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hazel_oat's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Drug abuse, Drug use, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol
Minor: Miscarriage, Grief, Death of parent, and War
depressionesque's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Pedophilia, Rape, and War
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Abortion
hedonsgaybookshelf's review against another edition
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, and Xenophobia
cyancookie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Animal death, Pedophilia, Torture, and Trafficking
Minor: Incest, Xenophobia, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and War
violetlunablossom's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
4.25
That being said, I did find the political intrigue and world building to be surprisingly strong, and the way that deceit and the abuse of power is displayed is incredibly engrossing. Damen is a protagonist that I was immediately endeared to and watching him navigate Veretian society and politics while trying to keep his identity a secret was very engaging. Conversely, Laurent was a compelling secondary protagonist, with all his brutality and wit. Every time him and Damen shared a scene, I was glued to the page because of how unpredictable everything was. The two of them are obviously being set up as a slowburn enemies to lovers and I couldn't be more excited to see how their relationship grows.
Graphic: Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Child abuse, Blood, Trafficking, and Murder
teagstime's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Personally a big fan of Damen and his struggle to understand anything about Laurent- because I, too, struggle to understand him. Laurent... I want to crawl inside your brain. That boy definitely has so much emotion hidden under the cold, cruel demeanor... and I'm sooo ready to dive in 😌
I cannot rec to anyone without them looking into the TW first, because there's some content I can see being... problematic, let's say! But in my opinion, none of those acts are really glorified- our main two characters are/become aware of these issues and want to change things. But, imo, a very good read and I definitely have high hopes for the rest!
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Death, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, War, and Classism
Moderate: Drug use and Death of parent
livelaughlesbian99's review against another edition
3.75
And that’s kind what it’s supposed to be, so I’m not judging my rating on that. This takes place in a brutal world where slavery is normalized across many cultures. If that does not sound like a horror you can stomach do not read this book. I can understand why some say this romanticizes slavery, but I saw it more as trying to explore how cultures of the past treated sexual slavery (which is a horrific but prominent part of the human past… this content isn’t based off of nothing. Ancient Greeks and Romans had cultural practices similar to the practices in the book).
Personally I appreciate the focus on how those who were enslaved would have been impacted by societies like this. Between Damen and Erasmus’ perspective you learn a lot about how these systems are justified. I do not believe including morally wrong beliefs in characters means the text condones them. But I completely understand why people have issues with this book and it’s fine if you do. For me books with subject matter like this are also horror books, and like horror books, there can be catharsis in exploring the worst of humanity.
That being said, oh my GOD did I love this book’s political intrigue. It really is as good as people say. While this book is really preamble for the rest of the series, which is why I rated it the way I did, the ending was fantastic.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Xenophobia, Kidnapping, and Murder
Moderate: Death, Pedophilia, and War
camo_mila's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Xenophobia, and Sexual harassment
abitbetterbooks's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Trafficking, Death of parent, Murder, and War
euhnamor's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, and Murder