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ashliebysmashliereads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Plot: 3.5
Characters: 4
Tension: 4.5
Originality: 3
Immersiveness: 3
Characters: 4
Tension: 4.5
Originality: 3
Immersiveness: 3
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse and Sexual violence
court_reads_it_all's review against another edition
The first red flag in the book is the constant description of Amaris' white skin as pure and beautiful, while Nox, the only POC character, is the only one to be whipped. Additionally, Amaris romanticizes life as a farmer or noble man's wife, while Nox tries to protect her friend during a traumatic event. The writing style attempts to mimic Tolkien or C.S. Lewis but falls short, resulting in the book dragging on with chapters dedicated to mundane tasks. Overall, the book is disappointing and only receives one star despite being a gift and on my to-be-read list.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
frizzbiscuit's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Plot had me hooked, addictive read, but the constant fetishisation of POCs is really uncomfortable to read.
Every single line talking about how delectable Nox is also talks about her dark caramel skin. Amaris is similarly compared to a snowflake and her pale skin is always talked about when they talk about how beautiful she is, I get that it's SUPPOSED to be a contrast thing, but yeah, the narrative talks about them VERY differently.
The sexual violence is also not my cup of tea. I did look up content warnings first and there is a very clear disclaimer in the beginning of the book, so I was prepared. Some of those scenes were clearly written to showcase the horror of it, but the way Nox "reclaims" her power doesn't really hit the mark for me.
The number of typos and just like horrendously wrong sentences was also super distracting while reading, but that probably makes sense for a self-published book.
Overall though, I enjoyed the story and was rooting for characters.
The number of typos and just like horrendously wrong sentences was also super distracting while reading, but that probably makes sense for a self-published book.
Overall though, I enjoyed the story and was rooting for characters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, and Trafficking
Minor: Xenophobia and Religious bigotry
nicolemarieisme's review against another edition
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Over half of this book felt as if nothing was happening so it made it very hard to follow the characters. It also felt as if characters were experiencing trauma just for dramas sake.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Rape, and Sexual violence
rberdan's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
There were definitely elements of the book I liked. Amaris and Nox in the orphanage had a lovely bond. Given how slowly the plot moved we probably could have spent even more time with them there. The relationship between Odrin and Amaris would have been nice to see more of as well.
As much as I tend to be pulled to strong FMCs and was here for the bisexual representation, I have to say I was actually more interested in character development among thedark fae and the reevers .
I found myself skimming a lot. I was of course uncomfortable with the various forms of child abuse that took place at the top of the book, and I think it would have been interesting to get into more of the healing that the characters went through. It seemed almost like it was just a thing that happened, and many of the tension points felt a bit more adolescent.
I was also uncomfortable with some of the dynamics between Nox as a racialized character vs Amaris as the whitest of white characters.Not only did Nox sacrifice herself for Amaris’s safety, but Nox was also consistently pining for Amaris and on a mission to get back to her whereas Amaris had no such yen to serve Nox. While I understand that Amaris would know less of Nox’s fate than vice versa, the power imbalance is still palpable. The dynamic is further underscored by Nox’s story serving under the darkness of Millicent’s operation in a profession that is often demonized while Amaris serves a cause that is positioned as more noble.
All to say I think there were some good ingredients and I did appreciate some of the lore, even if there are critiques around its familiarly. As I’m writing my first book right now I have utmost appreciation for anyone who writes and especially self publishes. I also know how invaluable editing feedback will be because I know I can’t see outside my own focal points. I am curious about where the story goes so may read on, but I have some other reads that I’m a bit more eager to get into right now.
As much as I tend to be pulled to strong FMCs and was here for the bisexual representation, I have to say I was actually more interested in character development among the
I found myself skimming a lot. I was of course uncomfortable with the various forms of child abuse that took place at the top of the book, and I think it would have been interesting to get into more of the healing that the characters went through. It seemed almost like it was just a thing that happened, and many of the tension points felt a bit more adolescent.
I was also uncomfortable with some of the dynamics between Nox as a racialized character vs Amaris as the whitest of white characters.
All to say I think there were some good ingredients and I did appreciate some of the lore, even if there are critiques around its familiarly. As I’m writing my first book right now I have utmost appreciation for anyone who writes and especially self publishes. I also know how invaluable editing feedback will be because I know I can’t see outside my own focal points. I am curious about where the story goes so may read on, but I have some other reads that I’m a bit more eager to get into right now.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse and Sexual violence
Moderate: Sexual content
endangeredhufflepuff's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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
3.5
Kind of difficult for me to get into due to the writing style and typos, but the plot is interesting and unpredictable.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse and Rape
Moderate: Death
grets_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- 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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Trafficking
Moderate: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, and Torture
nerdyforbooks_'s review against another edition
Do yourself a favor and research this book online & don’t just rely on reviews.
I bought this book because of the back. What an AWESOME sounding concept, two fae-touched girls, fighting across the world to reach each other in a war. Cool! I knew nothing about the controversy behind it.
This book is not cool. Let’s start with the fact that in 125 pages I know barely anything about this world. Even though the author tries to make it sound like Nox is highly educated & worldly. Then let’s touch on the fact that tokenism is literally dropped in the first… 20 pages of this book and then the POC MC is whipped for breaking a bottle of oil & bag of flour on page 44. If you can get past those super gross feeling cringe moments, color me shocked because I probably zoned out multiple times just going along from the crap filler.
I was willing to give this book the benefit of the doubt (like OK whipping during medieval times was a form of punishment if we wanna argue that angle - but I don’t even know ANYTHING ABOUT THIS WORLD to say that’s a fair argument), but uhh… all I can say is WTF. Find something better to read.
I bought this book because of the back. What an AWESOME sounding concept, two fae-touched girls, fighting across the world to reach each other in a war. Cool! I knew nothing about the controversy behind it.
This book is not cool. Let’s start with the fact that in 125 pages I know barely anything about this world. Even though the author tries to make it sound like Nox is highly educated & worldly. Then let’s touch on the fact that tokenism is literally dropped in the first… 20 pages of this book and then the POC MC is whipped for breaking a bottle of oil & bag of flour on page 44. If you can get past those super gross feeling cringe moments, color me shocked because I probably zoned out multiple times just going along from the crap filler.
I was willing to give this book the benefit of the doubt (like OK whipping during medieval times was a form of punishment if we wanna argue that angle - but I don’t even know ANYTHING ABOUT THIS WORLD to say that’s a fair argument), but uhh… all I can say is WTF. Find something better to read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Racism, and Violence
iforgotilivedhere's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
I had fun with this. It’s not necessarily the most original fantasy book I’ve read but I still rather enjoyed it. I liked the characters for the most part. I see what Piper CJ is doing with this. SJM did the same with Throne of Glass which is start out slow and unoriginal and then EXPAND. I didn’t see the plot twist with Moirai coming and I didn’t see some of the other twists that Amaris had. I really want to see where this romance is gonna go because there’s so much potential!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, and Murder
Moderate: Body horror, Domestic abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Kidnapping, and Fire/Fire injury
bcrowes11's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-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? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore and Sexual content
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Child abuse and Sexual content