book and not real words that never received a definition. I had to pull apart from context what they are and for some of them it took a while.

I loved the main characters and anguished when they anguished, rejoiced when they rejoiced. The ending was exactly what I expected and I loved every second of it. I felt so much reading this book. It is worth every page of the 900 pages.

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savvypotions's review

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adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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? It's complicated

3.75

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bkmckown's review

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2.0

This book was recommended to me by MANY people. It’s was such a slog to finish. Over 1,000 pages and I would’ve quit if I hadn’t needed it for many of my reading challenges. I’ll start with the positive:

The overall story was fairly interesting. The sexy parts were indeed spicy. That’s about it.

Now for the stuff I did NOT like:

Let me preface this to say that I don’t like fantasy that much. Especially the ones who refer to characters in full name, the ones that have names that are difficult to pronounce, the ones that have exotic names for every group of people, location, position, etc

The main character is basically a child who is taught in the erotic arts. HUGE WTF! She’s a sex slave. Her first “master” just enjoys inflicting pain- which part of her “curse” makes it pleasurable to her. I felt like it wasn’t BDSM, but just abuse. Maybe there was a time in my life where I’d find this read enjoyable, but this isn’t it.

I did give it 2 stars because the author did create and intricate cast of characters and story, but honestly, I would’ve DNF at any other time.

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strawberrypinch's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious 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

3.75

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storykeeper_saga's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional slow-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

3.5

I believe a lot of people have gone into this book expecting a romance or erotica when in reality it's a political fantasy. It fills the same type of space as A Song of Ice and Fire.

Though this is not an erotica, sex, sexuality, and BDSM themes are integral to the story. Our main character is a sex worker, a religious sex worker at that.

Phaedra is now one of my favorite characters. She has a realistic character arc and is interesting. She makes changes in the story. Starting off as a bratty child, she grows into a clever and cunning woman.

My main issue is the sheer amount of characters and things that happen. Carey has extremely purple prose on top of it. There’s a lot of characters who matter to the story, but a lot of them blend together and are hard to keep track of. This may have been because I listened to the audio book.

All in all, interesting but an excess of characters and a romance that I am not fully a big fan of is not my favorite. Purple prose is on every page but the story is engaging and the world is so rich and three dimensional. I am excited to read the rest of the books in this world.

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