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yourbookishbff's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
This was a remarkable conclusion to Alyssa Cole's Loyal League series, and established a new character dynamic among our main couple. Daniel, our male main character, is the friend and former lover of our female main character in An Extraordinary Union (Elle). His backstory was briefly captured there, but the full breadth of his trauma becomes a focal point in this installment. Born free in Massachusetts, Daniel was stolen into slavery as an adult, and survived significant torture and various forms of physical and emotional trauma before eventually being freed through the efforts of Malcolm McCall in book one. He is now an operative for the Loyal League paired with Janeta Sanchez, a Black Cuban woman and the daughter of a formerly enslaved woman and the plantation master who married her. Janeta's perspective is initially extremely narrow - she's clearly been emotionally abused by a former partner and has internalized deeply problematic lessons about herself and her role as the daughter of a plantation owner. She and Daniel circle each other slowly, learning how to overcome their various assumptions and deceptions to ultimately trust each other. This is a slow-burn romance that requires a lot of character development, which, of course, only Alyssa Cole could pull off as successfully as she does. Highly recommend this book and this series to historical romance readers.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Death, War, and Slavery
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury and Sexual content
Minor: Sexual assault
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