This is an interesting story that gets off to a good start. Plenty of angst, heartache, and betrayal that has you mentally roaring at Emperor Cathain and wanting to chop him into bits for the massive amount of agony and suffering he inflicts on our FL, Empress Eleanora. I have a few personal issues with what comes next. Firstly, when Eleanora finally gets a second chance after MUCH suffering, it will be her abuser who remains the ML. And it’s important to note that she suffered physical, sexual, emotional, and financial abuse at his hands. I won’t go into the specifics, let the author wring the emotions from your heart as you start the book at the end of her time. But, despite everything, this FL will soften to her abuser, and for me it makes NO sense to let go of your past experiences and fall for him again. If you as a reader have been a victim of DV, this may be a bit of a trigger book. Although I can see that this time around he has made some changes, the MLs core personality remains. And years of loss and abuse have his face stamped on her memory in many horrid flashbacks as the cause of her suffering. How do you let that just go because he starts being interested in you? It just makes no sense to truly be free of your abusive ex with a second life/chance only to risk everything again and be vulnerable to him! But then, the FL loved him obsessively their first (second?) time together for no reason. Truly, none. He rejected her from the start. In other words, her history of making poor decisions is well established. Second issue; age. FL is 12 with many memories of being 22/23 when she died. ML is 16. And no amount of having the soul of someone in their 20s makes the sexualisation ok, especially when FL has moments of poor recall like it’s a dream, and ML has just a few flashes. Nor the author saying it’s “normal” for young couples to be expected to share a bed. 12! It’s so creepy to read as an adult. Tbh I just can’t atm. At chapter 71 I am pausing (not dropping) reading this and may be curious to see what happens another day. I have gotten attached to this sill FL, I can see there may be some redemption for the ML, and I appreciate that the author got my feelings stirred enough at the start to be invested. Some grammar errors, mostly irregular verbs and plurals.
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it's was so annoying like why must that man be the ML
Ikr! His core personality still is what it is 😩 With such a vile history, any argument would have you on tenterhooks. It’s just not worth it. I would rather she be single.
