Scan barcode
literarypenguin's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
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
5.0
After hearing so much about this book from various sources and reading so many positive reviews praising this book I had to give it a try and I am so glad that I did it!
The plot of this book was so fantastic, a girl who had to navigate life in Regency England with only half her soul at a time where women were expected to remain pleasant and do what they were told. Dora was the complete opposite of this saying what was on her mind regardless of the social implications it would result in. I loved how Olivia handled Dora's lack of emotional responses, how she showed her handling complex emotions almost picturing them like a lantern inside of herself. That was beautiful imagery and one that will remain in my head for a long time. Vanessa was such a supportive family member and a much needed one after most of Dora's family weren't as caring to her condition as Vanessa was.
Dora and Elias's romance was the cutest thing I have ever read! The ballroom dancing star scene in particular was the most beautiful, magical, and romantic scene I have ever read in a book! Their banter and gradual development of feelings was so sweet, they were both people who were considered broken in this society but together they proved how whole they both were as people and together.
This book was delightful & a refreshing short read that I needed at this time! I am so glad I took the chance to read it and am curious to see if the other books in the series are just as wonderful as this one!
The plot of this book was so fantastic, a girl who had to navigate life in Regency England with only half her soul at a time where women were expected to remain pleasant and do what they were told. Dora was the complete opposite of this saying what was on her mind regardless of the social implications it would result in. I loved how Olivia handled Dora's lack of emotional responses, how she showed her handling complex emotions almost picturing them like a lantern inside of herself. That was beautiful imagery and one that will remain in my head for a long time. Vanessa was such a supportive family member and a much needed one after most of Dora's family weren't as caring to her condition as Vanessa was.
Dora and Elias's romance was the cutest thing I have ever read! The ballroom dancing star scene in particular was the most beautiful, magical, and romantic scene I have ever read in a book! Their banter and gradual development of feelings was so sweet, they were both people who were considered broken in this society but together they proved how whole they both were as people and together.
This book was delightful & a refreshing short read that I needed at this time! I am so glad I took the chance to read it and am curious to see if the other books in the series are just as wonderful as this one!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism and Classism
Minor: Child death
howdyjordan's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse and Classism
Minor: Ableism and Abandonment
kylieqrada's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
sad
medium-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? Yes
4.0
I have been picking some bangers lately!!!! I get the criticisms of this one, but it just worked for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Emotional abuse, and Classism
Moderate: Child abuse, Kidnapping, and War
Minor: Child death, Violence, and Death of parent
miss_berry315's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
I spent the majority of this book with a stupid goofy smile on my face bc of how romantic it is. A brush of the hand, glances across ballrooms, and regency era courting rules between contrarian individuals will always make me giddy and hold a special place in my heart.
Add in an interesting plot, some magic and faeries, and strong-willed women and it will never go below 4 stars.
That being said, this book was going to have a 5 star rating from me, until the very last paragraph. Leading up to that, my cheeks were sore from smiling and I couldn't put it down, but I felt that the last paragraph was disappointing and took the wind out of my sails.
I read the author's blurb on here for her reasons (which will spoil things btw), but I didn't feel it was necessary to the story, and took away from everything else that had been built up through the story.
I will be happily ignoring the existence of that paragraph when looking back on this book. 🥰✨
Add in an interesting plot, some magic and faeries, and strong-willed women and it will never go below 4 stars.
That being said, this book was going to have a 5 star rating from me, until the very last paragraph. Leading up to that, my cheeks were sore from smiling and I couldn't put it down, but I felt that the last paragraph was disappointing and took the wind out of my sails.
I read the author's blurb on here for her reasons (which will spoil things btw), but I didn't feel it was necessary to the story, and took away from everything else that had been built up through the story.
I will be happily ignoring the existence of that paragraph when looking back on this book. 🥰✨
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, and Classism
Moderate: Ableism and Blood
celeste_golds's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
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? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Kidnapping, and Classism
Moderate: Death, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, and Blood
Minor: Slavery, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and War
schadenfreudes's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-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
4.0
The bookis very entertaining because it combines two genres: historical and fantasy. I love how the regency era gave a flair of romanticism to the story. The characters have good developments. What great read!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Classism
kbairbooks's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
relaxing
sad
fast-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
4.25
This was cute! I read this for my Bookclubs April pic and I really enjoyed it! I will say that I struggled with the split soul concept because if you replace that with autism you can see how poorly people with differences are treated. But I liked this book and how advocate-y it was for the oppressed and underprivileged.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Medical trauma, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
risten's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery, Trafficking, and Classism
Moderate: Ableism, Bullying, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Murder, and War
ourhandsfull's review against another edition
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
This Regency fantasy romance is perfect for fans of Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries who wanted a little more romance and love Jane Austen. We have another intelligent FMC, who reads on the spectrum, a lovable eccentric MMC and their adventures with faeries and meddling mothers. I do not typically enjoy historical or regency era fiction, beyond Austen of course, nor do I typically like romance with no spice. However, this story drew me in and stole my heart. I listened to the audiobook, and the narrator was perfect, with good voices for every character that kept me in the story. I absolutely loved the whole experience.
I would like to caution sensitive readers about the bonus short story at the end, The Lord Sorcier. It does not have the same cozy tone as the book and centers around a war battles, including severe injuries, combat surgery and loss of limb. It’s graphic without sufficient story payoff. I wish I had skipped it.
I would like to caution sensitive readers about the bonus short story at the end, The Lord Sorcier. It does not have the same cozy tone as the book and centers around a war battles, including severe injuries, combat surgery and loss of limb. It’s graphic without sufficient story payoff. I wish I had skipped it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
seforaflorian's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, and Classism