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kaya_may's review
dark
emotional
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? It's complicated
3.5
lenge's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
evilqueenreads's review against another edition
Review removed after Moon has been found to be another alias for Taylor Barton and I will no longer be supporting their works going forward.
salemander's review
started reading what i thought was an amazing last book to a series i really enjoyed but turns out this author lied about being a person of color and is in fact white!! will be donating all the fucking personalized books i own and i hope this person’s career completely disintegrates and they never sell a single fucking book again.
marshwood's review
DNF'd due to the author being outed as lying about their ethnicity and identity - for more info look up Freydís Moon, Jupiter Wyse, and Taylor Barton online (they're all the same person with different pennames)
melish's review
Dnf at 47%. Seeing some concerning things about the author, and don’t feel comfortable continuing until I learn more.
missloren_89's review
1.0
Edit: 4/21/24 this is incredibly disheartening.
Please read: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VDvDujeoisTBddhXYaWGi-8V0EUdFZ5Uc00f4tnWpSY/mobilebasic
Please read: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VDvDujeoisTBddhXYaWGi-8V0EUdFZ5Uc00f4tnWpSY/mobilebasic
jennireadsmaybe's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
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? Yes
Was I just completely destroyed and then sewed back up by Saint, Sorrow, Sinner? Yes. Freydís Moon is without a doubt one of my favorite discoveries of 2024. Their story telling ability sucked me into each book I've read (4 down). Genuinely, I think that everyone should read the Gideon Testaments!!
Sophia is learning what it means to not see herself as a villain after previous events in the series. She is completely alone in life at this point, except she isn't. She has an entire, magical found family that is willing to do whatever it takes to save her. This particular found family is messy, hilarious, and straight up terrifying. I loved every second!!
The romance in this one may not be as much of a focal point as the previous books, but it still holds that teeth-rottingly sweet softness that I came to adore in the series. The representation is wonderful as always. A sapphic romance featuring an autistic fmc and a trans love interest.
Sophia is learning what it means to not see herself as a villain after previous events in the series. She is completely alone in life at this point, except she isn't. She has an entire, magical found family that is willing to do whatever it takes to save her. This particular found family is messy, hilarious, and straight up terrifying. I loved every second!!
The romance in this one may not be as much of a focal point as the previous books, but it still holds that teeth-rottingly sweet softness that I came to adore in the series. The representation is wonderful as always. A sapphic romance featuring an autistic fmc and a trans love interest.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Body horror, and Blood
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Animal death, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Ableism, Rape, and Confinement
sofia_santana's review
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-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
1.75
hcharlotte's review
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
fast-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
4.0
What a BEAUTIFUL way to finish this trilogy? There’s a certain magic to the way that Freydis writes emotional connection between characters, and this book is so, so much more than a romance, but the heart of the interactions between Sophia and Juniper feel like acceptance. It feels like finding someone to call home.
Sophia is a testament (smirk) to anyone who’s felt lost inside themselves, pushed and pulled between one place and another, treated as expendable. It hurts to be treated like something rather than someone, and Sofia’s narrative screams with loss rage and grief over her past, the fact that she was destined to be expendable, and is now faced with an unexpected life dumped into her palms.
It was a joy to see the rest of the Gideon Gang all together in one book, Colin and Bishop, Teylor and Lincoln, joined in their attempt to save Sofia’s life before the Breath of Judas can destroy her from the inside out. They’re all disaster queers, and I just adore their interactions, it felt like a true final arc which was so gratifying to read.
Sophia’s and Juniper’s relationship was the epitome of comfort. It was the feeling of “oh, I’ve been looking for you” written down amongst the hurt and healing and trauma of Sophia’s life. Juniper offers a pillar of strength for Sophia, and in turn is warmed by the surprising tenacity that Sophia discovers in herself. I adored them. The way that Freydis manages to craft such heavily emotive relationships in such a short time is nothing sort of admirable; their prose is lush, rich in feeling and totally addictive.
Because of the topic of this instalment - religious cults - I found this to be the heaviest in terms of religious imagery of the three in the Gideon Testaments. Sophia is chained to her belief, and in her journey to find herself she must challenge the foundation of her understanding about her place in the world - and so much of this is tied to her faith. Though I’m agnostic, I found the narrative powerful, gripping, as Freydis’ work always is.
Compared to the other two, I found this less “active”, plot wise. There was much more discussion and planning the main conflict between the Gideon Gang (you can’t change my mind they’re called this now) and the Breath of Judas. It felt much more slice of life than the other two instalments, particularly Wolf, Willow, Witch, which was heavy on action. However this wasn’t to its detriment, it allowed us a chance to explore Sophia’s trauma, and gave her space to find herself properly.
Not only is this gloriously comforting - despite the threat to Sophia’s life, how does Freydis manage it! - as all the Gideon Testament instalment, this puts trans and queer voices right to the forefront in a beautiful way in that celebrates the irrevocable and undeniable resoluteness of queer and trans existence. The world is queer normative, sure, but there’s a certain joy in Freydis’s rep, even while exploring elements of horror and trauma. It’s wonderful. Affirming.
Catch me rereading the entire trilogy immediately!
Sophia is a testament (smirk) to anyone who’s felt lost inside themselves, pushed and pulled between one place and another, treated as expendable. It hurts to be treated like something rather than someone, and Sofia’s narrative screams with loss rage and grief over her past, the fact that she was destined to be expendable, and is now faced with an unexpected life dumped into her palms.
It was a joy to see the rest of the Gideon Gang all together in one book, Colin and Bishop, Teylor and Lincoln, joined in their attempt to save Sofia’s life before the Breath of Judas can destroy her from the inside out. They’re all disaster queers, and I just adore their interactions, it felt like a true final arc which was so gratifying to read.
Sophia’s and Juniper’s relationship was the epitome of comfort. It was the feeling of “oh, I’ve been looking for you” written down amongst the hurt and healing and trauma of Sophia’s life. Juniper offers a pillar of strength for Sophia, and in turn is warmed by the surprising tenacity that Sophia discovers in herself. I adored them. The way that Freydis manages to craft such heavily emotive relationships in such a short time is nothing sort of admirable; their prose is lush, rich in feeling and totally addictive.
Because of the topic of this instalment - religious cults - I found this to be the heaviest in terms of religious imagery of the three in the Gideon Testaments. Sophia is chained to her belief, and in her journey to find herself she must challenge the foundation of her understanding about her place in the world - and so much of this is tied to her faith. Though I’m agnostic, I found the narrative powerful, gripping, as Freydis’ work always is.
Compared to the other two, I found this less “active”, plot wise. There was much more discussion and planning the main conflict between the Gideon Gang (you can’t change my mind they’re called this now) and the Breath of Judas. It felt much more slice of life than the other two instalments, particularly Wolf, Willow, Witch, which was heavy on action. However this wasn’t to its detriment, it allowed us a chance to explore Sophia’s trauma, and gave her space to find herself properly.
Not only is this gloriously comforting - despite the threat to Sophia’s life, how does Freydis manage it! - as all the Gideon Testament instalment, this puts trans and queer voices right to the forefront in a beautiful way in that celebrates the irrevocable and undeniable resoluteness of queer and trans existence. The world is queer normative, sure, but there’s a certain joy in Freydis’s rep, even while exploring elements of horror and trauma. It’s wonderful. Affirming.
Catch me rereading the entire trilogy immediately!