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kim03's review against another edition
2.0
I didn't like:
- "The kelpie" side story (the snippets at the beginning of each chapter). It was pointless, and didn't need to be included in the book. Also, I hated it. This guy caught and chained a magical creature, and after using it for his own gain, it turned into a woman and they made love (and fell in love I guess? Though I wasn't convinced). Disgusting. Sorry not sorry.
- The sex scenes. Weird descriptions in that it wasn't romanticised but felt rather true to life which took me out of the story. It was overall very unattractive. Also, why was that man so godforsaken hairy???
- Parts of the plot felt a bit too pointed (as in, they were used to make a point but weren't really necessary).
- Content warning for disability. I'm not the right person to judge wether this was properly handled, but just know that ppl say some insensitive things.
What I liked:
- Parts of the disability representation
- The beginning was quite charming and funny (until the actual love story started. My bad).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Minor: Gun violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Death of parent, and War
brucethegirl's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
I hadn't read any historicals in this time period before. There were a lot of world aspects I had no idea about- namely that a woman could be kidnapped and forced into marriage and it was just totally a thing you could do. Mind-boggling on a number of levels, even the "women are property" one they had back then. But I digress.
Lady Phoebe Batten has benefitted her entire life being the sister of a powerful duke, one that indulges her and cares about her. And is probably more overprotective than any other brother. Namely because Phoebe is blind, and through the course of the book her eye sight actually becomes progressively worse. Her brother has commanded that she be accompanied at all times by Captain James Trevillion. A brooding, mysterious sharpshooter with his own issues. He also is an auxiliary cane user and has a limp.
I enjoyed the grumpy/sunshine romance, and the angst about their not being able to be together due to SOCIETY. It led to some really great internal dialogue and being it was dual POV, I ate that up. I especially loved having a disability rep in BOTH leads. That neither let it make them helpless, or needed to be cured or whatever else. It was life, it was their reality. Now let's fall in love.
I didn't really care for the big reveal at the end. Well the kidnapping one, that was just very whoomp whoomp boring and not exciting at all. It was just... not anything close to the build up. Not to mention the aspects that were clearly set into play just to build further books in the series. Don't call this a standalone when its clearly not. I did enjoy James's family reveal. That was really great and well handled.
Overall, a fun time in a time period not often explored.
Lady Phoebe Batten has benefitted her entire life being the sister of a powerful duke, one that indulges her and cares about her. And is probably more overprotective than any other brother. Namely because Phoebe is blind, and through the course of the book her eye sight actually becomes progressively worse. Her brother has commanded that she be accompanied at all times by Captain James Trevillion. A brooding, mysterious sharpshooter with his own issues. He also is an auxiliary cane user and has a limp.
I enjoyed the grumpy/sunshine romance, and the angst about their not being able to be together due to SOCIETY. It led to some really great internal dialogue and being it was dual POV, I ate that up. I especially loved having a disability rep in BOTH leads. That neither let it make them helpless, or needed to be cured or whatever else. It was life, it was their reality. Now let's fall in love.
I didn't really care for the big reveal at the end. Well the kidnapping one, that was just very whoomp whoomp boring and not exciting at all. It was just... not anything close to the build up. Not to mention the aspects that were clearly set into play just to build further books in the series. Don't call this a standalone when its clearly not. I did enjoy James's family reveal. That was really great and well handled.
Overall, a fun time in a time period not often explored.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Kidnapping
Moderate: Confinement and Rape
trashbinfluencer's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
sad
medium-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
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Classism
Minor: Gun violence, Homophobia, Racism, Rape, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, and Outing
onlyonebookshelf's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
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? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping
Moderate: Sexual assault and Violence
allingoodtime's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Once it was becoming clear, in earlier books, that Lady Phoebe and Captain Trevillion were falling for each other I was filled with anticipation. Trevillion is used to being in charge and not being questioned while Phoebe is curious and headstrong. For the most part, she is good with obeying her brother’s smothering rules, but now that he has hired Trevillion to guard her she can no longer bend those rules. To put it bluntly, Phoebe is feeling stifled and ready to rebel.
Because there is an age gap and Trevillion is charged with Phoebe’s protection, he mostly ignores his feeling for the younger woman. Yet once her life is threatened his alpha comes roaring to life. He still has to act with propriety on the outside, but his inside voice is screaming at him to protect her. That same inside voice breaks my heart when he feels he isn’t protecting her adequately or when she makes a backhanded comment to him out of anger at being coddled. To think, this former dragoon who I despised in the first few books, has a heart of gold and an ooey gooey center underneath his hard shell.
Their relationship blossoms when Phoebe and Trevillion are off on their own, away from the city and its dangers. Watching Phoebe come to life in the freedom she is granted and having Trevillion learn to take that step back to give her that gift was glorious. These two made my heart soar.
There are some new introductions to characters in this book as well as getting to know some recently introduced characters better. I don’t know that I’ll ever be able to get behind one in particular, but it’s happened before with good writing. I guess we’ll see if they ever get their own story. But the victims, so to speak, of this evil-seeming character deserve to find some happiness in life.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Kidnapping
Moderate: Ableism and Rape
smithrachaelynn's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
fast-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
5.0
Re-read. The following review is from my first read: Absolute perfection. I loved this so so much! So many great characters and the story was amazing. I loved seeing Phoebe learn what she wanted out of life and how to assert herself. James’s longing for her was so cute.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content, Violence, and Kidnapping
Minor: Animal death, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail