Scan barcode
themdash's review
emotional
funny
lighthearted
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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
summerfalkenrath's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
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
This book was everything I wanted it to be! I was so in love with all of the characters and they were all very well rounded and had realistic flaws, habits, desires, and doubts. It made me laugh very often and I was always intrigued by where things were going in every single chapter. There was not a moment of slowness and I was so eager to keep listening ASAP whenever I had to pause for life. Both narrators were very talented and great at portraying the emotions of the whole cast. I felt like the actions of each character felt very realistic and was very happy that a lot of common tropes were evaded during this book. I'm very excited to read more from this author in the future!
Content Warnings
Graphic: War
Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, and Violence
Minor: Child abuse, Cursing, Blood, Death of parent, and Murder
chezler24's review
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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
3.75
"To be truly brave, first you must be afraid. And to be afraid, you must have something you cannot bear to lose."
Queer Arthurian romp! YA historical Romance! A (mostly) comfy medieval rom-com! This was such a nice comfort read to listen to and unwind after long days at work. This story is full of found family and self-discovery. I loved Bridget Leclair. I mean she's a lady knight; of course, I would love her. I enjoyed seeing the two main relationships develop as well as seeing all of the secondary characters and their friendships develop as well. In this respect, it was so refreshing and nice.
My one critique would be the tone shift at the very end. While there were seeds of unrest or some nods of political strife early on, the final scenes with the big overthrow felt a little rushed and jarring for me. The setups almost felt too light in comparison. Maybe I was too focused on the romance and teenage shenanigans, but it felt very fast and resolved very quickly right there at the end. I felt like I blinked and it was over. It was a little bit abrupt for a standalone BUT if she writes more then I'll for sure read them.
Queer Arthurian romp! YA historical Romance! A (mostly) comfy medieval rom-com! This was such a nice comfort read to listen to and unwind after long days at work. This story is full of found family and self-discovery. I loved Bridget Leclair. I mean she's a lady knight; of course, I would love her. I enjoyed seeing the two main relationships develop as well as seeing all of the secondary characters and their friendships develop as well. In this respect, it was so refreshing and nice.
My one critique would be the tone shift at the very end.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death of parent, and War
Moderate: Alcoholism, Homophobia, Sexism, Blood, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child abuse and Vomit
lunarlibra's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
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
4.75
Yes. YES.
Picked this up on a whim and devoured it. I had such a hard time putting it down! The characters have real flaws that we see them address and grapple with, we have reluctant allies to good friends, we have sapphic yearning, and a group of teenagers coming into their own.
It's so good and so many things, while also being straightforward enough to read (relatively) quickly and even pick up on the crumbs of foreshadowing scattered throughout.
I feel like it's about, in no particular order,:
Picked this up on a whim and devoured it. I had such a hard time putting it down! The characters have real flaws that we see them address and grapple with, we have reluctant allies to good friends, we have sapphic yearning, and a group of teenagers coming into their own.
It's so good and so many things, while also being straightforward enough to read (relatively) quickly and even pick up on the crumbs of foreshadowing scattered throughout.
I feel like it's about, in no particular order,:
- first love
- healing from first love and finding true love
- learning to stand up for what you believe in
- queer solidarity
- (in some ways) queer mentorship, like when you make your first gay friend or when a baby gay learns from people who maybe never had the option to be in the closet
- the political and personal importance of coming out of the closet (even if just to yourself)
- the power of friendship
- learning to be brave
- the pain of parental pressures and disappointment
- the almost-miraculous feeling of having your first gay kiss (especially after believing you'd never get to experience it)
- learning from stories and myths while keeping a keen eye on the present reality
- the beauty and strength of platonic relationships!!!
- Did I mention the power of friendship?
- "changing for love" not in a shallow and misogynistic way, but in the sense of being inspired by someone you respect to work on personal growth
The writing is evocative, funny, and heartfelt. It felt personal to me and like a completely new story.
It would be a 5 stars read for me if not for one of my pet peeves, which is "miscommunication as the source of drama/conflict". It made sense in the context of the characters, and was somewhat short lived, and given how it wound up fitting into the character development of both of the main characters, so I might change my mind and say it is a five-star read after all.
This book gave me the emotion that makes me love reading, and love books. I can't wait to read the author's other works!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Hate crime, and Violence
Moderate: Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Cursing, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Homophobia, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Abandonment, Dysphoria, War, and Classism
laurajeangrace's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
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
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Gore, Violence, Death of parent, and War
Minor: Sexism
lidia7's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
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
It was mostly lighthearted but the last 15 or so percent of the book were really tense and not lighthearted at all. A major event happens that changes everything including the book itself. Before that the story is fun, mostly easygoing while still exploring harder topics but with stakes that aren't as high as life or death. It felt really affirming to read parts of this book, the way the characters struggle with expectations, freedom, their wants and needs, life's purpose, sexuality. These are all topics that are handled really well and are inspiring but definitely feel very YA which is fine. The last part of the book wasn't necessarily unexpected because the story was slowly getting there; there were hints. Still it escalated in a way I wasn't expecting - it turned out to be way more dark and terrifying than I thought it would be once events were set in motion and it didn't feel like a YA book at all.
The book managed to elicit one squeal out of me and I think the chemistry between the romantic and friendship pairings was really good, especially the latter. I really liked Sidney's and Arthur's friendship. But other friendship developments were really good, too, like Arthur and Gwen, Gwen and Agnes.
Overall, I'm glad to have read this book and I would recommend it for people who are queer or want to understand queer perspectives better. I think this book works best for young adults or for "baby gays" no matter their age. It's also fine for people who enjoy political intrigue, low to no magic, Arthurian inspired fantasy (but not the best if that's the only thing that intrigues you because there's not a lot of that).
I believe this is my second book by the author (I also enjoyed Reputation) and I plan to read all of their fiction books. I'm still unsure if I'll read Infamous because after reading some reviews, I'm not convinced I'd enjoy it. I'll see how I feel about the rest of their books first.
The book managed to elicit one squeal out of me and I think the chemistry between the romantic and friendship pairings was really good, especially the latter. I really liked Sidney's and Arthur's friendship. But other friendship developments were really good, too, like Arthur and Gwen, Gwen and Agnes.
Overall, I'm glad to have read this book and I would recommend it for people who are queer or want to understand queer perspectives better. I think this book works best for young adults or for "baby gays" no matter their age. It's also fine for people who enjoy political intrigue, low to no magic, Arthurian inspired fantasy (but not the best if that's the only thing that intrigues you because there's not a lot of that).
I believe this is my second book by the author (I also enjoyed Reputation) and I plan to read all of their fiction books. I'm still unsure if I'll read Infamous because after reading some reviews, I'm not convinced I'd enjoy it. I'll see how I feel about the rest of their books first.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death of parent, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism, Homophobia, Sexism, and Blood
Minor: Cursing, Vomit, and Stalking
dragongirl271's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
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? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Violence, and Death of parent
Minor: Homophobia, Sexism, War, and Injury/Injury detail
lyneobsessions's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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
5.0
Un roman difficile à lâcher (j'en ai d'ailleurs lu plus des 3/4 en deux nuits. Dormir c'est surfait...) et qui m'a beaucoup fait rire/ricaner ! J'ai beaucoup aimé les personnages et notamment Art et sa complexité, à la fois courageux et lâche, bon et gris à la fois. L'ambiance générale du roman m'a donné l'impression de retourner dans l'univers de la série Merlin que j'ai tant aimé adolescente, la diversité et la présence de personnages ouvertement LGBTQIA+ en plus ! Les relations entre les personnages sont belles, ponctuées de hauts et de bas et finement accompagnées de complots et de jeux d'épées qui m'auront tendue jusqu'à la fin (vraiment les chapitres juste avant les deux derniers m'ont fait retenir ma respiration jusqu'à la fin). Bref un coup de coeur 💙
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Homophobia, Violence, and War
Minor: Sexism, Vomit, and Grief
littlebitofchaos's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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: Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, and Violence
Minor: Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, War, and Injury/Injury detail
mirakelsey's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Physical abuse, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Homophobia and Sexism