Lost Sock Review Book

➥ 𝕋𝕙𝕖 ℙ𝕝𝕒𝕟

Ｒａｔｉｎｇ： ８／１０

𝕎𝕣𝕚𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘

Your writing style really does fit the time period, especially the dialogue. There was a pretty good balance between descriptions and dialogue. Although, I wish there was a bit more variety in your choice of words. For example, you used the word "grab" quite frequently. You could also use phrases such as "wrapped my hands around" or "took hold of". Also, I'm not entirely sure if you were trying to copy the time period's use of semicolons or if they were a grammatical misunderstanding. I wasn't bothered too much by it though.

ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕣𝕒𝕔𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕤

The king was the perfect amount of evil as the antagonist. I hated every moment with him in the story, especially after he slapped Anastasia in the beginning. His only goal was personal success, resulting in him killing his wife's entire family. His approach to resolving the assassination issue was so ruthless.

Anastasia was a pretty good character. I saw a lot of potential since she was a headstrong girl in a patriarchal time period, but her naïveté got the better of her and led to her downfall. The scene with Prince Charles was true to reality since Anastasia was uncomfortable with his insolent advances.

Austin was a really sweet boy. I loved how genuinely he cared for Anastasia, which tore me up when she died. I wish I got to see a bit more of him, but the story is fine the way it is. (I just love his character lol)

Caspen was the character I saw the most development in. At first, he seemed cool-headed and thought about his actions, but he turned out to be completely irrational once he found the letters from his father talking about a war with Scotland. Caspen only fell to the deepest pits of despair from there. He realized his dream to make the county a better place as king would never come true. His sister died. He was about to be executed. His lover had to say his final goodbyes (this scene had me tearing up). Caspen's attempt to appear strong before his death only crumbled when they laid his head on the block.

Lucas was also a wonderful character. His emotions were the most real to me. He loved Caspen despite the stigma around homosexual relationships. Lucas' cries as Caspen was dragged away just tore out my heart. I can't even begin describing how emotional I was. Even in the end, Lucas watched Caspen's final moments in front of the executioner since it was going to be the last time he'd see his lover.

ℙ𝕝𝕠𝕥

The plot was really good! Anastasia's pent up anger from being constantly controlled by her father pushed her over the edge. Both Caspen and Anastasia planned out their father's assassination, which made them feel moments from freedom. I was actually looking forward to seeing their future lives without such a tyrannical king in the way.

The scene where Caspen and Lucas shared their final moments together made me feel miserable just reading it. Especially the part when Lucas said that he would take Caspen's place if he could.

The extra chapters at the end were also really nice. I got to see a bit of Lucas and Caspen's background and where their relationship started.

As for plot twists, I was completely surprised when the king had Anastasia and Caspen's food poisoned. I thought the two were going to change the country for the better, but they both died... It was definitely a dark twist.

The "overthrowing the tyrant" is a commonly used plot, but I liked what you did with it. Not only was it not the typical happy ending, but you also added some real issues from that time like homosexuality and women's rights.

ℂ𝕠𝕟𝕔𝕝𝕦𝕤𝕚𝕠𝕟

I loved this story. It had me anticipating a happy ending but ruthlessly ripped out my heart in the end. The relationship between Lucas and Caspen was just beautiful. Even though they're just fictional characters, I sincerely wished they could be happy together. (why did you hurt me so much qwq)