leahkarge's review against another edition
4.0
As always, I adored this book from Chace Verity!
~*~
Rep: homoromantic demisexual mc, gay mc, mc with vitiligo, poc mcs and li’s, mc with prosthetic arm
Warning: brief anxiety over vitiligo, parental death mention, infant death mention, violence, loss of limbs, parental abuse / child abuse, physical injury, brief mention of anti-ace/anti-demi microaggressions
~*~
Rep: homoromantic demisexual mc, gay mc, mc with vitiligo, poc mcs and li’s, mc with prosthetic arm
Warning: brief anxiety over vitiligo, parental death mention, infant death mention, violence, loss of limbs, parental abuse / child abuse, physical injury, brief mention of anti-ace/anti-demi microaggressions
matth's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I liked it less than book one but by no means hated it. There’s important world building happening for future stories and quite a few reveals that made me curious.
sirsangel's review against another edition
3.0
Disclaimer: I was given a free copy of this book for review purposes.
I liked parts of the story, but not enough. Just felt very convoluted.
I liked parts of the story, but not enough. Just felt very convoluted.
menshevixen's review against another edition
5.0
A fantastic return to Galaimara and the Absolutes! After the events of Your Heart Will Grow, Taffy and Hendricks of the Absolutes are experiencing some emotional fall-out. Matters are complicated by the apparent malaise of the Wishing Well, a magical site beloved by the kingdom's inhabitants (readers of Verity's other stories may also feel Valiance's pain in this regard; I was so worried about the Wishing Well!) and the appearance of an alleged dragon seeking assistance in curing the Well. Taffy and Hendricks both journey along their hearts' paths, toward a love thought lost or brand-new love, and I particularly enjoyed Taffy's perspective. Older romantic heroes, second-chance romance, and dudes who are totally starry-eyed over their partners are some of my favorite tropes!
Although established familiarity with this world is helpful, the author provides a glossary of characters and places to get new readers up to speed. The story itself is absorptive and fast-paced enough to carry readers through olive groves, ocean-side reminiscences, and even portals to new worlds. Whether you're looking for queer romance, delightfully frank and yet utterly opaque possible dragons, unicorn gossip, or found families, it's probably waiting on the page in this book.
Although established familiarity with this world is helpful, the author provides a glossary of characters and places to get new readers up to speed. The story itself is absorptive and fast-paced enough to carry readers through olive groves, ocean-side reminiscences, and even portals to new worlds. Whether you're looking for queer romance, delightfully frank and yet utterly opaque possible dragons, unicorn gossip, or found families, it's probably waiting on the page in this book.
solly's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars
This was my favorite book in the series so far <3
I was so glad that Hendricks got his book after what happened in Your Heart Will Grow, and I was super weak for Dearth who is the cutest dragon ever. Also Hendricks is homromantic demisexual and I loved the rep!
I liked Taffy a lot! I kind of wished we got a lot more of his daughter, and overall just more time at Hendricks' family's orchard. It was still very nice to have kinda older-than-usual main characters for a romance, and even if I liked Dearth/Hendricks better in the end, Taffy's second chance romance with his ex-wife was really nice.
The plot was great and it dealt with realising your parent (who's also a shapeshifter and wish-granter and more) is abusive as hell and well, the context is very different here, but I still related with that.
It had a really heavy focus on family/found-family and friendship as well as romance and it's kind of my catnip so I adored this story.
I just. Generally love Chace Verity's work. It's super super queer, it's packed with good good feels and often makes me feel really good and I love it.
This was my favorite book in the series so far <3
I was so glad that Hendricks got his book after what happened in Your Heart Will Grow, and I was super weak for Dearth who is the cutest dragon ever. Also Hendricks is homromantic demisexual and I loved the rep!
I liked Taffy a lot! I kind of wished we got a lot more of his daughter, and overall just more time at Hendricks' family's orchard. It was still very nice to have kinda older-than-usual main characters for a romance, and even if I liked Dearth/Hendricks better in the end, Taffy's second chance romance with his ex-wife was really nice.
The plot was great and it dealt with realising your parent (who's also a shapeshifter and wish-granter and more) is abusive as hell and well, the context is very different here, but I still related with that.
It had a really heavy focus on family/found-family and friendship as well as romance and it's kind of my catnip so I adored this story.
I just. Generally love Chace Verity's work. It's super super queer, it's packed with good good feels and often makes me feel really good and I love it.
copiouspep's review against another edition
5.0
Content Warnings: Brief allusions to anxiety related to a character’s skin condition, brief allusions to microaggressions a demisexual character endured, mentions of deceased parents, mentions of infant death, violence (including gore and loss of limbs), and abuse from a parent.
This can be read as a standalone in the Absolute series, but My Heart is Ready and Your Heart Will Grow offer a lot of backstory about the plot and characters. However, there is a spoiler-free glossary in the beginning for any new readers or to refresh memories of old ones.
I went into this story fully expecting Chace Verity to break my heart once again, like she did in Your Heart Will Grow, but she patched it up instead. Reading this brought back both very good and painful memories and it was really nice to get an update on the characters from the last book.
This includes a glorious second-chance romance that I was rooting for, older heroes falling (back) in love, and wonderful found family.
Her descriptions of the new lands that we go to in this book and how different they are from Valiance instantly drew me in. The new characters that we’re introduced to, even briefly, are interesting and funny. For example, Hendricks’s sisters and their want to dress up everyone that comes to the house in new clothes or Jeanne and her dramatics when we meet her for the first time.
Mentioning the characters, I loved every single one of them. Except for the villain, of course. They’re unique and complex and have their own problems that they’re battling as they’re trying to help Dearth with his sick mother. We delve into the past of Taffy, the 40-year-old Absolute captain from Your Heart Will Grow, and see him grow as a character and fight the pull from a Majerian that could ruin his blossoming relationship. He’s unexpectedly funny when he’s jealous and he loves so deeply. Medi is so strong and cares for her family and she takes no shit from the boys.
Hendricks is a homoromantic demisexual and I loved this representation. It’s so reminiscent of my own sexuality. He finds men attractive, but does not feel a desire to do anything with them unless he feels something special for them that’s hard to describe. His family are a little less understanding and keep setting up dates for him. He’s so caring and kind and doesn’t think that he’s noble even though he’ll do anything for those he loves.
Oh my god the drama. I never knew where the plot was going or how it was going to get solved. I cannot honestly believe how long it took me to pick this up (a year!) and now I’m eagerly awaiting the next book in the series.
This can be read as a standalone in the Absolute series, but My Heart is Ready and Your Heart Will Grow offer a lot of backstory about the plot and characters. However, there is a spoiler-free glossary in the beginning for any new readers or to refresh memories of old ones.
I went into this story fully expecting Chace Verity to break my heart once again, like she did in Your Heart Will Grow, but she patched it up instead. Reading this brought back both very good and painful memories and it was really nice to get an update on the characters from the last book.
This includes a glorious second-chance romance that I was rooting for, older heroes falling (back) in love, and wonderful found family.
Her descriptions of the new lands that we go to in this book and how different they are from Valiance instantly drew me in. The new characters that we’re introduced to, even briefly, are interesting and funny. For example, Hendricks’s sisters and their want to dress up everyone that comes to the house in new clothes or Jeanne and her dramatics when we meet her for the first time.
Mentioning the characters, I loved every single one of them. Except for the villain, of course. They’re unique and complex and have their own problems that they’re battling as they’re trying to help Dearth with his sick mother. We delve into the past of Taffy, the 40-year-old Absolute captain from Your Heart Will Grow, and see him grow as a character and fight the pull from a Majerian that could ruin his blossoming relationship. He’s unexpectedly funny when he’s jealous and he loves so deeply. Medi is so strong and cares for her family and she takes no shit from the boys.
Hendricks is a homoromantic demisexual and I loved this representation. It’s so reminiscent of my own sexuality. He finds men attractive, but does not feel a desire to do anything with them unless he feels something special for them that’s hard to describe. His family are a little less understanding and keep setting up dates for him. He’s so caring and kind and doesn’t think that he’s noble even though he’ll do anything for those he loves.
Oh my god the drama. I never knew where the plot was going or how it was going to get solved. I cannot honestly believe how long it took me to pick this up (a year!) and now I’m eagerly awaiting the next book in the series.
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