Reviews with content warning for Murder - Fortuna Sworn

I could not put this book down. It’s perfect for those who love ACOTAR but perhaps want something a little darker. The spice is mild, but I feel like it amps up in book 2. Fortuna Sworn is a beautiful character with fully personality. Do not trust Collith.

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backyardroses's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious medium-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? N/A

4.0

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spaghettii's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

A fun little fae book with tricky characters and nice little plot twists

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prettynerdy3's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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? Yes

3.5

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genny's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I was so skeptical about this book (I kept removing and then putting it back in my e-reader, haha) but I'm glad I decided to give it a chance! I didn't know what to expect other than a "fantasy romance", so I was surprised to discover that this was more focused on the protagonist discovering the fae court and passing a series of trials. I suspect that might be a cliché in fae stories, but this is the first one I've read, so...I liked it! It was actually pretty light on the romance since Fortuna's attention is occupied by more important things, but that worked in my favor. The concept of supernatural creatures descending from

Spoiler

fallen angels

was cool - I hope that's explored more in the next books. This was also way more grim and gore-y than I expected.

Spoiler

The death of the dragon made me teary-eyed :'(

I was waiting for an explanation about Collith's extremely sudden interest in Fortuna, but we never got one, and now I'm scared that we're supposed to just accept it 💀 That can't be it though, right? He had to have known they were soulmates or whatever beforehand...right? He didn't just pick her out of a crowd, I hope. I guess I'll find out in the next book. Also intrigued by Oliver and Laurie. I thought the latter was

Spoiler

an angel, not a faerie king

. My idea was cooler. :P

P.S. I despise the use of the word "mate", it sounds so yucky 😭

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aniwisniewski's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny inspiring mysterious tense medium-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

4.5

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ophealian's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Don't get me wrong, this is definitely an entertaining book. The main character is interesting, the plot is fast-paced, the world-building both fantastical and urban and refreshingly "gritty" in the way that it's very honest about how young 20-somethings think and talk, even when the main character isn't exactly human.

The ONLY thing that I thought was a bit off-putting about this book was how often the narrative would make a SHARP left turn into sex. Now, I'm not prudish by any stretch (being raised by the likes of FF.net and AO3 has cured me of that completely) but it was still a bit jarring for me to be reading about how the main character has someone by the throat with a knife and is literally plundering the depths of their worst fears and then for her to suddenly be like "I can feel his arousal against my leg". Like, wait what?

And maybe that's the point -- maybe fae in this universe are just Horny All The Time (TM) -- the author does make a point to have a character in-universe remark upon this, but just because there's logical explanation for it didn't make it any less whip-lashy of a reading experience.

Fortuna also makes a point to tell you that she's a Virgin. Make do with that info what you will.

But other than that very specific prickle-point, I ripped through this book and really enjoyed it.

It's very effective in its portrayal of the illogical, unreasonable, unwavering love and loyalty that Fortuna has for her brother Damon, and Damon's brokenness and intense Stockholm Syndrome. It works as a reminder that these creatures are not human; in fact they are distinctly inhumane. Their cruelty and carelessness is played in contrast with their beauty, and I think Fortuna's initial confusion in reconciling these dual qualities is very believable.

I had to constantly remind myself that Fortuna is not human, as much as she might act like one.

The ending leaves a lot of mysteries unsolved and propels you right into the next book in the series. The cliffhanger/twist? *chefs kiss*

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folded_between_pages_of_books's review against another edition

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3.0

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