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popthebutterfly 's review for:

The Reckless Kind by Carly Heath
4.0
adventurous dark emotional slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc and arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: The Reckless Kind

Author: Carly Heath

Book Series: Standalone

Rating: 4/5

Diversity: HOH Asexual MC, Disabled MC with depression, Anxiety side character, m/m romance, queerplatonic triad

Recommended For...: young adult readers, LGBTQIA+, historical fiction

Publication Date: November 2, 2021

Genre: YA Historical Fiction

Recommended Age: 15+ (forced marriage, classism, homophobia, child abuse TW, violence, slight gore, suicidal ideation, parent death, grief, sexual content, romance)

Explanation of CWs: An MC is in a forced arraignment with another and is almost married off to them. There is classism that is discussed and shown, as well as homophobia. Child abuse is shown. There is some violence and slight gore. There is suicidal ideation at one moment. Parent death is shown in the book. The book is sex-positive. There is some romance.

Publisher: Soho Teen

Pages: 336

Synopsis: It's Norway 1904, and Asta Hedstrom doesn't want to marry her odious betrothed, Nils—even though a domestic future is all her mother believes she's suited for, on account of her single-sided deafness, unconventional appearance, and even stranger notions. Asta would rather spend her life performing in the village theater with her friends and fellow outcasts: her best friend Gunnar Fuglestad and his secret boyfriend, wealthy Erlend Fournier.

But the situation takes a dire turn when Nils lashes out in jealousy—gravely injuring Gunnar. Shunning marriage for good, Asta moves with Gunnar and Erlend to their secluded cabin above town. With few ties left with their families, they have one shot at gaining enough kroner to secure their way of life: win the village's annual horse race.

Review: For the most part this was a good book. I loved the message of found family and I absolutely loved all of the diversity in the book. The book was well written and had amazingly well done character development. I loved the world building and the plot kept me reading the book.

However, the book is slow in a lot of parts and it’s hard to read sometimes with the author’s use of old-fashioned words and phrases. It can be read as poetic, but it just made me stumble in my reading.

Verdict: It’s ok, love the rep and want more of it, but it was a struggle to read.