Hmm I can't say anything for now since It's still too early to judge. However, you can definitely see realistic feelings being portrayed by the characters.

• If you can't handle scenes with ab*se, cruelty, r*pe, or basically Game of Thrones-like violence, then this isn't for you

• A more thorough explanation (not really about the specifics of the novel, but more on why it's interesting to me) :

Most novels I read, the characters always have this characteristic where they aren't afraid of consequences, they're not afraid to say " let's run... more>> away together", I'll do this no matter what, I'll never accept being married to this!, "I won't accept this life" etc etc. Sometimes they don't think of their actions enough or gauge their capabilities first before acting or making decisions. They focus on the present more and less of their future. I get that people who read novels sometimes hate when characters show cowardice. Cowardice for change, for being hated by their family, for being endlessly tormented if they don't follow rules, or for the consequences of actions that contradict what they think is right.

I think it makes it very realistic especially on the FLs perspective.

In this novel however, it made me think of the characters as very human-like. It's a good thing. We are always scared of our future, and even though we face things that are hard for us to do, we face decisions that are hard to decide on, but at the end of the day, we will always weigh our decisions and choose what causes less harm to us, even if, I guess, we "sacrifice" things that are important to us. Like making tough decisions, We always think of our capabilities first before we decide on the course of our actions.

Spoiler

When FL stated that she wouldn't run away with the ML because she was told by her father the king that he had to marry a prince from another kingdom, she had no choice because it was her responsibility as the princess, and even if they ran away together, her brother (the next king) would still find them and hunt them down. He also had nothing to his name because he WAS a s*ave. He HAD no resources, nothing that could make their life better if they ran away.

So, if I was in the same boat, I'd also make the tough decision of NOT running away.

In her perspective, ofcourse she'd feel a tremendous amount of pressure and I guess accepting her arranged marriage would be the best choice

[collapse]

I guess because of strong emotions we can also say things that we don't mean to our loved ones. That's why I think this novel is great so far. I hope misunderstandings clear up!

Please note that if you are not comfortable with r*pe, then do not read this. <<less