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viselik's review
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I read this book for the Historical Romance Society Discord Server's Book of the Month High Angst January!
I adored this book and how it stuck to the medical knowledge available to that period (I loved that Richards went further in detail in the author's note) with Gabriel's amnesia and Gabriel and Matthew's asthma. Even the mention about how stethoscopes were only invented the previous year and the doctor only had one because he had a friend in France who gave it to him. I found it really enjoyable and helped cement the time this book is set in.
For the Angst, for me, it hit hard, and it knew when to hit hard and how hard to hit. This book made me cry several times, and I don't cry often when I'm enjoying media. Crying because of how the book made me feel, not crying cause I'm not enjoying myself. Like I had to take breaks in reading this cause I was weeping.
Another thing I really liked is how Gabriel is handled in the last 30-40ish %. It shows he's really been hurt, but he never said anything that didn't make sense when insulting Claire; you could understand where he is coming from, and it made it so much better for me.
I didn't care for the epilogue, but I'm like that with most epilogues. I can't think of many I like adored off the top of my head. I didn't know it was a HEA book, but eh I didn't care. I was there for the Angst, and I got that.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, and Classism
Moderate: Misogyny
Minor: Medical content
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