A Dumb Bitch

I could not wish for death,

When the cards spread out before my eyes,

My lips sealed to stifle my cries,

And fire turned to embers in its hearth.

I could not dream of mirth,

When the Hanged Man winked at me,

His legs bound, his eyes free,

For all the World he’d seen before my birth.

I could not burn with desire,

When the Lovers smirked away,

For love I could no longer pray—

When the sea whisked me away.

I could not ask for mercy,

When He towered before me,

Tilting my chin so I could see—

The Devil, come punish me—

Heresy!

I could not hope for kindness,

When my chest was pried open,

When words died unspoken,

When bones gave way to flesh,

And my skin turned to gooseflesh.

I could not wish for love,

When it was my heart He now behold,

But my blood had long run cold—

And as He settled between my ribs,

A full eclipse.

And still I could not wish for death,

From my own blood I could not rise,

And when the cards faded before my eyes,

I let out one last breath.

***

As someone who loved the first book in the series and particularly the character of wren, I’m kinda baffled at how this book got published. Don’t get me wrong, the writing is superb as usual, the plot is good but wren… she is problematic behond belief. And non sensically written.

In the first book she was a traumatized and wild girl, but she was still kind and sweet and very emotional. She had so much love to give and she just wanted someone to see her for who she was. I understand that TPT was supposed to be her “villain era” (I was actually super down for it) but it felt super out of character, to the point where she didn’t even feel like the character from the first book. (also quick sidenote, she speaks so differently in TPT?? Like she is all poetic and eloquent and stuff, she almost sounds like Cardan at times, which doesn’t make sense because we know from the first book that her education was poor).

Now onto the problematic stuff. She humiliates Oak and lets her guards hurt him (and no, her killing Val doesn’t make that better), she keeps the bridle on him even though she knows how horrible it is. It is not that I don’t like unhinged and problematic characters (they can be super interesting) but 1. this doesn’t feel like the same character and 2. it’s never acknowledged as problematic.

Oak is in love with her and constantly worries about her, takes her of her when she falls sick, trusts her even he finds out she might have killed the ghost. And yet, she keeps him treating him like shit. When she is reborn she doesn’t even address him, she instantly shifts her attention to Bex and then runs off with her, only leaving him a letter. And then the fact that it is alluded to that they get married by the end??? Their entire story in this read like a strange Ao3 hurt/comfort fanfic where endless amounts of trauma and messed up stuff is just dumped on the characters constantly without being properly addressed.