Review:
*I received an ecopy of this book from the publisher. This has not influenced my review.*
This book was so sweet and cute! Just like the others, but maybe even more so. Definitely a comfort kind of read for me.
My favorite thing this time was Kamir. I adored him, and I even related to him in some ways because of some of his struggles and just because of some of his quirks and personality traits. For example, the way he rewrote multiple times the erotic letter he sent is totally something I would do. Not that I have ever sent an erotic letter through the mail, but, if I did, you can bet I’d end up rewriting it multiple times until it was perfect, haha. Or the way he saved the receipt of Jader paying his fine just for the memories—I too have saved strange things like that for the memories. Even the way dyeing his hair pretty colors was the one little pleasure he allowed himself during the tough times is something I can relate to. But I also loved how he kept his head up and kept trying despite all the struggles he had to deal with, despite feeling very alone in dealing with them sometimes. That is what I consider a strong character. And I admired him for his strength.
But even though this book was overall a cute, light read, it still managed to cover some more serious topics, like racism (Jader was an Islander who didn’t look like an Islander, so he got some prejudice for that, but Mainlanders looked down on Islanders, so he got prejudice from them too), emotional and physical abuse (Kamir’s parents and ex-husband), and what it actually means to be family (both Kamir and Jader had entirely different family-related issues they were dealing with).
I also have to admit that I feel foolish because I hadn’t realized until this book that this society doesn’t assign genders at birth according to body type. Instead, once each child figures out what their gender is, they declare it, and that is that. So by our standards, Kamir, and many other characters in this series, are trans men and women (or non-binary people), but to them, that concept doesn’t even exist. They just are what they are, and their body parts are irrelevant except for the fact that some people can give birth and others cannot (and they have a whole setup for situations in which neither partner can/wants to carry a child). In this world, all sexualities and orientations and genders are accepted by everyone. They also don’t have all the same gender stereotypes we have.
Speaking of which, I would kill to actually see all the outfits the characters in this series wear because they sound so amazingly gorgeous. I mean, I don’t even wear jewelry myself, other than some simple piercings in my ears, and it’s not something I tend to notice on others, but I think I’m being converted to a jewelry-lover just from reading about all the amazing jewelry the men in this series wear, especially the earrings.
So overall, this was another great book in the series that was maybe a little less funny with a little more heavy stuff but overall just as adorable with sweet characters, sweet friendships, and a sweet romantic relationship!
Recommended For:
Fans of Books 1 and 2 in Megan Derr's Tales of the High Court series. Anyone who likes M/M high fantasy, lovable characters, humor, and sweet books that make you smile.
More Books in the Series:
Book Review: The High King’s Golden Tongue (Tales of the High Court Book 1) by Megan Derr
Book Review: The Pirate of Fathoms Deep (Tales of the High Court Book 2) by Megan Derr
Book Review: The Heart of the Lost Star (Tales of the High Court Book 3) by Megan Derr
![Book Review: Ignite Me (Shatter Me Book 3) by Tahereh Mafi [Audiobook]](https://metaphorsandmoonlight.com/wp-content/uploads/Book-Review-Ignite-Me-Shatter-Me-Book-3-by-Tahereh-Mafi-255x255.jpg)
These all have kickass covers! I like this one with the snowy mountains. Sounds like an interesting world too, with people choosing their own gender based on who they are, and not having the usual stereotypes.
I love all the covers for this series! And this one has gorgeous colors. It is kinda cool reading about a world that’s so different.
I was so disappointed with book two that I didn’t request to read this one. I knew your review would make me rethink that.
The fact that the characters are all non-binary characters is my favorite part of the series.
I saw your review of Book 2, did you get my comment on GR? I thought this one was a lot better though.
Yeah, it’s nice having non-binary and trans characters. I had just thought men were getting pregnant because of mpreg before this one, so that was a pleasant surprise lol.
Thank you for a great review – I really like the sound of this series. I haven’t read any of her books and it sounds as if I need to.
It’s a very sweet and fun series!
Snail mail sexting? LOL Non-binary characters sounds really cool. Glad you liked it!
I thought the snail mail sexting was funny too lol. But when you think about, I’m sure people really did do that back before we had phones and internet! Thanks 🙂
I was a little confused as to how he got pregnant. But, how cool is it that there’s such a looser and less restrictive approach to gender in that world! I love it. I also wasn’t much into jewelry; however, I’m starting to really like new jewelry concepts and accessories in general.
Men getting pregnant had been mentioned in other books too, but I just thought it was mpreg since this is high fantasy. So I thought it was cool too when I realized in this book that it was trans men. I’m def starting to appreciate jewelry more, I think, but I still find it kind of a hassle to wear it myself. I just accessorize with scarf things around my waist. It has become my thing, and I’m happy with it lol.
I know you mentioned that gender was defined in this series before, not in the same way anyway. It was more fluid but the whole concept of gender in this series sounds fascinating. Like, I thought it was really cool when I read a scifi series where the MCs language meant that the pronoun used for all people were feminine pronouns so the concept of gender was less relevant until you discover someone is actually male. This sounds like this is similar in that it gives you a new perspective on gender and it’s mind blowing. The book also sounds really interesting and I want to check out these books even more now.
Yeah I mentioned that their gender stereotypes weren’t as rigid. I hadn’t realized the full extent though. It is cool when books/series can do something like this or the one you mentioned and make you suddenly realize you made an assumption that was wrong and can make you reflect.
It sounds like both these main characters have a lot of their own problems that they have to face and tackle eventually, but that maybe they find some solace in each other. I think it’s hard to say what makes a character strong… I mean, strong for every person and character is different!
Yes, that was exactly it! They both did have their own things to handle, but they found solace in each other. That’s a good point and a nice way of looking at what strength is, that it’s different for everyone 🙂
The author seems to have reached this great balance of cute and heartwarming along with the heavier themes. I’m curious about how her worldbuilding is, it sounds quite lovely.
This book did have a great balance. And it’s an interesting world!