Of course, this is not just some YA feelgood romance if it's written by Nanouk Kira. I should know better by now ;) Broken Arrows has gritty, morally grey characters and a complex and "confusing" romance. With confusing I mean that the characters are often confused by their own emotions, want to deny them and push them away, and are constantly guessing what their love interest is thinking. It's never easy and light, which makes this story all the more interesting. Classic Nanouk Kira.
Next to layered and distinctive characters, Broken Arrows has a nice writing style, an adventurous atmosphere, cool and concerning world building, slow burn romance, queer rep and a fitting ending. I really rooted for Marian to get a happy ending, whatever that entailed. The first few chapters immediately got me and I read almost half of the book in one sitting.
So, why not give it 5 stars? I didn't like or understand the fact that the only two actually likable characters (Allan and Tuck) are hated by the main character. I also could have gone without cunt / bitch / whore. The creative curse words were much better and added to the world building. And the story was a bit too long for me, so it got kind of repetitive in the middle with lots of going back and forth. If Broken Arrows was a little shorter, I might have given it 5 stars after all. Would definitely recommend to fans of adventurous stories, morally grey characters and anything with a bow and arrow.
Trigger warning: racism, sexual harassment, mental abuse, misogynism, torture, murder.