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Elias: “Look at me, I’m such an unlikeable rogue who has no regard for propriety or decorum. I make a point of making myself disagreeable wherever I go, and you wouldn’t catch me dead at a ball. I’m universally hated by the ton, and you probably should too! Who knows, I’m probably completely morally bankrupt!”

Dora: “Actually, he’s very noble and good: he gives all his money away to charity, and puts all of his time and energy into supporting an orphanage in the slums of London.”

I was skeptical going in, cozy fantasy and I have a rocky relationship but I found this book incredibly satisfying

Dora had far more emotion that she claimed and I felt connected to her internal and external journeys. I was invested in her growth and was very satisfied with her ending.

Her romance with Elias could have been flat and basic, but when their values aligned, I found their worldviews and personalities beautifully matched. I was able to like the romance so much more because of their growing respect they had for each other, not just fun banter.

Addressing poverty throughout the book and how it manifested in regency England really grounded the story and made it feel real, not some shallow depiction of a fairy tale that's merely all aesthetic.

I loved the homages to other fairy tales, like Dora's mother making a deal where the price is her child and the sleeping curse both harken back to Rumplestilskin and Sleeping Beauty, which added to the fairy tale Atwater weaves throughout.

Absolutely lovely prose and a great audiobook by Madeleine Leslay that had me wrapped up in Dora's story.

What the fuck???

And wilhelm’s mom doesn’t give a fuck that her nephew violated her son intimacy like that??

That is unacceptable

Confident (Selbstbewusst), 1909

Guys, I’m all for second chances, but he apologzied for “saying some uncool stuff”. He did the bare minimum. The Bare Minimum. Did he apologize to Ava for bullying her? No. Did he apologize for trying to buy alcohol with the Abiball money? No. did he apologize for constantly bashing the cashqueens on ig? No. Did he offer them any help to ´make up´ for his shitty behavior? No.