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sydneylmeyer7's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Body horror, Blood, Death, Medical content, Gore, and War
annasneddon's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
Graphic: War, Medical content, and Blood
robin_reads's review against another edition
mysterious
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
I was annoyed throughout most of this book.. the romance felt unbelievable to me and rushed.
A bit forced at times.
This is upper YA or even NA.
A bit forced at times.
This is upper YA or even NA.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Sexual violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Murder, Blood, Gaslighting, War, and Sexual content
kalmia31's review against another edition
dark
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Blood, Death, and Gore
Moderate: Grief, Hate crime, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Torture, Violence, Addiction, Drug abuse, Classism, Physical abuse, Confinement, Gaslighting, and Alcoholism
Minor: War, Sexual content, Abandonment, and Xenophobia
lyserature's review
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
[EDIT] : I think about the vibes of this book a lot,,
It was fine. I have to say though it felt unedited enough like there was more stuff to be done before publishing. It was entertaining but I also wanted to just be done with it.It was hard to buy into Hal and Wren's relationship at first...
It was fine. I have to say though it felt unedited enough like there was more stuff to be done before publishing. It was entertaining but I also wanted to just be done with it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, War, Body horror, Death, and Blood
girlonbooks's review
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
🌨️🌨️🌨️🌨️ Four Stars (as rated in the snow clouds in this splendidly wintery read)
Niece to the queen herself, Wren Southerland might as well be a nobody. Sequestered in the Abbey from a very young age, Wren fought to establish her worth with her exceptional (and magical) healing abilities. Having worked her way up to Lieutenant in the Queen’s army, all Wren wants in the whole world is to be recognized for her value; to be told she matters. But when one moment of misplaced compassion leaves her at the mercy of an enemy spy – compromising her entire mission – Wren risks losing everything she’s spent years worked for. Getting back in the Queen’s good graces will require a bigger gamble than she’s ever taken before, and necessitate allying herself with the very enemy she’s sworn to defeat.
Niece to the queen herself, Wren Southerland might as well be a nobody. Sequestered in the Abbey from a very young age, Wren fought to establish her worth with her exceptional (and magical) healing abilities. Having worked her way up to Lieutenant in the Queen’s army, all Wren wants in the whole world is to be recognized for her value; to be told she matters. But when one moment of misplaced compassion leaves her at the mercy of an enemy spy – compromising her entire mission – Wren risks losing everything she’s spent years worked for. Getting back in the Queen’s good graces will require a bigger gamble than she’s ever taken before, and necessitate allying herself with the very enemy she’s sworn to defeat.
“Maybe the only difference between a monster and a hero was the colour of a soldier’s uniform”
This book really grew on me. I loved the narration from the start (Kathleen McInerney deserves her own genre of the word talented) but I took a minute to connect with the story. Once things get going, though, and the mystery “intensifies,” so to speak, I was officially in it for the long haul. Just something to keep in mind if you’re on the fence about DNFing within the first 50 pages.
✨ Read this book because: you want a cozy winter read with some mystery, the tiniest bit of sexual tension and a lot of politically motivated backstabbing.
✨ Content warnings for this book: descriptive medical stuff, graphic medical trauma, gore, blood, death, death of a parent, murder, poisoning, body horror, war, violence
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Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body horror, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, and War
sallenreads's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content
Moderate: Blood, Death, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, and War
Minor: Alcohol
forthesanityof1's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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? Yes
4.25
I was lured once again by the pretty cover and picked this up on a whim. I'm very happy I did though, as I enjoyed it a lot! I loved the MC Wren, I thought her whole character being centralized around this idea of empathy and compassion and seeing her struggle with it but ultimately remain empathetic, even when it doesn't benefit her and would be much easier to slip into apathy/hatred, was refreshing. I absolutely adored the love interest and his little moments that really drove home how human he is. The plot was interesting if a bit fuzzy at times but nothing crazy. Definitely surprised me with the murder mystery aspect that featured heavily in it. A couple plot points themselves were dropped or resolved a touch too fast/easily, but that's pretty minor for me. The supporting characters were great, the antagonist was interesting but could have used a bit more fleshing out to really drive home his horror and chillingness as the villain. Some of the emotional scenes in general could have used some fleshing out, especially with the love interest. Props to the author for starting the romance with him after he went through his self-hatred/loathing phase prior to the events in the book. I thought that was nice and different than what I usually see. I wish the horror and/or gothic elements were a little more developed to really help set the scene. I also don't see this as enemies-to-lovers like it has been pitched. It's more forbidden romance with them on opposite sides of a war. Good 18+ scene that wasn't over the top, loved the casual queer representation as well. Definitely going to be keeping an eye out for this author!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Medical content, Murder, Violence, and War
Moderate: Sexual content and Torture
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