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luna_98's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-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
3.75
very cute and exciting read. i feel like this is right up my alley since I'm still dipping my toes into fantasy. definitely had me smiling and laughing, evie and trystan are so funny together.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Blood
Moderate: Death, Gore, Torture, Death of parent, and Gaslighting
Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Classism
kaelajenae's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-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
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Murder
Minor: Abandonment and Sexual harassment
tyriek's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
tense
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
5.0
One of my favorite books of the year! this book is so fun with trending tropes (grumpy sunshine, morally grey love interest, shadow-daddy) but flips a lot of them on their head. It's silly, funny, and doesn't take itself too seriously- yet it still treats trauma and relationships with respect and care. The characters have quirks and foibles which are defined by their backstory, making them feel very human, relatable, fleshed-out, and lovable.
It includes queer characters, without that being the defining part of who they are (which I love.)
The book isn't poetry or a masterclass in literary writing, but it doesn't try to be. It succeeds monumentally at being not only a funny and cute romance, but also a light fantasty which addresses trauma, relationships, and what it means to be 'good' and 'evil'.
On a personal level I relate to Evie, the main character, and love FMCs who are smart, ditsy, grade-A yappers who manage to endear everyone to them.
This might not be for you if you're looking for a book with technical and poetic prose, or if you dislike characters being a bit of a Mary-Sue. While Evie isn't perfect and her flaws are certainly addressed prominently, things do seem to just work out for her, and she seems to have pretty heavy plot armour.
It includes queer characters, without that being the defining part of who they are (which I love.)
The book isn't poetry or a masterclass in literary writing, but it doesn't try to be. It succeeds monumentally at being not only a funny and cute romance, but also a light fantasty which addresses trauma, relationships, and what it means to be 'good' and 'evil'.
On a personal level I relate to Evie, the main character, and love FMCs who are smart, ditsy, grade-A yappers who manage to endear everyone to them.
This might not be for you if you're looking for a book with technical and poetic prose, or if you dislike characters being a bit of a Mary-Sue. While Evie isn't perfect and her flaws are certainly addressed prominently, things do seem to just work out for her, and she seems to have pretty heavy plot armour.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Child abuse
makenna_reads's review
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Violence, Murder, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Sexism
biolumi221's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
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? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual harassment
aryelee's review against another edition
funny
tense
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
2.75
For once, a Booktok work was not the bane of my existence lol. I usually have terrible luck finding books that I enjoy that have blown up online, but this is one of them! It's decently written, I adore the way the dialogue flows and the different relationships between all the characters, and the mix between work and personal that propels the plot forward.
This isn't a stand out novel, but it's a fun and engaging read. I'll be honest, when I saw the premise was 'sunshine character ends up working for the villain' I was expecting more.... comic book superheroes and villains, not fantasy. And I feel like this would have worked better in a more modern setting (though I am biased as a comic book fan); the mix between medieval fantasy world and modern company structure (including mentions of HR) felt jarring. Other than that, I enjoyed the world that was created and the little details we learned of the wider world while we stayed with Evie in her village or at her workplace.
Some aspects of the romance felt very repetitive -- 'little tornado', constant thoughts from Evie about how attractive the Villain is, the Villain's constant thought of 'I can't fall in love/admit I have feelings' -- but the banter between them was so fun. Evie is sooo funny when talking to the Villain, and I love how baffled he is by her, because she does say the strangest, most out of pocket things.
The side characters also got plenty of love, which I adore! I'm very happy that this novel didn't ignore the other characters to focus entirely on the blossoming romance between Evie and the Villain. Becky is fascinating and I've love to learn more about her, Bane is such a fun guy, and Lyssa is a fun sweetheart of a little sister. The family and sibling conflicts in this novel are deeply interesting too; I loved sinking my teeth into them and seeing the complicated dynamics happening on page. Rant about the main antagonist for this novel:I truly despise Evie's father. Like the working for the king and spying on her thing is bad, yes, as is placing a bomb in her workplace knowing it could kill her. But as a father, the fact that he 1) faked a magical illness that has hurt so many people, 2) played up being sick to make it convincing and stressed out his two living children, 3) made Evie parent Lyssa and be the breadwinner when he HAD SO MUCH MONEY FROM THE CROWN THAT HE COULD HAVE EASILY MADE UP AN EXCUSE ABOUT FINANCIAL SUPPORT FROM HIS DAYS WORKING AS A KNIGHT AND SPARED HIS TWO DAUGHTERS THE STRESS OF WONDERING IF THEY'LL HAVE ENOUGH MONEY TO EAT DINNER??? 4) and agreed to pimp out/sell his daughter to the blacksmith -- all of that made him so much worse and I actually got so mad at him. Let that POS choke forever please <3
Anyways. This was a decently fun book that exceeded my expectations because I had set them so low, but I'm intrigued enough by all the characters that I'm going to pick up the sequel and see how that goes. This is definitely a novel that will be enjoyed by someone who loves simple fantasy, mystery, lots of banter between the FL and ML, and slow burn romance.
This isn't a stand out novel, but it's a fun and engaging read. I'll be honest, when I saw the premise was 'sunshine character ends up working for the villain' I was expecting more.... comic book superheroes and villains, not fantasy. And I feel like this would have worked better in a more modern setting (though I am biased as a comic book fan); the mix between medieval fantasy world and modern company structure (including mentions of HR) felt jarring. Other than that, I enjoyed the world that was created and the little details we learned of the wider world while we stayed with Evie in her village or at her workplace.
Some aspects of the romance felt very repetitive -- 'little tornado', constant thoughts from Evie about how attractive the Villain is, the Villain's constant thought of 'I can't fall in love/admit I have feelings' -- but the banter between them was so fun. Evie is sooo funny when talking to the Villain, and I love how baffled he is by her, because she does say the strangest, most out of pocket things.
The side characters also got plenty of love, which I adore! I'm very happy that this novel didn't ignore the other characters to focus entirely on the blossoming romance between Evie and the Villain. Becky is fascinating and I've love to learn more about her, Bane is such a fun guy, and Lyssa is a fun sweetheart of a little sister. The family and sibling conflicts in this novel are deeply interesting too; I loved sinking my teeth into them and seeing the complicated dynamics happening on page. Rant about the main antagonist for this novel:
Anyways. This was a decently fun book that exceeded my expectations because I had set them so low, but I'm intrigued enough by all the characters that I'm going to pick up the sequel and see how that goes. This is definitely a novel that will be enjoyed by someone who loves simple fantasy, mystery, lots of banter between the FL and ML, and slow burn romance.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault, Violence, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child death and Death of parent
sweill803's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
fast-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
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual assault and Sexual harassment
lyd1020's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Blood, and Murder
Minor: Physical abuse and Sexual harassment
carlyjoann's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
This was such a fun book! I enjoyed the plot, characters, and humor so much! The MCs had such good banter and chemistry that I fell in love with them quickly. The side characters were interesting and I really liked most of them! Sure the FMC‘s quips and quirks could get annoying at times but I really did like her character. The MMC’s narration was not what I expected going in but I ended up enjoying his chapters a lot. I did want more world building but this isn’t really that type of fantasy book in my opinion so it didn’t bother me much. I did not see the plot twist coming at all but loved how I could see the bread crumbs looking back at the story.
I love that the MMC fell first and SO HARD for the FMC. I know it’ll be a slow burn still from here but I’m okay with that. A hard heart with a soft spot for one person is one of my favorite tropes, plus he’s a morally grey villain! What’s not to love?!
This is just a fun fantasy romp with romance brewing under the surface nice and slow.
Excited to jump in to book 2!
This is just a fun fantasy romp with romance brewing under the surface nice and slow.
Excited to jump in to book 2!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Violence, Blood, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Torture and Murder
snickells's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gore, Violence, and Blood
Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment