A review by aswygs
Manacled by SenLinYu

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

reviewing this almost at exactly one year later 
but this book fundamentally changed me as a person
one of the best fanfics of all time and one of the best works I’ve ever experienced 
challenged my ethics to my core 
what are each of us willing to do to fight against evil?
and what is forgivable?
dark as fuck
the handmaiden’s plotline is brutal, and once you get the flashback, it feels all the more complicated 
I finished this book in less than 24 hours. began reading at 10pm and could not put it down until 7am. slept for 5 hours and read for noon to 5pm. 
the author recommends rereading the first part of the book after finishing the flashback so that you can catch-up to present time (when she remembers her lost memories), and I think that really helps with the full experience 
cannot recommend more
this fic reignited my love for reading and reawakened in me something important