Reviews with content warning for Death - Fortuna Sworn

Reviews tagging 'Death'

murphymegs's review

dark mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

Ugh I wanted to like it. I did!!! But there were so many pieces of the story that didn’t mesh together. We would be in one scene and then suddenly another. There was a strange obsession with her virginity. It was gruesome and cruel and didn’t start to get good until the last 50 pages. I don’t think I’ll pick up the next books.

Content Warnings

annikashanti's review

Go to review page

dark tense medium-paced

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? No

1.0

Content Warnings

ophealian's review

Go to review page

adventurous dark funny fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Don't get me wrong, this is definitely an entertaining book. The main character is interesting, the plot is fast-paced, the world-building both fantastical and urban and refreshingly "gritty" in the way that it's very honest about how young 20-somethings think and talk, even when the main character isn't exactly human.

The ONLY thing that I thought was a bit off-putting about this book was how often the narrative would make a SHARP left turn into sex. Now, I'm not prudish by any stretch (being raised by the likes of FF.net and AO3 has cured me of that completely) but it was still a bit jarring for me to be reading about how the main character has someone by the throat with a knife and is literally plundering the depths of their worst fears and then for her to suddenly be like "I can feel his arousal against my leg". Like, wait what?

And maybe that's the point -- maybe fae in this universe are just Horny All The Time (TM) -- the author does make a point to have a character in-universe remark upon this, but just because there's logical explanation for it didn't make it any less whip-lashy of a reading experience.

Fortuna also makes a point to tell you that she's a Virgin. Make do with that info what you will.

But other than that very specific prickle-point, I ripped through this book and really enjoyed it.

It's very effective in its portrayal of the illogical, unreasonable, unwavering love and loyalty that Fortuna has for her brother Damon, and Damon's brokenness and intense Stockholm Syndrome. It works as a reminder that these creatures are not human; in fact they are distinctly inhumane. Their cruelty and carelessness is played in contrast with their beauty, and I think Fortuna's initial confusion in reconciling these dual qualities is very believable.

I had to constantly remind myself that Fortuna is not human, as much as she might act like one.

The ending leaves a lot of mysteries unsolved and propels you right into the next book in the series. The cliffhanger/twist? *chefs kiss*

Content Warnings

bookishchef's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.0

TW: Sexual Assault!

This author treats men in her story like most male authors treat female characters. The men in this book are described in what can only be called the het female equivalent of "she breasted boobily". They are only described by their eyes, penis and muscles.
That would already be bad enough, but it gets worse. The female MC, Fortuna, is a sexual predator who preys on men when they are vulnerable, and sexually assaults them multiple times in this book. This is never adressed within the text, and I truly think the author did not realize that that was what her MC was doing.

A list of the sexual scenes in this book:
- I listened to the audiobook, so I am sorry if any of the names are spelled wrong.

1. Oliver x Fortuna - one of the few consensual sex scenes. Oliver explicitly asks Fortuna for consent, because consent is apparently only attractive when it is given by the woman in a heterosexual relationship.

2. Collith x Fortuna - both start making out, Fortuna makes a grab for Colliths genitals and starts initiating sex, Collith has to push Fortuna away

3. Collith x Fortuna - Fortuna pulls Collith into a corridor and forcibly starts making out with him. She remarks on him not seeming into it, he also tries to stop Fortuna verbally, but she continues and grabs his penis. At that point he gives up and stops struggling. No consent was given here, and although Fortuna is eventually the one to push him away, she did sexually assault him.

4. Oliver x Fortuna - Fortuna does not want have a serious discussion with Oliver, so she starts making out with him. She remarks on him not being into it, Oliver has to shove her off him.

This all happens before the 55% mark!
How the fuck am I supposed to root for a sexual predator?
The worst thing is, that this book is highly rated because the vast majority of people do not recognize sexual violence against men when it happens.
After the halfway point, it does not get any better. This stuff is not seen as a character flaw to overcome, instead it is seen as a perfectly fine character trait within this book.

5. Not a sex scene. But Fortuna walks in on a passed out Collith and starts sexualizing his unconscious body, paying extra attention to his genitals. Not SA, but still very creepy.

6. Collith innitiates the sex while Fortuna is bathing. Fortuna nor Collith verbally consents here, but both seem into it, so this might be the second consensual sex scene. Fortuna starts slut-shaming other women right after this scene though, which is also not cute

It was right about here that I started struggling with paying attention to the story. The MC has to go through some trials to become the official queen of the Faerie kingdom, but I lowkey wanted her to die during all of them.
Later on, there is a conversation between Laurie (her 3rd love interest, no I am not kidding) and Fortuna, where it is said lust and sexual desires should always be given into. Like, I am sorry, but no? Absolutely not? Consent is very much necessary, thank you.

So yeah. 1/5. Do not recommend .

Content Warnings