You ever get 317 pages into a 653 page book before realizing you have, in fact, read this book before? Cuz I did. Bits of it felt familiar before that point, but sometimes when you read a lot of a genre you get that. When I got to this particular chapter, though: Oh yeah. I remember this. Because it’s awful.

I won’t describe it really because spoilers, I guess, but mostly because trigger warnings: SA, grim and extended.

All the SA was completely unnecessary to the plot of the book. The necessary plot points could have been accomplished with similar obstacles (imprisonment) and interactions (to provide means for the two imprisoned characters to bond). Like, that could have happened without the weirdly over-developed psychologically twisted SA parts being woven into it.

Annnnnd that’s why I didn’t read the rest of this series, first time around, even though I enjoyed the book, mostly, with the exception of these particular scenes. There’s a good amount of political structure that is integral to the plot, but it was woven in well: My eyes didn’t glaze over while I read paragraph after paragraph about royal families and warring groups and bloodlines and blah blah blah. There was some exposition but not too much. The magic system left me with a few questions about the mechanics of it all but, okay, I can overlook that if it’s not major. I liked the characters and would like to know what happens next in their stories.

But the gratuitous and creepily detailed SA scenes are, well, gratuitous and creepy. So I will once again not continue the series. This time I am logging the book at least so I can remember I’ve read it and not give it a third try.

Posted on March 27, 2025


fiction books fantasy

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