>> ARC review; ACTUAL RATING: 1.5*
So, I was very interested in this series because it seemed just up my alley and I'm still very excited for some of the books to come, but this was not good. It basically went from meh to trash and the way some stuff was portrayed really rubbed me the wrong way.
Also, there was Caiman. He's like his own point on my quite long list of why this book was a flop.
RATING: ⭐✨/5
SPICE: 🌶️/4
VIOLENCE: 🩸/4
✅🆗 World
✅🆗 Writing
🆗❌ Characters
❌ Plot
❌🤮 Romance
***
Where do I begin? At the beginning, maybe. It took forever to pick up, but fine, I can sit through a slow-ish opening if it pays off... It didn't. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
The reason this wasn't a straight 1* was partially the worldbuilding because it was actually very intriguing. The setting, everything that was going on politically, was done very well. And then there was the way Roisin actually felt guilty for her preemptive judgment in the middle. That right there was my one spark of hope for this book. That half-star.
Then, of course, it went down the drain.
I also actually enjoyed Roisin's friend as a character. She was a nice contrast to Roisin herself and had good depth. Her arc surprised me and was believable, and well-portrayed.
Everything else was a disaster. The main characters, the horribly executed miscommunication, the inconsistencies in how some stuff was portrayed (especially Alrec), and the gaping inequality in the romance... I don't like "he falls first" tendentially, but this was on another level.
At first, I kind of liked Roisin. She was kind, loyal, and a basic but alright written ENFJ... I got a little mad at her for her lack of confrontational drive, then forgave her when she actually felt bad for the miscommunication and set it straight. If only we had stayed at that...
I 100% don't understand what that bs at the end was supposed to be. It ruined her character for me and honestly was quite ooc to be salty over basically nothing for a literal month.
Something else that rubbed me the wrong way about her was how she clung to Alrec. Bruh, wtf... he was a literal abuser, the moment you find stuff like that out about someone you rejoice that he is dead and that you did NOT have to marry him... She had no issues hating Caiman over rumors, and then she clings to Alrec even though his abusive nature was a proven fact? Everything about how she was thinking back to him—like the version of him she thought she "loved" actually existed—the way she refused to drown his gifts in the ocean, the way she freaking told Caiman that she wouldn't forget him... I was actually cringing with pure disgust.
I don't think that was the intent, but it was creating this distorted image that glossed over the things he did, as if they weren't worth hating someone for. As if they were forgivable. "He loved her"? Bruh, he treated her like a possession, cheated on her, and so much worse. Alrec can go die in a fire, I will happily dance on his grave. And it upsets me how none of these characters are willing to join me.
Don't even get me started on Caiman. Prince of Darkness my a**. He's a whiny, spineless simp who has so little self-esteem he'd pine over a girl for literal years and not even bother TRYING to tell her that his brother is a violent abuser. What do you want, for her to actually marry him? To probably be abused and potentially r*ped... who knows what he would have done. Not to mention, you would let that kind of guy—IDC if he's your brother—drive your kingdom into war and just sit on the side, thinking about how things should be, but when it comes to acting, you chicken out. And then the one time you DO act, and I finally think "is he actually growing a spine", you proceed to feel guilty for it for the rest of the book... no thanks. Looping INTJs are the worst. His Te is like, hiding up on a tree or sth, and it's painful.
The fact that this man had the audacity to think that his brother—the same one who would have caused a war on a childish impulse, who cared more about statues and prestige than his people—would have been the better king, would make me laugh if it weren't so sad.
In short, Caiman is one of the worst male leads I've read in a long time. He's weak, insecure, spineless, and utterly without standards. Not to mention, he would have watched the woman he "loved" marry an abuser. Why? I've read the book and I don't f*cking know.
I have two quotes to describe why and when this "romance" completely lost me. They're only like, one page apart as well:
Caiman: "I don't mind sharing your heart as long as there is a little room left for me."
Roisin: "I wanted him to love all of me."
... Yeah no, that was it for me. The last ounce of respect I had for either of them left at that moment. Classifying and summarizing why and on how many levels this is disgusting and wrong actually broke my Te (this is a first), sorry you will have to take the quotes as they are.
I feel like this book was way too indecisive about whether to portray Alrec as the abuser he was. On one hand, it was describing all the horrible things he had done and was willing to do, and then it was rowing back, saying stuff like that he loved Roisin (which he clearly didn't, as shown by his actions), or that his death was a tragedy (sorry but it really wasn't). His actions, as they were, didn't warrant him being remembered this positively, or being glossed over.
That said, he was still a better and more consistent character than either of the MCs. He was a hateable antagonist, but his manipulation, self-glorification, and impulsivity were well-written and felt real. The only thing that was messed up was the way he was remembered, later.
***
... Sigh, I am keeping my hopes high for the rest of these because they're standalones from different authors but I am so done with how bad this was, especially the ending.
Give me a guy who WON'T sit idly, watching a girl enter a toxic marriage. Who will slam his hand down and save her... like anyone who actually cared, would. Who will swoop in and slap the abuser, no matter who he is (or, yk, realistically, collect evidence, gather allies and witnesses, and then expose him). WHERE IS A BOOK LIKE THAT I NEED IT.
Anyway, I do not recommend this book. It had a very unenjoyable romance, a terrible male lead, and some very fishy stances on how to remember and portray an abuser.
It's on you whether you give it a go or not. But don't say I didn't warn you.