Reviews tagging 'Blood'

One for All by Lillie Lainoff

32 reviews

sunlit_music's review

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective tense 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

4.5

Plot: Tania, the heroine of the story, has Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome. Tania's father, a renowned musketeer, is tragically killed. Tania suspects he is murdered, and takes a chance to attend a finishing school to find her father's murderer and carry out justice. Soon, she is surrounded by supportive friends and a teacher who will help her find out who is trying to destroy the monarchy. Will she be able to prevent bloodshed and war, and save those she loves? 

Characters: Reading this book was an emotional roller coaster for me. I loved the protagonist Tania de Batz. She's brave, kind, and loyal, and her friends are delightful. Her father was so lovely, and it was so sad to see her mother worn down by society's ableism and sexism. I did not expect a certain someone to be the antagonist - the plot twist was heart breaking but so clever! The romance is really sweet too. 

There are two love interests - one is the antagonist (think lovers to enemies), and the other is on the protagonist's side (friends to lovers). 

World building: world building and setting was realistic and well researched. I was so immersed in the world I barely noticed my own surroundings while reading the book! The intrigue and spy craft is realistic and detailed, and so believable. I really did feel transported to another time. 

Ending: The ending was emotionally satisfying, made sense, and felt uplifting. Tania and her friends deserved their happy ending. They worked hard for it!

Diversity - the story is diverse, with several strong and likable women characters, great lgbt+ representation and amazing disabled characters. Like the author said on goodreads, one musketeer loves women, another one is a demi bisexual, and a main character is asexual. 

Prose:  prose flowed naturally and beautifully, without being too flowery. 

I would recommend this book for: people who love great stories about friendship, family, disability, self esteem and women's rights. This is historical Young Adult fiction with intrigue, suspense, and adventure. 

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chelseawrites21's review

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adventurous emotional informative lighthearted mysterious 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? Yes

4.25

They may not be the Musketeers I’d imagined. But they were better, because they were mine. And I knew, as I looked at them and saw the cold steely resolve inside me mirrored in their eyes, that I was theirs. - Tania, pg. 206

For starters, I loved this book. The sisterhood, mystery, the disability repsentation. This book really put in perspective what it's like to have POTS, at least in one example. It's definitely one of fav books and I'm sad to see it end.🥺

My only wish is that girls' relationship was more stretched out a little. I just felt it all happens so fast. One minute their strangers to Tania, the next she calling them her sisters. However, this did make for a kinda fast medium paced read and over all the girls' relationship was cute. And I like how the book touched briefly on serious subjects like SA and ableism. I also like the message and see Tania slowly accept herself.

I'm very proud of ONE FOR ALL being the first book I ever pre-ordered and hopefully in the future, we can see more of Tania's world. Otherwise, I will definitely be reading more of Lainoff's books as she releases them.




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fromjuliereads's review

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adventurous funny hopeful inspiring 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? Yes

4.5

I really enjoyed this book! I loved the nods to the original - and thoroughly appreciated the nod to The Princess Bride 😅 I feel fiercely protective of these characters, like I want to join the Order! I loved the writing and it was just a thoroughly enjoyable Musketeers story!!

I did predict the twist, and found one piece a little repetitive but thoroughly enjoyed! 

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bronsonmh's review

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adventurous emotional inspiring mysterious sad tense 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? Yes

5.0

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for an audiobook arc in exchange for an honest review. 

Wow, this book was AMAZING! I was hooked from the beginning. I love the idea of a gender bent retelling of The Three Musketeers. This story is about a young girl Tania whose father was a musketeer and was teaching her fencing to help her forget and to help her out with the mysterious illness that causes her to faint or pass out (In later years the illness is called POTS) Tania is tired of being labeled the "sick girl" someone who probably will never marry. One day her father is murdered and she is sent off to   L’Académie des Mariées, thinking she going to a finishing school, but she soon finds out that this place is more than it seems. While she is there she finds out this school is a place where they train a new kind of musketeers. They are trained in fencing along with learning how to flirt  and being a lady to obtain information from men that they need for their mission. I love how this book is centered around sisterhood. I love all the girls befriends at the school. Even though all have their flaws they all work together as a team and has each other backs no matter what. I also like how this book talks about how even though sometimes we can not control  are bodies or what happens, but we can work to overcome it and live the life you want to.

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betweentheshelves's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional 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

There's so much to love about this book! Not only does it have great disability rep in terms of POTS, but the characters and the action are both great, too. I loved Tania and her musketeers. They worked so well together, in a time period where a lot of people underestimated women. Though let's be honest, people still underestimate women.

Anyway, some of the plot elements felt a bit predictable to me, but I didn't mind. The pacing was pretty spot on, and the action sequences with the fencing were fun to read. Or listen to, in my case! The audiobook is well done, really helping to bring the story to life.

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electroclan17's review against another edition

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adventurous dark
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

If you love the movie Barbie and the Three Musketeers you'll love this book. There are some differences (including stuff that wouldn't be mentioned in a barbie movie) but it is still fun to read.

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caseythereader's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny 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? No

4.0

Thanks to FSG Books for the free copy of this book.

 - ONE FOR ALL is a gender bent Three Musketeers retelling, with swashbuckling girls, fancy parties and mysterious machinations.
- Tania's chronic illness is central to her life, and I loved that this wasn't a story about "fixing" her, but learning how to both manage it herself and ask for help when she needs it. 

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readingelli's review

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hopeful 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? It's complicated

5.0

“I am no one’s dove.” 
“[W]hatever this dizziness is … maybe it’s never been the real problem. It’s horrible and it hurts and it makes me feel fragile in a way I never wanted, but it’s not the thing that tears me apart. The problem, the real problem, is the people who decide I’m unworthy because of it.” 
“No- no. […] Too many months becoming myself to lose her.” 

Tania is the woman I want to grow up to be. This beautifully written, hugely relatable #OwnVoices book about a teen with POTS- causing dizziness, brain fog, blackouts, and pain- gave me words to describe what was happening to me. Almost every page had a description that spoke to me, and I couldn’t stop my tears of joy at seeing myself in a main character. 
The plot was engaging, the character development was spot on, Lainoff’s voice was brilliant. I had an inkling of the final showdown but the tension building was so well done I was still surprised. 
I cannot recommend this book more highly. Thank you Lillie, for showing us that we can be Musketeers too. 

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olivialandryxo's review

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adventurous emotional mysterious tense 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

5.0

[Early copy from Netgalley. This doesn’t affect my opinions/review.]

This was one of my most anticipated 2022 releases—a historical fantasy with a chronically ill protagonist? Sign me the hell up. And I’m thrilled to say that it did NOT disappoint. I loved everything about One for All, from cover to cover, and it’s undoubtedly one of my favorite books not just of the year, but of all time.

Although we don’t have the same conditions, I can’t begin to describe what it meant to me, a disabled girl, to see a another disabled girl as the badass main character of a book. I saw so much of myself in Tania and related to so many of her struggles. Her determination and strength are admirable, and honestly, I want to be like her when I grow up. 🤩🤩

And the other Musketeers? Ohmygod. Icons, all of them. Don’t ask me to pick a favorite because that would be literally impossible. Théa is the biggest sweetheart, Aria is impressively clever, Portia is absolutely hilarious, and they’re all totally badass. Seeing all the ways they rallied around Tania and supported her without hesitation was heartwarming. I love their little found family more than I can say. ❤️❤️❤️

Also, I’d like to take a moment to appreciate Henri. I think he might actually be the biggest cinnamon roll I’ve ever encountered and I adore him. His awkwardness is endearing and he’s so adorably thoughtful; he must be protected AT ALL COSTS. 🥺🥺

I’m not really gonna say anything about the romance elements in this book because the main one is tied heavily to the plot, and the side one is so deliciously slow-burn you don’t actually know if it’s going to happen until it does. The only teaser I’ll give is that, for like 200 pages, I had VERY STRONG suspicions that two characters were very much ~not straight~ and was immensely happy when I ended up being right. We gays can sense each other. 😎
I can’t help it, I have to scream somewhere—PORTIA AND ARIA??? PORTIA AND ARIA!!! I first started to suspect when the four girls were practicing seduction prior to the first ball, and these two were paired up for a demonstration. I was like 👀 and then the more I read, the more they seemed to be flirting 👀 and then they KISSED and I swear I nearly SHRIEKED love this for my girls!!! 🌈✨💕


(New spoiler tag because it’s time for me to fangirl about the other ship lol.) All we got was an inkling, really, but TANIA AND HENRI!!! Badass girl with sword x total cinnamon roll is one of my absolute ship dynamics, and even though all we got were a few crumbs, I know in my heart that that’s going to end up being a DELICIOUS cake. (Is that a weird analogy? Maybe, but I’m sticking with it. 🍰) I loved Henri from the beginning, but didn’t initially ship them because I thought he fancied Théa and knew Tania was supposed to get a love interest of her own. Enter Étienne, who at first I loved because he was so similar to my sweet boy Thomas Cresswell, and then I had to hate him, because even though I was really hoping he wouldn’t be an asshole, I had a feeling that he would be and then he was, which is rather unfortunate. But then, in the end, Théa told Tania that she saw Henri as more of a brother than anything else, which my hopeless romantic heart is going to take and run with and imagine Tania and Henri as the most adorable Musketeer couple. 🥺💕🤩


Okay, now that I got that out of my system, I have one other thing to say. Yes, the story’s pacing is slower, and yes, I ultimately did predict the big bad guy’s identity, but neither of those ruined it for me. I think the reason that these can ruin some books for me while not fazing me in others has a lot to do with how attached I am to the characters and how invested I am in the story. In this case, where the answer to both is “very much,” I’m more lenient. (Does this make sense? It does in my head.)

I think I’ve done all the rambling that I can, at least for now. Honestly, I’m sad that it’s over; I finished reading One for All two hours ago and I’m still thinking about it. I’m pretty sure I’ll be thinking about it for a while, and rereading it soon enough. In the meantime, add it to the list of books I shout about from the virtual rooftop constantly. Add it to my list of personality traits. Its spot is wholeheartedly deserved.

Representation
  • chronically ill protagonist (POTS)
  • sapphic side couple

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foreverinastory's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional 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? Yes

4.5

Thank you to Colored Pages Book Tours, Farrar, Straus and Giroux and Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review and promotion. All opinions are my own.

4.5/5

I really enjoyed this book and I want to see more disabled stories like this one!!

One for All is a genderbent retelling of the Three Musketeers. It follows Tania de Batz, the daughter of a former Musketeer and her greatest champion. Tania has chronic dizziness (postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome), but regardless of what everyone else thinks, Tania knows she's might to become a Musketeer. When her father is brutally murdered she thinks her dreams will fade to nothing. But when she arrives at L’Académie des Mariées, she finds something unexpected.

This was such a fun book. I can't speak much to the retelling aspect, because I know basically nothing about the Three Musketeers, but I really loved the sisterhood of the Academie! I came to love the other girls of the Academie so quickly. It was just the best girl gang I've read about in a while! I loved how the other girls gave Tania accommodations when she needed them, but refused to let her believe she's weak or a burden.

Tania was such a strong character and I really loved her. She's spent a lot of her life isolated and seeing her befriend the other girls and begin to make a home for herself was such an empowering storyline. I loved all of the fencing practice, and I definitely could've used more of it. More duels too! More swords are always a good idea.

Both Tania and I have invisible disabilities. Seeing how that impacts every part of your life is so validating. Tania's hesitancy around doctors and strangers is something all too familiar. It's so easy to believe what people tell you about being lazy or faking it or not actually in that amount of pain. And it just hurts. No matter how "well meaning" some of these comments can be.

Overall, I had a lot of fun with this book and I hope we see more MC's with chronic illnesses and disabilities take center stage across all genres and age categories.

Rep: white Russian-French cishet female MC with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), sapphic cis female side characters, aroace cis female side character.

CWs: Ableism, chronic illness, death of parent, death, murder. Moderate: Sexual assault (of side character), blood, gore, violence, emotional abuse, medical trauma.
 

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